I saw a post from Joseph Jaffe of Crayon today asking the question “Who’s responsible for Second Life’s lack of reach?” He answers the question by proposing that “we” i.e. “marketers” might be to blame.

A direct quote from Mr. Jaffe “Is it possible that we are to blame for the lack of imagination, creativity, expression, reach, and critical mass in nascent worlds like Second Life or platforms like pod casting? At what point should we take responsibility or accountability for flogging the worn out and tired cash cow, and neglecting or discarding the next potential ones(s)?”

Now you’ve all heard me SL bash in previous bog posts, so I won’t go through that again. But I do have a few points to through out….

First, as my Grandfather would say “the dog don’t hunt.” Which translated means, “sometimes things just don’t work.” So you either get a new dog or you find a new field for the dog to hunt in. It’s nobody’s fault that SL isn’t working… its reality. And it’s not “marketers” fault the virtual worlds are failing…the marketplace is the great equalizer.

Second, I’m all for testing new concepts, media types, etc. But frankly, when you have to go back to Senior Management and explain how your efforts and decisions have impacted and driven sales… showing a big goose egg in the column doesn’t help. And I don’t know many marketers who are drowning in excess cash to invest. We’re being pushed to get more for less and the stakes are higher than ever.

Third, there’s lots of other stuff going on in the digital space that is working, but like anything, you’re going to have things that don’t. I’m frankly impressed by the amount of budget, creativity and “risk” many marketers (including HP) have taken in the digital space. Take joost.com for instance.

Fourth, sometimes the “tired cash cow” reinvests itself into a dairy cow. What I mean by this is just when you think some old time media types are dying they reinvent themselves by moving in a different direction. Take ESPN and WSJ and NYT as prime examples. ESPN is everywhere… traditional, digital, new technology, etc. The brand is strong and they reinvent themselves. And the recent announcements from both the NYT and the WSJ that their content will be free to users and support by an ad revenue model is refreshing.

Fifth, the name of game now in media is “asset investment management.” You’ve heard me ramblings about how developing a media plan is like investing in the stock market. The goal is make as much money as you can with your investment, understanding that risk is part of the game. The higher the risk, usually the higher the potential reward. In the case of SL, perhaps marketers have determined the risk is far too high for the possible return and have made a calculated investment decision not to pursue this particular asset.

Scott

Joseph Jaffe Crayon Second Life Virtual Worlds SL ESPN NYT WSJ marketing media HP Hewlett Packard Scott Berg Joost