Valleywag
In November, David Kirkpatrick of Fortune put his reputation as a prognosticator on the line. The congenitally optimistic technology reporter predicted, absurdly, that a virtual world such as Second Life would one day be as big a business as Google. So far, he's had no reason to moderate his bullishness. Corporate marketers — the latest being real estate brokerage, Coldwell Banker — continue to establish their presence in Linden Lab's clunky 3D world. "Despite skepticism, software and system troubles, and extraordinary hype, the three-dimensional virtual world juggernaut continues," Kirkpatrick writes. "It's more evidence that the Second Life naysayers are on the defensive." Wrong. It's more evidence only that corporate marketers take months, or even years, to realize their own stupidity; or for journalists to wean themselves off the lame press releases about the latest embassy or headhunter or real estate broker to set up in 3D cyberspace. The naysayers, this site included, will have the last laugh; the longer the hype lasts, the louder will be the ridicule.
Naysayers 'on the defensive'
In November, David Kirkpatrick of Fortune put his reputation as a prognosticator on the line. The congenitally optimistic technology reporter predicted, absurdly, that a virtual world such as Second Life would one day be as big a business as Google. So far, he's had no reason to moderate his bullishness. Corporate marketers — the latest being real estate brokerage, Coldwell Banker — continue to establish their presence in Linden Lab's clunky 3D world. "Despite skepticism, software and system troubles, and extraordinary hype, the three-dimensional virtual world juggernaut continues," Kirkpatrick writes. "It's more evidence that the Second Life naysayers are on the defensive." Wrong. It's more evidence only that corporate marketers take months, or even years, to realize their own stupidity; or for journalists to wean themselves off the lame press releases about the latest embassy or headhunter or real estate broker to set up in 3D cyberspace. The naysayers, this site included, will have the last laugh; the longer the hype lasts, the louder will be the ridicule.
Comments
It's more evidence that the Second Life naysayers are on the defensive.
I'll do my best to be more offensive. How about the fact that Fortune is on its way to becoming as irrelevant as BusinessWeek, and desperate prognostication surely shows Kilpatrick is on the defensive.
As to the real-estate chicanery, this happens to cross my interests (and years of research in the case of RE).
What people who actually care about *real* real estate issues think.
What I think of it in general.
Interesting post as I think they have a long way to go before I'd consider their platform a viable business solution or service. Have you been to the Cisco world in Second Life? Advertisers are lining up left and right to buy land but few attract an audience
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