Virtual worlds give their residents a unique resource that helps entrepreneurs grow and develop their businesses and corporations. Second Life in particular, provides businessmen opportunities with which they can both experiment and promote products in an environment where failure is relatively risk free compared to the real world. Residents have the potential to succeed and make a profit whether they bring a small business or a major company into the virtual world. While some companies such as IBM use Second Life as a supplement to their real world company, others, like the Electric Sheep Company, do business exclusively in virtual worlds. Pictured below are two snapshots of Deklin at the IBM Business Center and the Electric Sheep Company Island. These two companies use Second Life to sell and market their products and services in completely different manners. The Electric Sheep Company uses Second Life to directly market to their customers while virtual IBM aims to increase their real world revenue through product promotions, virtual experimentation, and in world public relations (Nuttall). Of these two methods, the Electric Sheep Company’s marketing strategy appears far superior to IBM’s because of its direct effect on the target audience, avatars and residents of Second Life.
Deklin at IBM's Business Center and within the 6 story office building on Electric Sheep Island
Major corporations like IBM see Second Life as an entirely new venue in which they can promote their company and its products. An article published in an October 2007 edition of Fortune Magazine states that “what’s beginning to catch the attention of IBM and other huge corporations is something potentially far more profound than a new online pastime. It’s the ability to use Second Life as a platform for a whole new Net…with huge opportunities to sell products and services” (Gregorowicz). Second Life gives IBM hundreds of thousands of new clients to whom they can market their products, customers who would be difficult for IBM to interact with without virtual worlds. Virtual worlds help a company like IBM succeed in the real world in a variety of ways.
First of all, IBM uses Second Life as a place to hold meetings and conferences. IBM employees from countries all over the world can assemble at a single location in Second Life and conduct business meetings, meet with customers or potential customers, and perform conferences and training sessions (Nuttall). Pictured below is a snapshot of Deklin seated at one of these conference tables where such business meetings occur in IBM Island.
Not only can people attend these conferences and listen to the ideas of the presenter in Second Life, but they can actually view a product while another avatar constructs it on the spot, an aspect of business that is vertually impossible to replicate in the real world. Business in Second Life gives individuals a unique opportunity to learn and practice leadership. Second Life provides a universal place where people can easily congregate and interact while practicing unique conferencing methods.
In addition to providing a means of conferencing, IBM uses Second Life to test out and visualize their products (Nuttall). According to Sandy Kearney, IBM’s director of emerging 3D internet and virtual business, “[Second Life] is a continuation of our business” (Nuttall). In world, IBM experiments with new forms of communications, new business models, as well as services it might provide to other companies, all at a relatively inexpensive cost (Nuttall). They have even created a ‘sandbox island’ for such experimentation. I actually visited IBM's Sandbox and got to see first-hand what residents and IBM employees were creating. Below is a snapshot of Deklin arriving at this Sandbox.
After creating various products within the Sandbox, IBM then evaluates the success of these products and decides whether or not they would prosper in the real world. This method of trial and error allows IBM to avoid potential costly mistakes and to recognize ways in which the company can save money in the real world (Nuttall). Conducting business in virtual worlds gives the entrepreneur “The freedom to fail and the encouragement of risk taking…” (Baxter). While Second Life helps IBM immensely in the real world, it fails to focus as much as it should on individual avatars and residents within the virtual world.
The Electric Sheep Company, a corporation that does its business exclusively in virtual worlds, focuses much more on providing Second Life residents with the materials that they need to enhance their virtual experience. This virtual corporation supplies its clients with “structured consulting engagements around experience design, technology and platform analysis, business model analysis, and production budgeting and scoping” (ESC official website). Electric Sheep Company defines experience design as anything ranging from “avatar design to storylines to first user experiences, game structure, and virtual economic models” (ESC official website). The company consists of designers and developers who build and create within Second Life. They then sell these creations for real world cash to avatars willing to purchase the products. Creations include character design, landscape modification, graphic design, animations, and software development, just to name a few (ESC official website). An example of such a creation is an island that Electric Sheep Company built for the New Media Consortium, a non-profit organization that seeks to teach individuals about media and technology (Turner). On this island, the Electric Sheep Company built classrooms and other venues in which classes held by this organization could take place. Avatars from all over could attend these classes and learn about media technologies. Other creations that the Electric Sheep Company has created include Virtual Laguna Beach, Virtual CSI: NY, and the L Word in Second Life (ESC official website). Companies like the Electric Sheep Company allow residents to purchase state of the art houses and features for their avatars without having to take the time create these products themselves. Below is an image taken at Virtual Laguna Beach where Deklin is positioned floating within the palm tree. It was fascinating to explore Virtual Laguna Beach and see everything that the Electric Sheep Company had produced for the purpose of pleasing Second Life residents and avatars alike.
Both IBM and the Electric Sheep Company entered Second Life with the hope of developing their companies. The two corporations have different incentives for doing business in a virtual world, and these incentives greatly affect the ways in which they market their products and services. IBM uses Second Life as a supplement to their real life corporation, and consequently, this appears to impact how they deal with their target audience, other avatars. With regard to IBM, the direct dealing with avatars in the virtual world comes secondary to promoting their real world services and experimenting with different aspects of business. All of the products and services of the Electric Sheep Company influence Second Life immediately. Each client’s avatar’s Second Life experience is directly enhanced by this company’s services. The Electric Sheep Company marketing approach directly impacts Second Life and its residents far more then does IBM, making it more appealing to virtual world residents.
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Comments (6)
Andrew Conley said
at 4:56 pm on Sep 25, 2008
Well argued.
This part seems a little vauge:
“Second Life gives IBM hundreds of thousands of new clients to whom they can market their products, customers who would otherwise be inaccessible for IBM. Virtual worlds help a company like IBM succeed in the real world in a variety of ways.”
I would assume that people who use SL also have access to the internet outside of SL. They could just as easily look at the IBM official website, IBM talks on you tube, etc to find out about products and such. Maybe just reword “who would otherwise be inaccessible for IBM” because it’s clear in the next two paragraphs that IBM’s presence in SL allows for exposure to products that would ordinarily be inaccessible to consumers.
Jun Xie said
at 4:59 pm on Sep 25, 2008
Hello, I just read your analysis
The claims I found in the first paragraph:
1. "experiment and promote products in a relatively risk free environment"
2. "The Electric Sheep Company uses Second Life to directly market to their customers while virtual IBM aims to increase their real world revenue through product promotions, virtual experimentation, and in world public relations (Nuttall)"
3, "the Electric Sheep Company’s marketing strategy appears far superior to IBM’s because of its direct effect on the target audience, avatars and residents of Second Life."
Paragraph 3 and 4 are well related to the claim you make at the end of second paragraph: "Virtual worlds help a company like IBM succeed in the real world in a variety of ways."
Moreover, they support your claims (the first and second i have listed above) in the first paragraph too.
Two problems you may want to concern. First, I think it would be better if you refer specifically to the snapshots you took which can support your examples about virtual conferences and "sandbox island". You didn't really mention these snapshots. Second, as a reader, I stilll didn't know what "Nuttall" is. Clear explanation may be needed.
The example of New Media Consortium is great, and again you may want to mention the snapshot you took.
Your analysis is good and clear,but personally I am not agree that "ESC is far superior to IBM". It's difficult but if you can find data about how much profit the two companies actually make through the virtual world then the analysis can be more convincing.
Brittany said
at 5:06 pm on Sep 25, 2008
It seems that your thesis seems to be at the end of the introduction in which you state: "Of these two methods, the Electric Sheep Company’s marketing strategy appears far superior to IBM’s because of its direct effect on the target audience, avatars and residents of Second Life." Make sure that each following paragraph supports your thesis and reasoning for it. You do a good job of this, particularly in the closing, but be sure to focus more on this in the body of the paper than simply summarizing each website.
Just a couple notes on grammatical errors:
1. I think in the beginning of the third paragraph you meant to say "In addition to" instead of "in addiction to".
2. Be careful of your citations in the text. One that pops out to me is the one you use for the company websites. The library has a great citation page that helps with citing websites and p. 261 of Writing Analytically discusses in text citations.
3. Watch some of your use of commas. Some are unnecessary and other times I feel a semi-colon or even a dash is better suited than a comma such as in the last paragraph where you say "their target audience, other avatars" you may even use a dash here instead of a comma.
4. Also the second to last sentence in that paragraph is awkward.Perhaps you should say "The experience of each client's avatar in Second Life is directly...".
Joe Essid said
at 7:39 pm on Sep 27, 2008
Let me give feedback on others' feedback:
--Andrew's point is well taken. I took that section to mean that IBM services and products may not be well known to most SL residents. They know its name but not what it currently offers in real or Second Life. I'd guess that many people not deeply involved in technology still see IBM as a computer-maker.
--Brittany makes a valid point. For me, saying a bit more about how IBM does NOT cater to the individual in SL would help me.
--Jun is correct! The NWC island is very well known--get us a snapshot and provide others from IBM and Electric Sheep as they bolster your case.
Your project is well structured otherwise and employs sources quite well. Have you seen the onrez viewer or in-world vendors that Electric Sheep made? You will want to have a look as they provide one-on-one services for avatars seeking an easier alternative to SL's client software or who wish to open stores.
Amanda said
at 4:21 pm on Sep 30, 2008
The sentences that I believe best expresses a thesis is: “The Electric Sheep Company uses Second Life to directly market to their customers while virtual IBM aims to increase their real world revenue through product promotions, virtual experimentation, and in world public relations (Nuttall). Of these two methods, the Electric Sheep Company’s marketing strategy appears far superior to IBM’s because of its direct effect on the target audience, avatars and residents of Second Life. “ And the part of the sentence that explains the how is “Electric Sheep Company’s marketing strategy appears far superior to IBM’s because of its direct effect on the target audience, avatars and residents of Second Life.” I don’t think that you fell into any traps YAY.
Amanda said
at 4:52 pm on Sep 30, 2008
This is a strong paper. But perhaps unpack some suitcase words, in particular risk free. I’m assuming you mean that if a business fails in Second Life it is less costly compared to a real life business collapse. But perhaps make this point in your paper. Also refer to your pictures in your paper, and maybe go to a the virtual Laguna Beach or other location created by Electric Sheep location to help illustrate Electric Sheep’s work and how this attracts avatars.
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