New Directions

When I started my time in SL, Linden Lab was rather lax in the area of leadership for it's residents.  I was at the tail end of the "your world, your imagination" zeitgeist.  An idea that allowed it's customers large leeway into shaping their grid.  A lot of wonderous sims were created for exploration and interesting avatars roamed.  However many used that opportunity to create a very wild red light district, which Second Life has come to be known.  For years our grid was labeled the place where people come to cheat on spouses and engage in virtual orgies.  The permissiveness also led to underhanded tactics of griefer harassment and land blight.

It wasn't the best of all worlds, but I sometimes wonder if it will now be looked upon as a golden age.  Because the Lab is far from lax in it's leadership now.  And the new direction is far less permissive and far more involved in it's brand name IP.

You see, it was the brand name IP where Linden Lab fudged from the beginning.  It began as an experimental community between company and customers.  Philip Linden, the visionary behind it all, wanted to create a world that ran on personal transformation and enlightenment.  Second Life wanted to be a place that welcomed the creative efforts of professional media artists and the motivated amateur.  The fact that some of these amateurs turned to making prim genitals, I suppose was considered a sign of passing immaturity.  Philip Linden's Lab took a rather Montessori approach to the venture.  Perhaps he and the Lab thought the residents were just experiencing "Planes of Development" which would lead to more enlightened activity.  Even when the red light district was well in control of the grid as a whole, causing various social problems as blight, obsessive borderline activities and harassment, the Lab still took a hands off approach.  I suppose they didn't want to get in the way of our developmental learning.  But they forgot one important point...they were dealing with adults who already finished their development.  By and large it takes a motivated human being to undertake a journey of continual education.  Most are happy just to be.  We aren't all from the same cloth as Philip Linden.

Outside of the Linden Montessori Finishing School for Wayward Adults, Blizzard Entertainment was enormously successful with it's World of Warcraft MMO.  Most residents poo poo my continual habit of comparing WoW to SL.  By the mere fact that SL is not a game.  But they are missing the point entirely because they are too entrenched in the old SL Montessori approach.

Warcraft is like SL in that it allows cooperative play and socialization.  In fact it's rudimentary quest structure establishes a social learning experience that some have lauded as a prototype of basic corporate management training.  However the developers of WoW never had such lofty ideas in mind.  They just wanted to create a fun world and an easy introduction experience into their world.  However, unlike SL, WoW exerts tight control over it's brand name IP.  It's few concessions to customer creation are extended to screenshots of their world and game machinima.  They are not totally successful in keeping out the outre behaviors.  But they certainly managed to not be known for their ERP (Erotic Roleplay).

It is also important to point out that WoW was released in the same timeframe as SL.  The Second Life grid came to life in 2003 with a small community of Beta residents but started to hit big in 2004.  Warcraft was released with large fanfare in 2004, the anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.  Granted Blizzard already had an established brand when they released their world.  But it was nowhere near the popularity it has today.  Both companies were essentially on the same footing.

I don't believe anyone in the virtual platform business knew that Warcraft would achieve the success it has today.

But what has Warcraft to do with Second Life?  Everything.  Warcraft by it's very juggernaut success has changed the world of VRs.  Second Life was created pre-WoW and it's venture capitalists allowed it's groovy "Your World, Your Imagination" in a search to discover the BIG VR success.  There will never be another Second Life nor would money men back it.  Because it's game over...it is now clear what the public wants, what it craves is the Warcraft experience.  Indeed, SL thought it would be a success among the hardcore gamers that loved Warcraft and other MMO games.  Because in their world, it would allow the hardcores to create their own fantasy worlds.  That didn't happen, in fact Second Life only frightened the demographic they thought they would attract.

As Second Life failed in it's hands off approach to their customers, they watched Warcraft grow and grow and grow.  And anyone with a clear business approach would realize the key difference between the two.

A hands on and tightly controlled brand name IP.  Blizzard had it and rode to Daddy Warbucks' mansion with a big buyout.  Second Life on the other hand allowed it's brand name IP to be hijacked by the amateur sex community.

So that brings us to now and all the teeth gnashing as Linden Lab seeks to undo all the damage that has been wrought.  Each new development is created with a view to take back their IP.

The sex industry?  Sent to their own adult verified continent and banned from the old mainland areas.

Land Blight?  They have now created the program Linden Homes which is a controlled community with controlled landscaping themes.  No more wacky, tacky houses to blight the view or slow down a sim with bad scripting.

Premium Users?  Its obvious that Warcraft doesn't give away it's world free.  Their customers subscribe. The Lab dropped the ball in this area by allowing everyone in.  Their servers and infrastructure are not free, so I don't know how the Lab thought they would support everyone.  They now know they cannot.  Hence the subtle and growing push to premium.

In the process of this change around, the Lab realized that it could make more money catering to the dreams of Corporations.  The Corporations piled onto the SL bandwagon enthusiastically at first but failed due to the previous problems listed and their misunderstanding of VR.  But now the Lab is positioning themselves as a consulting company that will help Corporate customers make the leap into VR.  Time is short for this endeavor because another fledging company, Blue Mars, has started down this path.  And the Lab doesn't want to see another Warcraft pass by.

Now most residents would not deny that the Lab needs to make money to survive.  What the majority resent is the fact that the Lab has seemingly thrown us overboard in it's mission change.  Yes, we did louse up the grid but we also created some of the most fascinating customer created worlds that are found nowhere else.  I sympathize with them.  But I've long pointed out that...yes there are lovely additions to the SL world.  But those places aren't a part of the main brand IP.  Linden Lab can not point to them, like Blizzard can point toward it's imaginary Northrend, and say that they created it.  They can not promote it as their world.  And they need to.  Because no Corporate partner wants to invest in a platform that is not controlled by it's owner.

As I look around my own small piece of land, I enjoy it for the time given.  I know it won't be mine for long.  Individuals owning micro parcels cause immense load on the Lab servers.  It would be much easier if the Lab can control and direct resident spread.  So that means Linden Homes in various preplanned designs and sizes or to take a plot with one of the various Landlords that the Lab deems fit.  Its saddening to be at the end of a lovely but a failed experiment.  I wish protesting would at least slow down the changes or create concessions that would be more favorable to us oldies.  But I don't think it will.  So now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.