Opening a store on oceanfront property and having more than 1 million people as potential customers has been a fantasy for some Greater Des Moines businesses. Now the Internet is allowing that dream to come to fruition. Sort of.
About a month ago, Meyocks Group Inc. bought oceanfront land in the virtual world of Second Life, becoming one of the first local companies and marketing agencies worldwide to have a presence in the program. Meyocks, a subsidiary of Hy-Vee Inc., joins several larger companies, such as IBM Corp., General Motors Corp. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., that in recent months have explored the site as a useful marketing and research tool.
"It's pretty unique," said Nathan Wright, the company's interactive lead, who is involved with all the interactive projects that come through the agency, including developing Meyock's virtual property with his virtual character, Monkey Corleone. "I think the appeal of it is that it's similar to the rest of the behavior happening on the Web - all very social behavior. … You look where people are spending their time and find ways to leverage that for clients."
Although the three-dimensional virtual world created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab has been open to the public since June 2003, businesses are just now joining the program as the population has grown to more than 1.7 million users. According to Linden Lab, the population has grown 20 percent month to month, with most of the explosive growth this fall. From September to October, the population grew 30 percent.
The people who are joining the program are society's influencers, Wright said. They are the people who blog and will tell their friends about what they see in the program, making them an enticing group for marketers to reach.
Second Life is an animated version of real life that's accessed online; no software required. People can create an avatar - a virtual character they control - and join the community for free. There is no specific objective to Second Life, but avatars can do things such as explore the world, chat with other avatars and create almost anything from clothes to buildings and vehicles with 3-D creation tools. The ability to create and move freely around Second Life has caused an ever-changing world.
When Linden Lab announced in late 2003 that Second Life residents have digital rights to any creation and land ownership, the company opened the door for a thriving economy. Residents now sell everything from virtual clothes to cars to event tickets and land. Transactions take place with the virtual currency called Linden dollars, which can be purchased with real U.S. dollars. (The exchange rate is about 250 Linden dollars to 1 U.S. dollar.)
On Nov. 27, the company announced in a post that Second Life citizens had spent $653,693 in the previous 24 hours. Total monthly expenditures in October were $9 million compared to $7.4 million in September.
This thriving marketplace has offered businesses an inexpensive way to test new products, develop new ideas from residents' creations and market themselves, in addition to selling virtual products.
Meyocks, which purchased 512 square feet for $80 and a monthly maintenance fee of around $15 (the rate changes), is still looking at options for using the land. Its property now contains a conference table with chairs and a flaming hoop (the company's logo), and Wright is working on a kiosk that can offer wandering avatars more information about the company.
"We're just squatting on land right now," Wright said. "As we learn more about it, we will do more with the space."
The company's primary goal is to be one of the first marketing agencies in the program and to create a history of using the program, which could help its reputation with clients looking to use Second Life in the future.
But even before buying land, Meyocks introduced the site to one of its clients. Depending on what kind of project a client wants to do, Meyocks already could offer to do product testing or other kinds of research in Second Life, said Wright.
Wright and Clasen believe there are many potential uses for Second Life, many of which are generated from watching major companies just starting to explore the possibilities.
In one example Wright uses, if Hy-Vee wanted to design a new building for its drugstores, Meyocks could test two models on its land, invite Second Life residents to explore the models and then observe which model people are most attracted to.
"It's a great opportunity for us to talk to clients we have now and suggest to them, let's build a virtual store and let's keep track of how people shop there," said Craig Clasen, president of Meyocks. "Let's watch to see how people are buying things out of it. … It's a pretty inexpensive way to do it."
Wright also said the company could host international meetings at a virtual conference table, which is "more interesting than a sheet of paper."
Just as in the real world, however, there has been concern recently over the emergence of crime, such as gangs bullying other players, a program that can copy other characters and objects (possibly destroying the value of property), and viruses that are allegedly stealing members' identifying information.
Linden Lab staff will kick out residents who harass other players or are destructive, and will listen to complaints at regular town hall meetings in the virtual world, but because of rapid growth, the program has not been easy to control.
Wright is not too concerned because he said Meyocks could lock access to its land and only allow certain users to access it. But, he said, "Any time I read a story about all the bizarre stuff happening out there, it's kind of intriguing. It's like a little microcosm of our own world."
Despite its problems, the resident base continues to grow and people seem as intrigued with the program's seemingly limitless activities as businesses are in attracting residents to their land.
Diane Casady, who was one of the people who tested the program before it was opened to the public, said she was initially attracted to the site because of its social aspect.
Some people believe Second Life could replace instant messaging, allowing people to converse as their virtual selves. Avatars not only chat, but also can go to virtual dance clubs, meet at a singles-only coffeehouse, attend virtual rock concerts and attend politicians' town hall meetings.
The program has grown from about 5,000 users when Casady was visiting the test site to more than 1 million, and now Casady finds the program overwhelming.
"It's just so big now. I feel lost," she said. "You can't even imagine how small it was before to what it is now."
Another big attraction for people is the ability to create almost anything from building tools that use geometric shapes. According to Business Week's May 1 cover story, residents spend one-fourth of the time they are logged in creating objects. This is a positive statistic for businesses such as Reebok International Ltd., which allows people to create virtual shoes and takes notes about what they create.
"Think of all the different ideas and creative geniuses you'll have out there working on products for free," Clasen said. " It's a great way for them to get information and feedback and give that back to our customers. Let them know that this is what we saw."
Meyocks sees Second Life as a potential way to not just help its current clients test brands and advertise their products but to also attract more local and even international business.
"It's us looking at doing things maybe not the way they've always been done," Clasen said, "but still performing and giving [clients] the ideas they've come to expect and giving them more."
"You've got to have your finger on that pulse," Wright said. "Month or two behind and you're dead in the water."
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