Bastardized Brand Virtualization - Online Spin Blog Post

[Karen Swim]

I found today's Online Spin blog post of interest. Trying to recap would not do it justice so I have included the full post below. While many online marketers are enthusiastically telling others to join SL, this post offers a contrary opinion (often my favorite kind of opinion!). I have also heard from some professionals who tried SL and did not find it to be a great business driver. I believe the message here as with all marketing tools, is to not follow the herd unless it's right for your business. What are your thoughts? Any SLers out there?

Karen

Monday, March 3, 2008
Bastardized Brand Virtualization
By Seana Mulcahy So you know I write about social media. There's been quite the vibe for it out there. However, the nebulous term "virtual worlds" bothers me. It is too universal. Most likely, when I say the term, you associate it with Second Life http://www.secondlife.com--right? I do, too. Have you ever been on Second Life? I stopped by to check it out and thought it was creepy.

OK--I get how the Net has always offered anonymity. It can also be a medium for escapism. Maybe I'm old, but I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not, let alone create a creepy three-dimensional version of myself. Caveat: Yes, for those of you who IM or have seen blogs and emails, I have an icon sometimes associated with me. It's two-dimensional, and to me, more like an icon, cartoon or caricature of me. It's not escapism; it's fun.

So, back to 3D worlds. I just get an uneasy feeling about them. In a way, it is somewhat lifelike. I used to get a kick out of the computer game "The Simms" way back when. It was a game. Have games evolved to social worlds now? When "Simms" first came out, there were many gaming sites that launched and were quite successful. Audiences were loyal. On the sites, players (or members) were able to associate icons to their screen name. This was so beyond picking the car while playing Monopoly. However, I wasn't a gamer.

I did find the value of advertising on such sites. Back then, I launched a large automobile campaign with a car relaunch, a beverage, and a fast-food company. All benefited from the audience of gamers. Co-branding opportunities were pretty much nonexistent, so we created them. Our clients were cool and progressive, so they weren't splitting hairs about measurement and concrete definitions. It was hype; it was reality. It was the way the Web was moving.

So I try to scratch below the surface of trying to figure out the offline lifestyle of these Second Life users. I hope I don't offend you if you are one of them. Seems like a lot of time needs to be invested in keeping up with it. How could you be in this business and fit that all in?

Certainly, if you are reading this, you are most likely not the primary target audience. This will impact you, though: There are swarms of unauthorized uses of brand images all over these sites. Yes, it is true. If you don't believe me, log on (although I am not trying to contribute to the site's traffic). See for yourself. As a protector of brands, it makes me cringe. How can something so wildly popular with more than 11 million members allow this?

Simply put, people create their avatars and interact with other avatars they meet. They create their "world" and control how they "live" in it. In fact, there are even opportunities for members to set up businesses on the site. Real businesses with currency exchanges that turn into real U.S. dollars.

In the March hard-copy issue of Inside Counsel magazine, page 22, it lists even harsher realities. For instance, some entrepreneurs who make money in Second Life were making money by creating and selling unauthorized copies of Herman Miller furniture. The copies were shoddy at best, and Herman Miller didn't want to be associated with them.

It's like an online trip to Canal Street in New York's Chinatown. "Walk" around, and you can buy fake Rolexes, Gucci bags and iPods. It goes a step further--you can even buy a knockoff Ferrari.

More than 100 major brands are already legitimately marketed on Second Life. If you want to advertise your brand there, knock yourself out.

However, for those of us who don't, do we get the shaft by the site's acceptance of a user's brand -- without our authorization? The reality is, it depends on the sites right now. There are no legal prescriptions. In fact, there is a law that justifies innocent infringement of a trademark, logo, etc. Can't anyone say they were innocent and had no idea? Well, perhaps these sites could take some social responsibility and let users know the real deal. But then again, why would they want to?

Online Spin for Monday, March 3, 2008:
http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1246

[Ellen Wilson]

Hey Karen! That is awful generous of you. You can email me anytime: [e-mail]. And if I can be of service, let me know. I like working within supportive relationships. Hopefully I don't get spammed now after listing my email. I started getting more spam in my inbox after I posted my Elance portfolio.

[Karen Swim]

Ellen, I know what you mean! Thee are days that I am exhausted from the mental expenditure of energy! I have had to implement a schedule too that blocks out time for the networking/marketing activities so I'm not just completely lost in it for hours on end. If you ever need help I'm happy to share what I know. It ain't much but you can learn from my goofs! LOL!

[Ellen Wilson]

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. I'm still learning what works and how to work it. Sometimes I get lost in the whirl of it all. It really does seem like a hall of mirrors sometimes. I think I need a firm schedule for awhile. Thanks Karen.

[Karen Swim]

Ellen, you're great! I have also found great success in using cyberspace to create real world relationships and real world dollars. :-) The key again is finding what works and working it.

Karen

[Karen Swim]

Ellen, you're great! I have also found great success in using cyberspace to create real world relationships and real world dollars. :-) The key again is finding what works and working it.

Karen

[adam fiveson]

Actually Ellen they very much have created virtual money... in SL the unit of currency is called a Linden... it's worth FAR LESS than US currency and the amount of work you have to do for a 1$L Linden is comparable to the amount of work you have to do for 1$ USD.... hence my issue with the exchange rate... LOL.

Second Life is actually like a third world nation.

~A

[Ellen Wilson]

All of this is too bizarre. Yeah, I agree with Adam. The virtual world is fun to visit and play around in, but not safe to live there. People get sucked into it and can't get out. No one has created virtual money yet.

[Karen Swim]

Thanks Adam for the insight! I use a variety of social media, twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc and I think the key is finding what works for you. SL may not be for everyone but you have proven it is possible to make viable business connections. I looked into it and got a headache! Not enough brain width to add yet another thing to manage. LOL!

Best,

Karen

[adam fiveson]

Wow... ok, well I can "out' myself again here.... LOL. I have an ad agency in Second Life... and I've had a few good clients too.

I had a recording studio pay me to build a venue to distribute and show off their music. I built a full scale replica of an airplane hangar and then converted it into a nightclub.

I had a company hire me to replicate their office space so that they could show potential renters different configurations of the space without having to actually pay an illustrator for architectural drawings.

I had a software company pay me to build them a SIM (an island) for the distribution of their operating system.

I got in ahead of the curve... unfortunately it's not very profitable in SL to run an actual business because labor is INCREDIBLY cheap to obtain, and because of the exchange rate (no I'm not kidding).

The Virtual world is coming people... eventually it will become another space just like radio or TV... and to ignore it is like sticking your head in the sand.

There are laws being enforced there and lawsuits coming out of intellectual properties and TM laws every day now.

Personally I look at the Virtual World like the wild west. It's fun to visit... but not safe to live there.

Best,

Adam