Scion City in Second Life

So I mentioned in the previous post that I was convincted of a major Second Life faux pas earlier this week — “rezzing” a Nissan onto the Toyota sim during the latter’s company’s launch of Scion City.

Confused? So was I.

Let me make this point before I go on: although I’ve spent a fair bit of time noodling around in Second Life, I would still classify myself as an early intermediate in that virtual world. There are far too many options and actions that I still don’t understand and can’t seem to work out intuitively.

The Scion City launch party, coordinated by Millions of Us, was a clear illustration of my ignorance. At some point during the party, I managed to drag a virtual Nissan car that I had picked up from a vending machine last month into the Toyota space (getting a headache yet?)

I didn’t exactly realize what I was doing or what I had done but it was apparently enough to warrant my ejection from the Scion party, as well as an initial refusal from Millions of Us to be allowed back in.

Now I tend to be an emotional guy, so I was fuming over being given the boot — virtual as it may have been. With all of the problems many of us have in simply learning how to move around, change our appearance, and mastering the art of teleporting to a specific event, any notion of “presumed Second Life etiquette” still strikes me as ridiculous.

But real-life companies are spendings thousands of real dollars to establish presences in Second Life and as a result feel the need to be protective of their brand in the space.

Second Life event planning 
My unsolicited advice to Millions of Us and other companies when planning future Second Life launches, conferences, unconferences, etc.:

  • Set up a SLurl (Second Life URL) that takes users to the precise location of the event, rather than a separate location on another part of the island.
  • Send out user instructions to registered event attendees in advance, or post them on your event blog. These instructions should include notes/demos on how to stream audio or video, if applicable; acceptable behavioral protocol; and the name of an avatar to send an instance message to if there are questions. Even better: make sure to also explain how to send an instant message in Second Life.
  • Remember that many of us are newbies and that terms or expressions like “rezz,” “go to the map,” and “in the grid” aren’t likely to mean much.

Hey, I’m not bitter. I just want Second Life to succeed. And for that to happen, it has to become much, much easier to use.

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