Virtual worlds: The next Facebook? - CNN.com is an interesting article about the predicted boom of the “metaverse”, 3D interactive worlds where users interact via avatar. While I understand the attraction of immersion and rich experience, I think many of these studies overlook a key point- to truly represent a physical world there needs to be some perceived separation of the user from information. I.E., for me to believe that I’m on an island, the palm tree needs to be certain distance from me, the cabana another, and the sponsored kiosk yet another, and the time I spend getting from Point A to Point B helps reinforce the perception. When I’m online now, I have the convenience of accessing a multitude of information and sources immediately from my homepage, facebook page, search results, etc., and that’s a key advantage that I’d be sacrificing in 3D. Also, it is much easier (and faster) to scan text than other media- I would be hugely annoyed if the Washington Post or BoingBoing were only available via video or podcast, and the same is true with over 90% of the content I read everyday.

Much more intriguing, however, is the theoretical inverse of the metaverse, the geoweb. As dorky as it sounds, the ability to bring online in to “meatspace” will be much more valuable, IMHO, than bringing the inconvenience of the physical world online for most non-social, recreational uses. Being able to access limitless information wherever I am about a certain place, and read messages from other people about where to go, historical info, and which of my friends are nearby is very compelling, and has been hyped at this point much less. It also has the potential to be much more powerful for marketers in the next 3-5 years (think retail promotions, travel info, mobile advertising) than the metaverse will be in 10. I got through that whole post without mentioning the recent Second Life bank run! Whoops…

Second Life to start selling “Real Life” last names (OReilly via CNET)

Online Bartering Gets a Foothold on the Web (NYT)

MTV’s recently announced “Virtual Laguna Beach” sounds a lot like Second Life (among others). 22,000 (beta testers? early participants?) have signed up, according the the New York times article, and VLB is one of three virtual worlds planned. Eventually, users will be able to buy “gold membership” - giving them a house, and a car, and probably other items as well.  The NYT story listed Second Life (and some similiar virtual worlds, like There) which is interesting in light of statistics cited in early 2006 that the median age of SL users was 36, with the average age being 32.  It will be fun to see if younger groups will immerse themselves in something similiar.

Confused about what the hype regarding Second Life really means? Wondering if they really have a ton of users? Unsure of the commitment time it might take? Take a look at Micro Persuasion’s Second Life overview, which takes a hard (but fair) look at the user base, Second Life in the blogosphere and some user demographics. It’s an excellent reality check on what’s really going on over in Second Life, but also looks at the potential for growth and how marketers should view it.

In other Second Life news, Wired takes a look at how bands have been utlizing SL to reach fans.

More on the music front - Tower Records kicks off Digital Download service (Engadget)

A peek at understanding Second Life’s potential (Neville Hobson)

All the more reason for me to fire back up my Second Life account, Micro Persuasion had a news item up about a Marketing Conference/panel discussion in Second Life occuring tommorrow at noon (PST).