Crayon, a new marketing company that luuuuurves Second Life has just launched Virtual Thirst for Coca-Cola. So this morning in Crayonville on Second Life, the topic of discussion was the campaiin so far. Actually, it was held on the Virtual Thirst island.
It was my first time participating in the Crayonville online gathering which happens every Thursday at 9am. I was allowed to stay home from work today so I could participate (since I work in corporate communications). I am still trying to wrap my head around what a corporation can use Second Life for and I am subscriber to the Crayon podcast so I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet with new people in the social media and communications industry.
Joseph Jaffe was there and I had a chance to chat with him (I am also an enthusiastic subscriber to his podcast). It was inevitable that Twitter would come up in conversation and also inevitable if Twitter will last. That’s when I realized I still hadn’t subscribed to Joseph’s Twitter like I had planned last week.
I soon found myself completely engaged which was a surprise because I always found Second Life boring. I was listening to what the experts had to say, I offered my opinions, asked questions and, well, participated in the conversation. That’s what corporations have to keep in mind when dealing with social media.
After the chat was over, I checked out a few other islands run by corporations such as Adidas, Reebok and American Apparel. In the real world, I questioned why would anyone care to buy shoes in Second Life? If there’s a store and a website, why bother with Second Life? Well, I was quick to find that browsing in a store on Second Life is a lot more fun than a website! :)
It seemed that only 1 type of shoe was offered for sale but Adidas offered 1-click purchase. Reebok offered customizing your shoe. I didn’t check but I am sure these features also exist on their respective websites.
It would be great to participate in the Crayonville chat again. The people there were friendly and the conversation was easy to follow.
[tags]Crayonville, Joseph Jaffe, Second Life, social media[/tags]
“Well, I was quick to find that browsing in a store on Second Life is a lot more fun than a website!”
While legitimate, that’s just one reason why a 3D virtual space is compelling. I won’t bore you with techno-social details, but suffice it to say, other technologies that are not currently associated with virtual worlds/videogames will end the debate in the not-too-distant future.
In the meantime, you might find an old post of mine outlining how future online commerce might work of interest. A search of Julie Roehm on my blog will turn it up if you’re interested (I’d rather not link to it).
We enjoyed having you there and you are welcome back anytime!
I’m also so glad to see that you did what so many people have failed to do…you actually checked it (a new approach or experience) out yourself and then made your mind up. You’d be surprised how many naysayers have never been in SL themselves (many media journalists are in this category)
J
@csven: Coincidence that you’d mention ads in-game, while I was browsing the BBH island, I came across 2 large Levis ads. I thought to myself, “hm… banner ads now”. But at the time, I didn’t know who or what BBH was. Until a fellow avatar flew in and told me they were an advertising agency. I *assume* they were just showcasing their client (but you know what happens when you assume!).
@Joseph Jaffe: If only I could participate every Thursday morning. Second Life is restricted at work (our computers don’t even have the hardware capacity) and my working from home was strictly for Second Life fact finding (a fun project I might add!). But I’m on the lookout for free wi-fi in my work area ;)
Actually, I’m not talking about banner ads at all. I’m talking mostly about rapid manufacturing and how it can be tied to virtual worlds.
This old post might help explain things: http://blog.rebang.com/?p=186