Recently, I wrote about a study written by virtual worlds consultancy kzero.co.uk, which reported that membership of virtual worlds grew by 39% in the second quarter of 2009 to an estimated 579 million. Today, I received an update from the Linden Lab and it appears that Second Life is experiencing a second life of its own.
And you thought Virtual Worlds were so passé…a new study suggests that virtual worlds may be getting a second life.
In 2007-2008, many brands and companies flocked to Second Life to build a virtual presence, which spiked, peaked, and created somewhat of a backlash and ultimately a bit of a retreat in the process. By mid-2009, virtual worlds were realizing a comeback of sorts. In July 2009, virtual worlds consultancy kzero.co.uk reported that membership of virtual worlds grew by 39% in the second quarter of 2009 to an estimated 579 million. World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, Habbo Hotel, Club Penguin and Second Life are respectively posting profits powered by those who were intent on getting a “second” life.
After publishing, “The Future of Communications – A Manifesto for Integrating Social Media into Marketing,” I decided to take a short break. I wanted it to reside online for people to discover before it was pushed down the page with every post to follow. Afterall, we do have a very short attention span these days and the important posts that exist across the blogosphere are unfortunately quickly forgotten.
Source: Shutterstock
In the past, I’ve spoken at PR, tech, and communications events about Social Media and how companies can engage in the conversations taking place with or without them. As much as I wanted to look into the future, I was rooted in the present as a means to connect it to the past. There are just too many new things to introduce to people and even more reasons why they should care.
There’s something to be said for the phenomenon that is amateur video on the Web. After earning Time’s Person of the Year, the “you” generation continues to drive the new web with each video and picture posted, tagged, and shared, every blog post and podcast, trackback, link, and comment, through every social bookmark, annotation, and search, all of the twitter casts, and micro and mobile text and IM updates we broadcast. Now, get ready for lifecasting.
Rather than address the blogosphere with brilliant rhetoric and clarity regarding the Ferrari Incident, instead, Steve Rubel has declared Social Media Dead.
Perhaps he’s merely tapping into the power of social media to spark controversy to displace the conversation on Techmeme, or, just maybe, he really does believe that “social” or any other category preceding the word “media” is dead.
Jeremy Pepper calls it “Crisis Blogging to Defeat a Meme.”
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research-based advisory firm. Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging media on business, marketing, publishing, and culture. His current book, Engage, is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to build and measure success in the social web.
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