Librarians – “Does Anybody Still Use Second Life? And If So, How Much Is It Worth Today?”…07.03.09

Considering all the past hype about Second Life, here is an excerpt from an important new post from TechCrunch relevant to libraries titled Does Anybody Still Use Second Life? And If So, How Much Is It Worth Today?:

“Analyst firm Next Up Research has published an extensive report on Linden Lab, the San Francisco company behind virtual world Second Life. The research is based on aggregate data and is available on SharesPost…The report goes rather deep into the valuation of the Linden Lab, which it pegs at somewhere between $658 million and 700 million…

First of all, you may be wondering if anyone is still using Second Life at all. The answer is yes, and users are very active on there. During the past 30 days, one million users logged in, according to Second Life’s own statistics. In average time spent per user per week, Second Life in fact trounces all other MMORPGs, including World of Warcraft and Civilization IV. In another testament to the service’s apparent stickiness, the number of hours users spend on Second Life has been increasing steadily and is currently at historic highs, totaling approximately 124 million hours in the first quarter of this year…”

Libraries and Librarians in “Second Life” Virtual World today and the Future…08.19.08

Although I have yet to venture into the virtual world of Second Life, I know I must eventually do so.  I have read much about it and can see many opportunities for such a tool/environment.  Learning new things is great but the time and energy to jump into Second Life has escaped me thus far.  Anyway, I’ll take the plunge soon–another aspect of “professional development” I’m sure.

There is an update about Second Life reaching its second anniversary at LibGig today [http://www.libgig.com/2dlife] which is worth checking out.  Here is an excerpt from Rhonda Truman from Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte, NC:

“…Where do we go from here? The rising cost of travel and awareness of ecological concerns makes virtual environments an attractive choice for meetings, presentations, seminars, and conferences. It can also be used as a place to find and hire employees. Manpower is just one of several employment agencies that use SL to recruit. Other uses will depend on the future of virtual worlds. If, as some predict, virtual worlds become future of the Internet perhaps instead of flat or even 2.0 web sites representing our libraries, we will have virtual places where our patrons can visit us online and where we can provide access to a wide range of services. Virtual won’t replace real life libraries, no one thinks that they will, but they can be a new way to interact with our users and reach beyond our walls to others.”