I happened across this video, courtesy of TED. It’s a headset that work by reading your brainwaves and at this stage looks like an idea that is coming along very, very nicely.
I’ll only say that I would love one of these for Second Life, but I imagine it’s a few years off a consumer release as yet!
The is the full video and comment page at TED.
I tweeted earlier today that Tameside Council in the UK is closing their Second Life island. I can understand this, especially given the dire state of our public finances. When you consider the reality, SL is probably not the most effective way for a regional council to talk to its citizens.
This brings me to a point I’ve been pondering, it’s not just councils. Why do real life (RL) companies often fail in Second Life ( SL)?
Firstly, I think that a company can fail by not becoming part of the community. SL is not something that can be run in the same way as a corporate website, it requires an engagement with the community, especially if you plan on running a successful business presence.
Secondly, the kinds of products that are successful in SL are not the same as in RL. Yes, Coca Cola and various other companies jumped inworld. But let’s be honest, anybody who wants to drink Coke probably already does. If they don’t then a virtual world is possibly not going to convince them. A car company can offer virtual, drivable versions of its products, which may help RL sales, but whether it will be worth the trouble is questionable at best. IBM seem to be doing quite well in there, but then they are a different kind of company to Coca Cola or a large auto maker.
Thirdly, there are a lot of residents who can and will be very well positioned to compete with RL companies. These residents already have their own established brands, do the job at least as well and tick the community box already.
As a closing remark, I will observe that the companies that prosper bring something to the mix. SL is not just a billboard, not a static website. It’s a dynamic and vibrant virtual ecosystem and economy, thinking you can just walk in and posture is (in this writer’s view) a guaranteed recipe for failure.
Well, I had an interesting experience in Secondlife last night, at a sim called “The Buddha Center” they showed a BBC video on the life of the Buddha. As aide from the odd technical hiccup it was an enjoyable experience and when I found the video on YouTube, I thought I’d share it with everybody!
It’s 50 minutes in length, so be sure you have a cup of Tea when you click play, and the DVD purchase notice will vanish after the first 30 seconds or so. 
