Linden Lab PR Update

Information

This page shows some of the press coverage we receive and the media trends in some of Second Life's major markets.

Linden Lab News Archives

Here are links to the various Linden Lab websites where we catalog the press we receive. (Not all of these are up-to-date, but we are constantly working on it.)

English
French
German
Japanese
Korean

Weekly Reports

In this section, you will find the media trends and press stories we are tracking in some of our key markets.

Week Ending July 11, 2008

Key Coverage by Market:

US

Trends we’ve noticed:
--The IBM announcement was generally well received by mainstream business press, with great pieces appearing in the Wall Street Journal and the FT
--Google’s launch of Lively boosted our coverage, although some Valley blogs took a cynical perspective on the news this week
--Healthcare and science continue to be dominant themes in the press

IBM--LL Interoperability coverage:
Wall Street Journal – Avatars Teleport Away from Second Life
Financial Times – Second Life’s maiden voyage across the metaverse
TechCrunch - IBM And Second Life Announce Interoperability, But Bridging Virtual Worlds Is the Wrong Answer
(Also on Washington Post)
Technology News Daily - Virtual World Interoperability Milestone
ReadWriteWeb - Linden Labs and IBM Break the Metaverse Barrier, Teleport Across Virtual Worlds
Virtual World News - IBM and Linden Lab Officially Announce OpenSIM Interoperability
Dusan Writers Metaverse - Teleport to opensim from second life: interoperability and the decentralized grid
Crispy Gamer – When Worlds Collide: The Great Avatar Transfer
Bob Sutor’s Open Blog – Hopping from one world to another
Information Week - IBM, Second Life Demo Virtual World Interoperability
The Motley Fool - IBM Moves Into the Virtual World
6abc.com - Right Now On The Net
Digital Trends Beta - IBM, Second Life Move Between Worlds
The New York Times’ Brad Stone posts an article on Lively, featuring the statement the team provided from Mark.
The LA Times’ Alana Semuels also posts on Lively; she had requested our response to Lively prior to its launch, though we were unable to provide her with comment at the time, as we had not yet seen the details of the announcement.

Other Coverage:

CIO examines how businesses have been using Second Life as a publicly accessible space for selling, recruiting and other interactions. The team had connected the journalist with Joe for this opportunity to discuss using virtual worlds as data centers.
Baltimore Business Journal reports that accountants from Maryland are using Second Life more frequently to potentially network with new clients. The team connected the journalist with John Z for comments that are included in this piece. Also picked up on MSNBC.
CNET cites the recent Christian Science Monitor article on virtual study abroad, which resulted from the proactive team’s pitching efforts.
MMORPG Blog reports that the total number of regions owned by Residents increased by 44.2 percent in Second Life.
The Purdue Exponent announces the creation of The Purdue Center for Serious Games and Learning in Virtual Environments as a place for professors to collaborate on their work with virtual environments and video games.
FierceHealthcare reports that Cigna is developing its own Second Life community to encourage drug prevention and awareness.
G4TV.com announces that the Exploratorium will stream a total eclipse of the sun from China to Second Life.
TMCnet reports that Washington State Students are now able to take classes online in Second Life. <pr> The Industry Standard reports on Mark’s letter to the Residents.
Red and Black features Allison Weiss, a singer who was recently nominated for the 2008 Flagpole Best Solo Performer, who performed for fans on Second Life.
Press of Atlantic City.com reports that the new virtual offices of the New Jersey Association of Realtors are almost completed.
CBS Keye TV in Texas reports that with teen employment down 60 percent, many of them are using virtual worlds like Second Life to make money by creating and selling digital goods and services.
GigaOm’s Wagner James Au points out the significant differences between Google’s Lively and immersive virtual worlds like Second Life.

UK Trends we’ve noticed:

--The general tone of the press is very positive, with the Linden Lab/IBM announcement and Google’s release of ‘Lively’ there were many articles discussing the development and evolution of virtual worlds in a positive light.
--Two articles describing the ongoing problem of malware and griefing

Financial Times Philip’s by-lined article ‘Virtual worlds, after the hype]
IBM--LL Interoperability coverage:
BBC describes Second Life as ‘first out of the gate’ in regard to teleporting avatars, though the article sarcastic in regard to the official statement declaring it to be a ‘historic day…’:
Computer Weekly reports on the partnership between Linden Lab and IBM, as well as providing details of the ‘Architecture Working Group's’ (AWG) website.
Products Review provides a comparison of Google’s ‘Lively’ Vs Second Life/IBM.
Lively coverage related to SL:
The Times describes the key features of Lively, and its move into the virtual space is said to validate the usefulness of virtual worlds. Second Life is described as a sprawling online world, with brands such as IBM, Sony, BMW and Coca-Cola having a virtual presence. The article also includes a quote stating Second life to be a ‘indispensable business tool’.
Guardian describes Google’s new venture, as well as including the following paragraph about Second Life. Second Life has gone ex-growth, judging by the number of avatars online simultaneously (it rarely exceeds 64,000) but it is the place to be for experimentation. Universities and companies are still piling in, especially as SL is adopting open source and allows companies to bolt their own servers on. Nielsen Online figures show that Second Life is the third most popular application in the UK in terms of minutes spent on it (after Facebook and YouTube) with growth of 137% in the past year.
Other coverage:
ZDNet discusses software development, and Second Life is described as running on 2,000 Intel servers with Debian Linux at its heart.
PC Advisor reports on the launch of Sony’s virtual world ‘Home’, which is to be released this fall.
Norwich Evening News reports a Norwich College will be using Second Life for advertising, training and possibly teaching purposes.
Netimperative.co.uk reveals Second Life is one he fastest growing sites in terms of total UK minutes.
Hospital IT Europe reports CIGNA, a leading health service company, has announced the development of a virtual health care community. The island will host seminars, interactive displays, educational games and virtual health consultations to help foster real and sustainable behaviour change that improves health.
Tsnn.co.uk reports the first conference dedicated to the public policy implications of virtual worlds in the UK is set to take place in London later this month. Jim Purbick is set to speak at the event.

Germany Trends we have noticed
--Google’s “Lively” release caused a lot of coverage in which it is often compared to Second Life
--IBM press release was picked up in some of the “Lively” articles as well as in dedicated articles

Coverage:
Welt Online published a longer article about Second Life’s cooperation with IBM. The article starts with Google’s Lively but continues to go on about the release about Second Life and IBM.
Spiegel Online publishes a long article about “Lively” and says it can not be compared to Second Life.
Computerwelt Online published a long article about the presence of Austrian Universities in Second life and e-learning.
Neutral articles:
Hamburger Abendblatt Online publishes an interview with Charles Donkor about recruiting in Web 2.0.
Web.de publishes a long article about the hype’s anniversary.
Infoweek Switzerland writes about making money on the Internet:

France Moods and Trends we’ve noticed:
--This week Google announced the launch of its virtual world, Lively. It has a huge echo in press. Articles are quite neutral, explaining the history of the birth of Lively and what is the real stake for Google. Second Life is always quoted as the ‘first born’ and as The reference.
--IBM and Linden Lab press release has been launched this week (on Wednesday). It’s too early to evaluate the real impact of the coverage. Nevertheless, main important IT publications contacted us to have more information. That’s the proof it’s a important announcement on the Virtual World market.

IBM--LL Interoperability coverage:
Journal du Net Linux.com Adminet

Japan Moods or Trends we’ve noticed – Japanese universities actively carrying out projects in SL
Waseda University opened a virtual campus on its own Waseda University SIM on the 1st of July. The Social System Engineering Laboratory of Waseda University has owned a SIM called 'Waseda' since October 2007 and has been practicing many in-world activities. However, this is for the first time for Waseda University itself to own a SIM and officially carry out activities in SL. The university will utilize the SIM as a research facility in VWs for internal and external researchers and will also carry out a cross-cultural research project using 3D virtual worlds with Princeton University, which already has a virtual campus in SL.

And Tohoku University and Yamagata University jointly conducted a demonstration live-streaming experiment of TV news from the Toyako G-8 Summit in Hokkaido, on Niseko3 SIM with the support of Hokkaido Broadcasting Company, HBC. Additionally, Hosei University, which already owns Hosei University SIM, held a seminar on e-learning and streamed the video to the Hosei University SIM. And finally, as mentioned before in our Weekly Reports, Keio University and Tokyo University are also utilizing SL for research. We expect to see more in-world activity by Japanese universities in the near future.
Key Coverage
Sankei Shimbun, Fuji Sankei Business i, Adver Times (newspaper, online, 7/2, 7/1) – June 30th, Waseda University announced they will open a new campus online on 3D metaverse Second Life. The campus will be used as a space for interaction between students from other countries. Universities overseas such as Princeton and Harvard have already opened virtual campuses.
Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (newspaper, 7/2) – Waseda University will start a cross-cultural exchange project with Princeton University through Second Life. Waseda opened a campus online as a place where students can interact.
Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun (newspaper, 7/1) – METABIRDS will soon open a website for selling and purchasing items and merchandise used within metaverses such as Second Life.
Yomiuri Shimbun, The Daily Yomiuri (newspaper, online, 6/30, 7/1) – The Cabinet Office is planning to open a virtual museum devoted to disaster management in Second Life, “a globally popular Internet site.”
[ http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080702b3.html The Japan Times](newspaper, 7/2) – Waseda University opened a campus Tuesday in Second Life. The private Tokyo university will use the virtual campus to promote joint studies with Princeton University of the U.S., which has already opened a campus in Second Life.
Online

The Second Times (online, 7/8) – According to “Nielsen Online”, metaverses Second Life and Club Penguin both ranked among the Top 10 fastest growing web services in England.
[http://www.secondtimes.net/news/japan/20080707_tohoku_yamagata.html The Second Time (online, 7/7) – Tohoku University and Yamagata University started a demonstration live-streaming broadcast of the Hokkaido Toyako Summit.
Japan.Internet.Com (online, 7/6) – An audience participation event was held in SL by U.S. English Robin, whose CEO Mr. Fox said, “Up until now there were not many opportunities for audience participation through TV and radio, and it was hard to grasp the true reactions of the viewing audience. The ability to communicate between the promoter and the audience that the Internet has brought us will lead to more possibilities for future company promotions and the broadcasting field as well.”
All-in-One INTERNET magazine 2.0 (online, 7/6) – Masashi Hagiwara of NetRatings Japan Inc. and Kentaro Emura of Video Research Interactive Inc. talked about the differences between the numbers of website traffic and web audience ratings.
ITmedia (online, 7/6) – Unlike the first generation of virtual worlds where the main focus was on recreating the real world as close as possible like Second Life, the second generation of virtual worlds would be focused more on a widespread variety of unrealistic but eye-catching virtual content.
The Second Times (online, 7/1) – HORIBA, Ltd. opened the “HORIBA MUSEUM of SUPER NATURAL SENSOR”, a museum where you can learn on Second Life about the “sensoring” ability of wild animals.

Week Ending July 4, 2008

Key Coverage by Market

US Trends
--Vollee announcement
--Medical uses of Second Life

Vollee coverage:
CNET Crave blog
Download.com

Venture Beat

Los Angeles Times

Silicon Alley Insider

MMORPG

Games on Deck

TMC Net

Other coverage:

FOX News reports on Keio University’s medical breakthrough that allows a paralyzed patient to walk in Second Life. The story originated from the AFP.

WIRED discusses the recent breakthrough of Keio University researchers, as a result of a rapid response pitch.

The Globe and Mail presents an interview with interview with Gerri Sinclair, executive director of the Masters of Digital Media Program Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver, who is very bullish on virtual worlds for business, education, healthcare, and more.

The Omaha World Herald reports on the Second Life economy and the people who are making real money with inworld businesses. The team provided background information on Second Life for this story, which is also posted on LinuxInsider.

Geek.com reports on San Jose State University’s new campus in Second Life. Also posted on Yahoo! Tech and DVICE.

The San Jose Mercury News reports on a summit being hosted at the Tech Museum on virtual worlds featuring a presentation by Philip.

ReadWriteWeb posts a story on the growth of Second Life’s popularity in a struggling economy.

Design News reports on a mass transit system that was designed in Second Life.

UK Trends
--Business use of Second Life

Coverage:

Business Weekly discusses the future of business and technology. Second Life is described as a big and growing sector.

VNUNet reports the presence of Domino’s Pizza within Second Life.

Mobile Entertainment reports Second Life is available through Vollee on mobile phones.

BT Today reports BT’s pioneering online service for small businesses, BT Tradespace, is setting up shop for a trial period in Second Life.

Medical Marketing and Media discusses the benefits of Second Life to pharma healthcare.


Germany Trends

--Vollee brings Second life onto mobile phones
--Dresdner Bank, one of the biggest German banks, is entering Second Life (on a small basis)
--On a panel discussion about legal regulation of virtual worlds, the participants were against intervening too much in virtual environments

One of the biggest news this week that has been covered by several publications like Golem.de, ZDNet.de and Dasjournal.net is that Vollee has managed to bring Second Life onto the mobile phones.

ZDNet.de, Macnews.de and Ecin.de have reported that one of Germany’s biggest banks, the Dresdner Bank, has entered Second Life and is cooperating with Apfelland and the Volkshochschule Goslar.

On a conference about new forms of learning there has been a very interesting panel discussion about whether real law can be applied to virtual worlds. The statement of the participants was that virtual environments shouldn’t be over-regulated, because the users are regulating their own worlds, as Heise.de, Computer Zeitung, Magnus.de and Golem.de reported.

According to Firmenpresse.de, an education institution from Berlin is including the making of machinimas into their curriculum.

Another positive article about education in Second Life appeared on Gizmodo.de.

The Swedish embassy in Second Life is celebrating their national holiday for three days, as Bild.de has found out.


France Trends

--A very interesting and detailed case study on a company that has created an Island in 2007 (Hublot)
--Le Monde presented the results of the KZero research on Virtual Wolrds
--The Virtual recruitment is the point of concern of the Belgium publication l’essentiel

Initiative of the Ile de France region, MetaLab 3D, which is a kind of laboratory, dedicated to creation of new regional territories Assises du Numériques event

The Belgium publicationL’essentiel published an interesting interview of Gary Cywie, a recruitment specialist at the occasion of the ‘Workings Worlds’, virtual tradeshow dedicated to recruitment. Can you recruit someone if you don’t see him/her in real life?

Very interesting article in LeMonde.fr that propose a complete report (based on the KZero Research results) on existing virtual worlds, Second Life of course, but also Habbo, WeeWorld, IMVU, Neopets, There, Virtual MTV, HipiHi, Home… Virtual Worlds’ baby boom

World Tempus: Detailed story on the Hublot adventure in Second Life. Why the company decided to go there, what worked well and not. A very detailed SWOT is also available. How Hublot dreamt of Second Life.

PC inpact presented the amazing story of the Japanese paralyzed guys who walked for the first time in Second Life. Paralyzed in the real life, he walks in Second Life

Jet Set Magazine: Presentation of ‘Second Live’ virtual exposition and of Wafa Bourhis, a 3D and virtual specialist artist. Wafa Bourhis wants to conquer Virtual Worlds


Japan Trends
--Excitement among Japanese residents about SL5B.

Japanese communities and organizations such as VWBC, an in-world TV station operated by Prof. Mitsubuchi of Digital Hollywood University, Kansai SL Owners' Association, an organization of SIM owners in Kansai, SUN and many Japanese SL users attended SL5B. It was quite different from last year which indicates how enthusiastic Japanese solution providers and users have become about SL. Particularly the concert in which four Japanese bands played on the Main Stage of SL5B on 27th May generated a lot of excitement among both Japanese and non-Japanese audiences.

Key Coverage

Monthly ASCII (magazine, August issue) – May 8th, NTT announced a capital and business alliance with ngi group to enter the 3D internet and metaverse market. SUN Co., Ltd. created “Ldex”, a system enabling exchanges between L$ and other currencies. Transactions between L$ and JPY started this April.

Monthly ASCII (magazine, August issue) – An editorial comment on Second Life included the following: The word “Kasou-Sekai” (used for “virtual worlds” but directly translated as “hypothetical worlds”), I believe is not the perfect phrase to describe metaverses. The word “hypothetical” makes it seem all imaginary and not based on reality. I feel doubt about that after seeing, surprisingly, many people distressed over love relationships on SL. Before metaverses become largely popular we better give a second thought to their true nature.

Kokoku Hihyo (magazine, June/July issue) – In a feature article on advertisements in video games, online games and metaverses, there is a brief introduction of the Yamaha motorbike show as well as the Glico Pocky (famous Japanese chocolate snack) festival, both held on Second Life.

Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun (newspaper, 6/24) – This is the story that has descriptions of other Japanese VWs. For full translation, email Melissa@lindenlab.com.

Nikkei Marketing Journal (newspaper, 6/30) – METABIRDS will open an online virtual commodities market for trading virtual commodities made on metaverses such as Second Life. The market will open July 10th.

Depart Shimbun (newspaper, 6/25) – Japanese supermarket giant Mitsukoshi is holding the “Austrian Exhibit in Cyberspace” on Second Life in the “Mitsukoshi Second Life branch.”

Yomiuri Online (online, 6/29) – The Japanese Cabinet Office opened the “Museum of Disaster Prevention”, a museum themed on disaster prevention on metaverse Second Life.

The Second Times (online, 6/29) – Resonant Solutions Co. opened a virtual open campus service geared for Japanese college universities and technical schools starting July 1st.

The Second Times (online, 6/26) – “SL5B”, an event celebrating the fifth year of Second Life, hosted by Linden Lab, is being held today starting 14:00. There will be four Japanese artists performing live on stage.

The Second Times (online, 6/26) – Kadokawa X Media sold the second issue of “Virtual Walker” on July 27, a magazine intended for the “virtual” generation. Japanese idol Shoko Nakagawa and comedian Junichi Shigeki were on the cover.

Week Ending June 27, 2008

Key Coverage by Market


US Trends
--Several publications and blogs, beyond inworld press, picked up the fifth birthday announcement.
--This week, Cisco’s CEO praised virtual worlds as lucrative business tools during his inworld press conference, and coverge of the business uses has been positive this week.
--We’ve seen an increase in stories on science and research being done in Second Life, another positive trend in the news.

Coverage of SL5B birthday announcement:

San Francisco Business Times

WIRED

Canada.com

Beta News

Kotaku

Other coverage:

Science Blogs announces a presentation to be given in Second Life on personalized genetics.

Silicon Alley Insider, in a post by Reuter’s Eric Krangel, comments on Cisco’s involvement in Second Life, even though it’s thought that it is an “overhyped ghost town.”

The Examiner writes a follow up piece on its initial analysis of the virtual world, focusing on the word “avatar.”

MLive discusses the University of Michigan’s use of Second Life for research.

Computerworld presents the potential for business uses of virtual worlds, citing Second Life as one of the leading platforms. Also picked up in Network World.

Computerworld also posts on a Q&A with the CEO of Cisco inworld, predicting that virtual worlds will “explode” in terms of business uses.

WebCPA reports on the entry of several CPA firms into Second Life.

BusinessWeek comments on an article in McKinsey’s Quarterly on open innovation, citing Second Life news as being outdated. The original McKinsey article is available by subscription.


UK Trends

--A positive focus in the press has been on the green benefits of Second Life. The carbon goggles tool was picked up by both the BBC and Guardian
--Continued use of Second Life by UK universities. Glasgow Caledonian University has entered the virtual world to join many of its UK counterparts. Education continues to be a positive topic.

Carbon goggles coverage:

BBC News reports on the creation of goggles which allow users in Second Life to witness and monitor carbon emissions from various objects and processes.

Guardian reports how carbon goggles have been created which allow users to see carbon emissions in Second Life.

Other coverage:

Financial Times blog reports that Second Life avatars are being selected to be placed on the back of business cards sold by Moo, the maker of calling cards for the web 2.0 generation.

Metro describes how Glasgow Caledonian University has created a virtual campus in Second Life, allowing students to attend lectures and hold study groups online.

ComputerWeekly.com discusses what a virtual wedding would be like.

Mobile News reports how a Japanese Mobile Games Firm has created a Second Life-style Virtual World purely for mobile phones.

Electronics Weekly reflects on the importance of the digital world for businesses in the future.

Press Dispensary describes how New Business Horizons, who run the Blue Horizon Business Park in Second Life, won the ‘Best Use of Technology’ Award from the Docklands Business Club and the East London Chamber of Commerce.

The Earth Times reports how Evian are entering the world of online gaming, after last year becoming part of Second Life.


Germany Trends

--The big news about Second Life in Germany was from last week’s article about an alcohol addict who found help in Second Life, which was picked up by several publications – this is a good example of how non-profit organizations can use Second Life

Spiegel online, one of the biggest German online news sites, published a positive article about an alcohol addict. She found help in Second Life and is now dry for over three years. This article was picked up by Nachrichten.ch, der Standard, Pressetext.de and Cynamite.de.

Deutschlandradio Kultur had a long and realistic interview with one of the most renowned professor for media studies, Norbert Bolz. They talk about the first five years of Second Life.

CIO reports about the Gartner study, which says that at the moment 90 percent of all companies in virtual worlds fail within the first 18 months, but the article gives tips and ideas how a company can succeed in virtual worlds.

Wort.lu, a Luxemburg newspaper, published a rather neutral article about the head of the steel company Mittal, Lakshmi Mittal, who held an interview with investors in Second Life. This was picked up by the newspaper Euro am Sonntag.

Ecin.de published the results of the study from House of Research. The study gives a neutral overview on their findings like the age, education and income of Second Life users.

France Trends
--Second Life anniversary has a good visibility in press this week. All articles are quite positive presenting this anniversary as a proof of good health.
--Saint Gobain Glass and Stonefield In world launched the first event of the new Saint Gobain Glass’ island.

Second Life’s anniversary

Several blogs and publications mentioned the beginning of the festivities launched by Philip (7 articles).
ITR Manger
20 Minutes
Neteco
IMarginal
Journaldugamer
slandreamedia
graphic tumbir

Saint Gobain Glass in Second Life

Saint Gobain Glass will organize Wednseday 25th a conference on Environement and Glass. It’s the beginning of a longer initiative of the company that will organize others actions in September (5 articles)
PaperBlog
Virtual Worlds News
David Casetera
CognacBlog
Slmag

Japan Trends

--There were a couple of new business entry news this week. One is that As Know As, a popular Japanese fashion brand in RL, opened a SL branch. Another is the Commercial Department of the Austrian Embassy started the "Austrian Fair in Cyberspace" in cooperation with Mitsukoshi Department at the Mitsukoshi SIM.

Key Coverage --Denki Shimbun (newspaper, 6/16) – Metaverses to interconnect. “Before the Internet, each individual manufacturer had its own unique online services, which of course became obsolete with the birth of the Internet. At 3Di, we are working on what we call the ‘interverse’, interconnecting metaverses on an open source level,” says Suguru Kamata of 3Di.
--Nihon Keizai Shimbun (newspaper, online 6/20) – Akinori Yonezawa, Professor at Tokyo University, won the Dahl-Nygaard Prize for creating a system linking several programs called “concurrent object-oriented languages.” The system is used on metaverse SL as well.
--Nihon Seni Shimbun (newspaper, 6/19) – The trade activities department of the Austrian embassy will display products on metaverse SL for the first time with the help of Japanese retailer Mitsukoshi, between June 25th to the 29th.
--Nihon Keizai Shimbun (newspaper, 6/21) – General shareholders meetings are being held for companies closing accounts in March. Impress Holdings, is holding a virtual shareholders meeting on SL simultaneously with its real life meeting.
--The Wall Street Journal Asia (newspaper, 6/17) – ArcelorMittal ventures into virtual world. Aim is to reach out to younger investors through the Internet.
--The Wall Street journal Asia (newspaper, 6/19) – ArcelorMittal’s first shareholders meeting in the virtual Internet worlds of SL was married by poor attendance and choppy audio and imaging, hiccups corporate-governance experts say will need to be overcome if other companies are going to adopt the practice.
--Tokyo IT Shimbun (newspaper, online 6/10) – SL founder Phillip Rosedale talked at the VWCE2008. The event generated much excitement due largely to the presence of user participants. When asked about rumors of Linden Labs ailing business, Phillip replied, “We are not considering a stock-market flotation, but we have plenty of earnings and funds.” He also expressed his ideas for enhancing Japanese support systems.
--Tokyo IT Shimbun (newspaper, online 6/10) – VWCE2008 was held during the last week of May, and SL founder Phillip Rosedale gave a talk. “We will enhance Japanese support systems”, he said.
--Tokyo IT Shimbun (newspaper, online 6/17) – Nihon TV’s program “Digital no Konjo” – a program recorded mainly on SL, won the Japan Film and Television Technology Association Video Technology Promotion Awards. Along with this, SL reached its 5th year since the starting of services, and held a ceremonial event.
--The Second Times (online, 6/20) – able seed Co., Ltd which runs the “Kenroku” SIM and online video portal “mobie” have formed a business alliance.
--The Second Times (online, 6/20) – Asahi Broadcasting Corporation have started giving out toy airplanes of their mascot character “Cu-Cu” and other items for free on SL.
--The Second Times (online, 6/20) – Linden Lab has added different types of default avatars to SL. Some are unique like a “cardboard box robot”.
--The Second Times (online, 6/19) – Everyone on Alert! There is a current L$ fraud going on in SL!
--All-in-One INTERNET magazine 2.0 (online, 6/19) – Singer-songwriter and popular artist on SL, Sora Izumikawa, has been chosen to compose music for the SL ballet group “BalletPixelle”.
--All-in-One INTERNET magazine 2.0 (online, 6/18) - The trade activities department of the Austrian embassy will hold the “Austrian exhibition in Cyberspace” in cooperation with MITSUKOSHI, Ltd., and will display in the Mitsukoshi SIM starting the 25th and running to the 29th.
--Nikkei BPnet (online, 6/17) – An F1 race in the world of architecture. A race to build a building on BIM (Building Information Modeling – think of it as a professional version of SL) within 24 hours.
--The Second Times (online, 6/17) – Turning your lights off on SL as well …”A night of a million candles” – People turned their lights off and spent the night with only the light of candles for an event ongoing since 2003. This year the event was held both in real life and virtual life.

Week Ending June 20, 2008

Highlights: We saw some great coverage this week. In the UK, a stand-out extensive piece appeared in the Financial Times as a result of Philip’s interview on his transition into his new role in the Digital Business section. In Germany, the team saw an article in Spiegel about a recovered alcoholic who turned to Second Life for support. In the US, we saw the results of an interview we arranged for Claudia with Education Week, where an article on the benefits of Second Life for K-12 educators appeared.

Key Coverage by Market

US Trends we’ve noticed:

--Overall, mainstream coverage has been positive. Educational uses of Second Life continue to be of interest, with universities creating presences and K-12 educators using the platform, as well as government organizations exploring the use of virtual worlds.
--We’ve seen a few articles that were somewhat negative, including one focusing on concerns of DMCA enforcement and one on ArcelorMittal’s technical difficulties.

Education Week posts a story on the benefits of Second Life for K through 12 educators. The team connected the journalist with educators as well as Claudia for an interview on the educational uses of the platform. (subscription required)
The Wall Street Journal posts an article on the “technical hiccups” encountered in ArcelorMittal’s shareholder meeting inworld. The UK team worked with Linden Lab to provide a statement to the Dow Jones reporter with a tight turnaround.
The Times-Standard discusses the event NASA held in Second Life for the Mars landing of Phoenix to get the public more involved in NASA missions.
Network World reports that the Cisco Live hub is now open in Second Life, with a Q&A with CEO John Chambers taking place inworld on June 24.
U.S. Insurance News reports that Aviva, a provider of life insurance, has launched a presence in Second Life for agent recruitment, education and training.
The Industry Standard discusses the DMCA policy and the concerns that Second Life content creators have about the enforcement of the policy.
MedGadget reports on a Dutch company that has created a bike that allows Second Life users to control their avatar while getting some exercise.
ComputerWorld presents an article on the use of Web 2.0 technologies for government to better communicate with constituents, including the use of Second Life.
The Hamilton Spectator posts a news brief about ArcelorMittal’s shareholder meeting held in Second Life.
The Daily Reveille, the newspaper at LSU, discusses the University’s plans to expand its presence in Second Life, offering more classes, research and outreach.
Network World presents an article on IBM’s green initiatives in Second Life with the Virtual Green Data Center.
The University of Kentucky News reports on a student art exhibit in Second Life.

UK Trends we’ve noticed:
--Stories of employers and educational projects using Second Life have resonated well in the press, presenting new and interesting stories that are exploring the beneficial uses of virtual worlds, keeping the overall tone in the media positive.
--We’ve seen articles expressing the need to experiment in virtual worlds, which position Second Life as lucrative platform.

Financial Times: Great coverage from Philip’s interview with the Peter Whitehead.
Management Issues discusses the opportunities and challenges faced by employers in using virtual media such as Second Life to their advantage.
The Independent reports how journalists need to start using virtual media such as Second Life if journalism is to be ‘saved’.
Pocket-Lint reports by 2020 HP will be focusing on virtual communities such as Second Life.
Birmingham Mail reports how students at Birmingham City University have undertaken a research project which involves the recreation of their campus in Second Life.
ITPRO reveals that HP research has predicted that virtual collaboration will be one of the most important themes over the next twenty years.
The Earth Times discusses how Second Life will provide a platform for an internet based talent contest.
Online Recruitment reports that Yell has launched its first recruitment gadget ad. Yell has previously used Second Life as an innovative recruitment tool.
Higher Education Academy reports The Higher Education Academy’s Engineering Subject Centre will be holding a seminar in Second Life later this month.

Germany Trends we have noticed:
--This week we’ve seen a very positive article, which appeared in Handelsblatt, one of the most important business newspapers. The article focuses on how companies can use Second Life as an internal communication tool.
--Another positive article dealt with the Dresdner Gemäldegalerie, a museum for classical paintings which is very famous around the world and which is rebuilt in Second Life.
--In general the mood in the press has been positive to neutral, with the absolute highlight example of Handelsblatt.

Handelsblatt.com published a huge and very positive article about how companies can use Second Life as an internal tool. This article was picked up by Yahoo.de. Spiegel writes a very positive article about Second Life – in fact it is an article about a woman who used to be an alcohol addict, and through the American organization “Accelerated Recovery Center” in Second Life she is now clean for two years already. Freie Presse, a regional newspaper, has reported on the latest exhibition on Dresdner Gemäldegalerie, which was picked up by several other media like Nordkurier, Yahoo.de or Sachsen-Fernsehen.de. This is another positive article about the arts and culture topic in Second Life. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes about the social “community” Weblins, and that the creators expect up to one million users until the end of the year. After the hype about Second Life the requests around Weblins decreased though. Theinquirer.net reports in a short neutral article that Microsoft plans a virtual world for the X-Box. Fränkischer Tag follows up on the philosophical week at University of Bamberg, which bears the title “Second Life, avatars, cyberworld. Is there a second life?”. The interesting articles deal with Second Life from a philosophical and a sociological perspective. Golem.de has published a short article about Meta, the Webkit porting tool. The editor explains that a company called Nuanti has developed it. Nuanti is backed by Linden Lab:

France Trends we’ve noticed:
--Coverage of recruitment in Second Life has started to take a negative tone, although the press still finds the topic of interest.
--Valeurs Actuelles presented a feature dedicated to the impact of cyber culture (video games, virtual world…) on children.

Children are in the centre of a feature in Valeurs actuelles. Between cyberaddiction, virtual worlds and video games, some professionals commented new trends.
Blogdei coverage.
Le Point - Interview of Pierre Hervé Bazin, in charge of recruitment at Areva. Recruitment in Second Life begins to have negative feedback. If companies organized a lot of interviews, the finalization of the recruitment is more laborious. Nevertheless, Second Life is still a useful tool to identify relevant profile.
Lemondeinformatique.fr – After ‘speed recruiting’, ‘speed unemployement’
An interesting topic in Ma Principauté.com that present the topic of the Philosophy test of the French School Leaving certificate: Is Art changing our perception of reality? Some official corrections mentioned Second Life.
LePost – interview of Michael Stora. Interesting case study on how avatars could manage psychotherapy in Second Life.
[http://jeuxvideo.fluctuat.net/blog/31400-le-moteur-de-second-life-entre-enfin-dans-les-annees-2000.html Fluctuanet] - Second Life finally bellows to 2000/ New Second Life update and Shadow Draft project

Japan--Trends we've noticed
--Two innovative business approaches to SL by Japanese companies were in the news this week. One is a NTT DoCoMo event held on the NTT DoCoMo SIM for their new smart phone, FOMA HT 1100, launched on June 12th. Participants could obtain the HT 1100 for their avatars and a HT 1100 HUD equipped with a translating function there. NTT DoCoMo also held a RL event called 'Touch! HT1100 in Tokyo Midtown' in Roppongi, Tokyo on June 14th. The company will conduct their new sales campaign both in SL and RL.
--Another approach is the SL branch of “As Know As,” which is a popular apparel brand in Japan. As Know As sells clothes for avatars recreated for sale in RL. Visitors can also access their shopping site to buy real clothes for RL. They are also planning to make their SL branch a facility to offer information about the brand.

Most coverage in print articles
Sankei Shimbun (newspaper, 6/16, w/photo) – After sharing views with people from academia, industry and government who are involved in SL research and activities, LL Chairman Phillip Rosedale presented his thoughts on establishing a Japanese support center. Mr. Rosedale says, “Japan has excellent technology in connecting SL – a virtual world – with real life,” and will continue responding to user requests and sharing information on SL technological innovation.
Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun (newspaper, 6/12) – SL is mentioned in an article on NTT promoting NGN (next generation network) technology, in which an NTT executive is said to “have been researching the so-called Web 2.0 business from an early stage, starting with Second Life.” - URL available but fees required
Kanagawa Shimbun (newspaper, 6/8) – Junichi Ushiba of Keio University, Department of Biosciences and Informatics, has succeeded in proving that it is possible to control an avatar within the metaverse SL by using only brain waves.
BCN Tokyo (magazine, 6/16) – LL Founder and Chairman Phillip Rosedale visited Japan and exchanged opinions with people from government, academia and entrepreneurial business ventures.
Mainichi Shimbun (newspaper, online, 6/16) – The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy is holding a design competition to create an eco-friendly “sustainable town-building,” all within SL. Their goal is to explore effective countermeasures to global warming and people’s reactions in real life, through experimenting in the virtual world.
Senken Shimbun (a fashion trade newspaper, 6/13) – An article on the recent growing connection between fashion – mainly for the youth generation – and the Internet. The opening of “American Apparel” (clothing brand) store in SL drew much attention, but closed August 2007. The chief editor of virtual fashion magazine “Second Style” said, “in order for an existing brand to be successful in virtual worlds, they must provide high quality designs” – high quality as in high grade computer graphics in portraying realistic shadows and folds, and details like lace and trim.
Zaikai (magazine, 6/24) – A feature article on ngi group inc. in which CEO Koike Satoshi says, “There are already several 3D virtual sites starting with SL, but each one are closed worlds. In an open source world, engineers from all around the world provide each other with cutting edge technology. Here at ngi, we are working on the international standardization of a 3D internet.”
Kyouiku Katei Shimbun (newspaper, 6/7) – UCHIDA YOKO CO., LTD. announced they will start research on the educational usage of SL.
Asahi Shimbun Osaka (newspaper, 6/8) – Junichi Ushiba of Keio University Science and Technology department developed a new technology whereby placing three electrodes on the scalp, a machine is able to read brain waves and enable the user to control an avatar on metaverse SL by using only thoughts.
Adver Times Tokyo (newspaper, 6/4) – SL, challenged to improve user-friendliness, shows confidence in the future. When LL Chairman Phillip Rosedale was asked about the slow growth in Japanese SL users he replied, “There is a need to simplify and make it easier to participate” and explained specific ways to achieve this. Along with this he said, “When the Internet first appeared there were similar complaints, but now it's a fundamental tool in society. Virtual Worlds will become that way as well.”
International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun (newspaper, 6/10) – Researchers said they have developed technology that allows users’ thoughts to control movements of avatars in a popular virtual world on the Internet. The technology is used with the 3-D virtual world Second Life, operated by U.S. Linden Lab.

Week Ending June 13, 2008

Key Coverage by Market

US Trends: Many reports on business uses of Second Life

The Dallas Morning News presents an article on using Second Life for higher education

The San Francisco Chronicle presents a story about the San Jose Tech Museum using Second Life to gather exhibit ideas.

LinuxInsider discusses the use of Second Life for virtual space exploration and experimentation.

Planadviser discusses Second Life as a potential tool for the financial industry to reach out to a younger, more tech-savvy generation.

The Examiner posts an article from Suzanna Stinnet, author of “”Little Shifts,” about her experience in Second Life.

SlashGear mentions a demo of Second Life for Intel’s new Mobile Internet Device platform.

Network World discusses the launch of two new virtual worlds, positioning Second Life as the leader of this growing space.

WebCPA reports on several CPA firms that have set up shop in Second Life, including Maryland Society of CPA’s “CPA Island.”

IntoMobile reports on Vollee’s announcement to bring Second Life to mobile phones.

Reason Online discusses the new age of reason, citing Second Life and virtual worlds as liberated spaces for identity experimentation.

Insurance and Technology mentions the marketing strategies of a few insurers in Second Life.

Kotaku posts on the paralyzed Japanese man who was able to walk in Second Life.

UK Trends: Many stories of business use of Second Life

Business Feet describes the impact of Internet marketing on the American presidential candidacy. Hillary Clinton is described as being involved in the virtual world

Marketing Week reports on Random House which has launched a series of digital initiatives involving Second Life, which includes the creation of a digital warehouse which will store every book written by a Random House

Pocket Gamer.Biz reports on popular online MMOs and virtual worlds, including Runescape, Habbo, Second Life and Club Penguin:

Online Recruitment describes the opportunity to do job-hunting via the mobile phone. Innovative employers are said to be recruiting through Second Life:

HRZone reports on using Web 2.0 online methods to attract or recruit employees, using technology such as Second Life

Families in Business reports on a shareholders meeting held by steel giant ArcelorMittal. While some will travel to sit in a large auditorium in Luxembourg, others will participate through Second Life:

The Guardian describes the work of a charity, which has set up an office in the Second Life. ‘Contact a Family’ helps the parents of disabled children to communicate and to access services:

The Inquirer describes the coming up of a mouse specially adapted to 3D computer models, web sites and virtual worlds. Linden Labs recently upgraded Second Life to support the innovative mouse, which is priced at $60

Techradar describes virtual brothels, for example brothel owner in Second Life who might make around $50k per year in real money by selling virtual sex

eGov monitor reports on Union Island (www.slunionisland.org), the Second Life home for trade unionists:

Principia reports on businesses that have launched virtual worlds. The adoption of virtual worlds for the enterprise began picking up steam this year, buoyed by the success of Second Life, a 3D environment in the consumer space where people interact with one another as avatars

Eurogamer describes a research by Strategy Analytics. The report suggests that 22 percent of all broadband users will register to a virtual world by 2018

LX News reports on the Liverpool Sound City. It will be the first event to be simultaneously webcast on the hugely popular Second Life online platform

Germany Trends

-The Focus interview of Mark Kingdon caused some commotion in Germany, as the magazine published an online article with some incorrect quotes from Mark. Unfortunately these quotes were misinterpreted and put into a negative perspective
-The Vollee release is still picked up by some publications
-The IT publication Computerzeitung covered the findings of a research, which said that by 2017 every fifth broadband user will be in a virtual world

On Monday Focus, one of the biggest German business magazines, published an interview with Mark. Unfortunately there is no online link available yet. Other pick up in Magnus.de, Portel.de, Onlinekosten.de and Die-Topnews.de

The online portal medienhandbuch.de has published an article about a research from “House of Research”. Their chief researcher Rolf Amann contacted OCTANE last year and asked for support. He conducted 500 interviews with German Residents. Unfortunately the article just talks about Second Life as the archetype of virtual worlds and not the findings. Despite of the hype cycle the numbers of active users have increased steadily:

The University of Bamberg is regularly hosting the “Hegelwochen”, named after the famous German philosopher. This year the event’s topic was “Second Life – Avatars – Cyberworlds. Is there a second life?”. The newspapers Fränkischer Tag and Coburger Tageblatt published some articles about the event

Shortnews.de, Handy-mc.de and Infoweek.ch covered the Vollee release, that it is possible to have Second Life on your mobile phone

According to Ecin.de, Pixelpark regards Second Life as a serious game

Computerzeitung, one of the most important IT publications in Germany, quotes a study, which says that by 2017 every fifth user of a broadband access will use virtual worlds. Companies should consider this in their marketing strategies, according to “Strategy Analytics

France Trends
-A lot of coverage to announce the meeting with ArcelorMittal in Second Life by the end of June
-The great article published earlier last week in Challenges has a good echo in blogs and website

A surprising announcement on the Virtual World Agencies French market Heaven Agency buys Extralab Journaldunet.com neteco.com mass-media.fr

Many publications relayed the ArcelorMital announcement. ArcelorMittal is organising a meeting in SL with its CEO and stakeholders] boursica.com fininfo.fr euroinvestor.fr zonebourse.com boursedirect.fr lesechos.fr

Second Life is still a recruiting and training for companies Autorecrute.com details how Michelin trains its team in Second Life

Michelin won Intraverse event first prize thanks to its traning tool in Second Life. eduborse.com journaldunet.com

Japan Trends: Philip Rosedale's Japanese Visit at the end of May resulted in the following press coverage.

Coverage from the Virtual Worlds Conference
[http://www.4gamer.net/games/033/G003334/20080529043/ 4Gamer.net: Report on Virtual World Conference & Expo 2008, LL Chairman Phillip Rosedale stated, “virtual worlds will grow 100 times n scale.”

CNET Japan: SL founder Phillip Rosedale gives first lecture in Japan. Virtual World, not a mere GUI, nor a mere business chance.

IT pro: LL Chairman Phillip Rosedale talked about the current and future state of SL.

PC Online: (Same article as above)

Nikkei Trendy Net (Shorter version of the two articles above)

Here is coverage from the Business Roundtable with Philip and various community members and Solution Providers CNET Japan : “The Japanese are good at reconstructing the real world and connecting it with sales and marketing opportunities” – SL Chairman.

THE SECOND TIMES Because of the “Virtual World Conference & Expo 2008” held last week, our article updates have been slow, but at the same time our top page-view article was: “’The Japanese Market is important. We will enhance support’, SL founder and main SL players in Japan hold a opinion exchange session (roundtable).”

MYCOM Journal: SL founder & Chairman Rosedale visits Japan, holds roundtable discussion.

INTERNET Watch: The Cabinet Office, Nihon Television, Hatake (musician) and others exchange views with founder of LL.

IT media: SL founder visits Japan for the first time, says “We will improve user-friendliness.”

Mainichi JP: SL founder, Chairman Rosedale visits Japan. “Japan is an important market” – to create an enhanced structure.

Coverage from Roundtable -- Print • Weekly Toyo Keizai (magazine, 6/14, w/photo) – Metaverse “Second Life” will enhance its services in Japan. They will increase the number of staff and start a Japanese telephone support, and will set up a server in Japan for faster connections. Japan is 4th in monthly time spent in-world after America, Germany and England, and is an important market with over 150 companies participating online. LL founder Phillip Rosedale said he wants to, “increase user-friendliness and gain more Japanese users.”

Coverage from the community party at Bar Tube in Tokyo:

THE SECOND TIMES A link to featured segments on various topics discussed on VWCE2008.

All-in-One Internet Magazine LL founder Phillip Rosedale visits BarTube!