B2B in Virtual Worlds

Many companies have gone virtual, building and selling new products. Getting their brand out there, inventing great gadgets every virtual world visitor wants to have. Together they form their own communities, meeting each other at seminars, swapping ideas and teaming up to expand their businesses. Really innovative companies know virtual worlds are here to stay and they want to remain ahead. Already virtual worlds have enabled major technological breakthroughs, like in the field of media presentations.

What should a business media company do?

That human-to-human connection is what B2B marketers crave, business media is, in the end, all about connecting buyers and sellers. Virtual worlds eliminate all the real-world pain-in-the-neck barriers to face-to-face meetings, an replace those barriers with an easy-to-scale learning curve in the use of a technology tool. Second Life complete this paragraph's syllogism: it is an open virtual world platform that supports rapid and inexpensive innovation.

So the answer to the question in bold will vary by market segment, as follows: the more technically savvy your audience, the more quickly you must move to develop a Second Life community that will attract your target audience. Otherwise, as history has shown through the rise of the Internet, someone else will provide a community for them. Many companies were blindsided by the sudden rise of the Internet. Don't let it happen to you. Also, "the more technically savvy your audience" does not only refer to audiences for technical subjects, but rather an audience for any subject that happens to be comfortable with the use of computer technology networking. This includes most any audience under 35.

IBM in Second Life

Holds workshops for developers on a private island using Second Life scripting tools. Held a block party for its alumni of past and presentemployees. IBM have replicated two of their Real World sites: their R & D Centre Hursley Labs in England, and the Almaden Research Centre in California. One of its pubic islands hosts the electronics store Circuit City where customers can browse and explore features of new equipment.

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SUN Microsystems in Second Life

Established Sun Pavilion on Sun Island. Holds press briefings, runsdevelopment conference and training for Java Technologies. Island open24/7 with pointers and videos. Also, in-world launch of ‘Project Blackbox’,a server packed into a shipping container. Virtual versions available inworld.

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