Second Life Is Past the Hype

A lot of people I talk to seem to think that Second Life was a fad that has peaked and faded. Not true. The following posts show it to be doing very well:

Here are three from one of my favorite SL bloggers, Dusan Writer:

Air Force Plans to Use Second Life Giving recruits avatars in SL is a fascinating plan ...
Eduction In Virtual Worlds A listing of his blogs over the years on education in virtual worlds.
Virtual Worlds and the Military Amputee The Amputee Virtual Environment Support System (AVESS) is discussed.

And other sources, which I admit is hardly exhaustive of what's out there:

Healthcare education in SL Dozens of hospitals, medical schools and health foundations have staked out space in the online community Second Life, where participants can build their own virtual clinics and stage just about any training drill they can imagine.
Medicine in the Virtual World More resources about what is going on in SL that is healthcare related.
Rutgers University About to open its Second Life simulation.

The one aspect of using virtual worlds for handling education and business continues to be the need for high-end computing power to make the most of it. That issue continues to be addressed with more powerful PCs and an economy that forces manufacturers to make them available more cheaply than ever.

Never-Ending Virtual Conference

I know the knocks against Second Life as a platform for virtual conferences: measuring success by the amount of lag, steep learning curve of using SL, and voice is unreliable. There may be others, and I would invite people to bring those points up for further discussion. Let me look at what I've brought up because those three just seem to be insurmountable and deal breakers. But even before we address these problems, let's consider the very real rewards the use of SL brings to the table of handling the professional networking of virtual members in an association. I've spent considerable time dealing with just these issues and I think I have a handle on the issues, pro and con.

The advantages of a virtual conference in SL is that it brings the vaunted presence of each person via their avatar to a social gathering unobstructed by the cost of transportation and hotel accommodations, which are real issues in these economic times. Further, any association member should very well feel overlooked or even exploited when so many resources, paid for with their dues, are used for face-to-face continuing education programming and business meetings. This practice serves a minority of members, leaving the rest of the members to catch as catch can through Web-based solutions. I forget, do we call them "virtual members" because we do virtually nothing for them?

View of ALA Island where programming and events have taken place for three years. 

Let's consider a concept I call the never-ending virtual conference. Never mind how it's set up in Second Life and Moodle--let me have some details to forward my own consultancy, okay?

The Never-ending Conference

Okay, it’s a scary thought! I always loved going to conferences and meeting the faces behind the emails and blogs and Twitters, but to do it every day in and day out? Somebody shoot me! Nonetheless, in the virtual world, the never-ending conference is a concept worth exploring very closely. Not only in terms of programming and educational content but in the basic business operations of a membership organization, the never-ending conference is the undeniable future of associations.

The never-ending conference will make the weaknesses of Second Life-like platforms strengths. Large gatherings crashing the sim? Maintain small groups, which are more ideal for learning and networking anyway. By spreading programming, meetings, and other events over the course of a year, groups will evolve through mutual interests and levels of skill for effective learning situations. The side benefit of such networking will be a strong desire to meet the person behind the virtual person and help attendance at face-to-face events.

A face-to-face conference that never ends is a scary thought! I always loved going to conferences and meeting the faces behind the emails and blogs and Twitters, but to do it every day in and day out? Somebody shoot me! Nonetheless, in the virtual world, the never-ending conference is a concept worth exploring very closely. Not only in terms of programming and educational content but in the basic business operations of a membership organization. I would go so far as to say that the never-ending conference is the undeniable future of associations.

The never-ending virtual conference will make the weaknesses of Second Life-like platforms strengths. Large gatherings crashing the sim? Maintain small groups, which are more ideal for learning and networking anyway. By spreading programming, meetings, and other events over the course of a year, groups will evolve through mutual interests and levels of skill for effective learning situations. The side benefit of such networking will be a strong desire to meet the person behind the virtual person and help attendance at face-to-face events.

This can be done on the Main Grid, in an OpenSim situation, or using the new enterprise version of Second Life. Numerous organizations have already forged into this new frontier with varying amounts of success--I will not cite their stories here.

Is Your Membership Database a Team Player?

I have a good friend who asks the question, “What type of employee is your Website? Does it sit on its butt all day costing you money or does it generate business and help you succeed?” (See ATIGraphics.com) I would like to ask something similar, “What type of team player is your membership database?” With all the talk of social media and networking, people are learning the value of sharing their professional profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn, that this interaction of information helps them make contacts with others with similar interests. The effectiveness of such networking tools is directly proportional to the amount of information a person provides to them. Are your members able to use their membership information to help them in this activity? Is that database sitting on the bench or is it in play? When a member uses your Web site, does he or she have to fill out forms with contact information already available in that database?

If my 19 years’ experience in a membership organization has taught me anything, it’s that all too often the membership database is the tail wagging the dog. It determines how you do business and never seems to give you the upper hand in choosing content management or knowledge management systems that perform the essential missions of your organization.

Did you know it's even possible to use open source Web applications to create an environment with many of the same social networking tools as Facebook but without Mafia Wars or other obnoxious distractions? Take a look at what we did at the American Library Association. Connected with your membership database, you cac create a terrific professional networking environment for your members and get that database back onto the playing field.