You don’t hear as much about Second Life these days as you did several years ago. For a while, articles were being written left and right about how to leverage this virtual world from Linden Lab as a business tool. Lately, not so much.
Second Life Gets New Open Source Viewer
Second Life creators Linden Lab have launched a new Second Life-compatible viewer, which the company developed with the open source community. The company’s goal was to create a "widely-used, openly developed version of the Second Life client."
Snowglobe will contain new Second Life features before they become available in the official release. That said, not all features will make it there.
Second Life Still Alive and Kicking
Remember Second Life? While the virtual world disappeared from the media spotlight some time ago, it’s alive and well and continues to attract a new member every second.
A few months back you couldn’t escape media coverage of the brave new virtual world of Second Life. Major brands were building virtual HQ’s, holding virtual meetings and developing virtual marketing campaigns. Coca-Cola, IBM and even the NBA was making its second home there.
Is Google Second-Guessing Itself?
Times are tight. Heck, college professors are having to sell ad space on exam pages to make up for budget cuts. It would make sense that Google would increase the number of ads on its search pages, too, except it’s hard to forget certain executive speeches about fewer ads with better targeting.
Sohu Reports Strong Second Quarter
The best of China will be put on display during the Olympics – the most beautiful landscapes, the cleanest streets, and the happiest citizens. Don’t be surprised if a Sohu banner turns up, too, as the search company’s second-quarter results were quite impressive.
Baidu Reports Positive Second Quarter
While that Microsoft-Yahoo business stole the show for a while, Baidu’s found its way into the spotlight again. The Chinese search engine company had an admirable second quarter, beating analysts’ estimates in some important respects.
Second Quarter Results Sink eBay’s Stock
eBay’s second-quarter earning report was respectable, all in all, with increases occurring in most measurable categories. Many of those increases didn’t meet investors’ expectations, though, and the company seems to have adopted a cautious outlook for the future.
Google Counts First Link, Not Second, Says SEO
Got a couple of links on one page to another page? Google only has love for the first one, no matter what you do with it.
The 30-Second Spot Isn’t Dead
The 30-second spot isn’t dead, just our patience with being interrupted by them. Those “America’s Favorite Commercials” specials in prime-time television draw strong enough ratings to prove that people—at least, some people—are willing to sit and watch half-minute tales used by advertisers to pitch their wares.
Who Has ‘Metaphysical Jurisdiction’ In Second Life?
Before the end of this sentence you will have to make a choice between the blue pill and the red pill, for as soon as we step over the period we will enter an alternate reality and it will not be easy. Lawyers are looking into virtual worlds like Second Life, studying whether the environment is suitable for regulation and asking who has "metaphysical jurisdiction."