Today, when I was riding home from work, I heard this commentary by Andrew Wallenstein on National Public Radio … an editorial on the “tweeting” craze now incorporating itself into pop culture, particularly into television programming.

The message: these fad social networking tie-ins never work.  Their proof?

A few years back, the networks embraced Second Life, three-dimensional virtual communities that allowed fans to congregate online. Everyone from CSI to The L Word rushed into this space. Then, after the initial hoopla, TV left Second Life a ghost town.

TV left SL a ghost town?  Really?

Considering that this particular social network relies on its participants to do more than type out something in less than 140 characters (we have to spend actual money for anything other than a “newbie” virtual experience), Second Life is hardly disappearing into the weathering desert winds.  TV was involved to a certain extent in its early success — mostly because of news programs trumpeting its potential and exponential growth at the time, but it certainly wasn’t created or even enhanced by network TV entertainment programming.  And, while the rise is no longer meteoric, it continues to improve month after month, with concurrency breaking records quite frequently.  According to Neilson Games, SL was the second top PC game title for April 2009.  Residents spent 120 million USD in virtual goods and services last quarter … enough to have built half of that infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.”  Again … 120 million USD in Q1 of 2009.   For those interested in that little business term called growth, that’s 64% better than same quarter last year … and during a world recession.  Still writing the obit, NPR?

This is not to say Second Life hasn’t had it’s troubles.  When gambling and banking were banned, our markets were affected, especially with the former.  But, these were issues endemic to Second Life … in fact, the statistics (linked above) prove that the Second Life economy has barely noticed the recession we’re all experiencing now in real life.

The problem that Wall Street and Hollywood have had with Second Life isn’t that our community isn’t a viable social network, or a viable business market … it’s just that these business gurus haven’t spent enough time in our community to figure out what are markets are.  People don’t log into Second Life to find out what’s happening on CSI, to shop at Best Buy, or to guzzle Coca-Cola … we log on to experience something completely different than real life and traditional amusements can provide, and … *gasp* … we are willing to pay for it.  SL residents dump more than $35 million every month buying virtual clothing, living in virtual mansions in increasingly well-designed communities … all of it made by other residents, some of whom actually make a living by providing these items and real estate.

So, what’s the best thing Wall Street and Hollywood could learn about SL?  Stop trying to make our virtual world a portal for their real markets.  If they want a piece of the action, then they can provide the virtual goods we’re spending millions on already …  and not just a new way to sell reality shows, root beer, and refridgerators.

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