Second Life's Newest Problem: Too Much Advertising
But we got to give credit to Second Life owner Linden Lab for recognizing that their world is an ad-filled mess. In a blog post this week, the company announced that it was going to introduce “zoning” to the virtual world, which means exactly what it does in the real world – some land will be zoned as residential, other as commercial. Why? Mostly because of the prevalence of ad farms -- plots of land that are chock full of ads for other businesses in the Second Life. Users don’t like these eyesores, with good reason, so quarantining them is probably the right move.
See Also:
Google's Lively Is Just Like Second Life -- No One's There But Perverts And Griefers
If Second Life Is Over, Someone Needs To Tell Cisco
Thinking of Advertising in Second Life? Don't Bother
Just as the early web had a lot of hit-and-miss concepts, so too do Virtual Worlds. But that is precisely the point of what is happening there. For your information there are literally millions of dollars in commerce that have nothing to do with virtual genitalia in these places. There are many more vibrant and inventive businesses inSL than most people who fail to investigate realize. I guess genitalia allows you to condescend what you do not understand and have not formed an expertise.
And if you think the web isn't inundated with perverts and griefers, you truly are delusional. Just like the web and the physical world, what you encounter in virtual worlds is VERY largely a function of which parts of town you frequent. Imagine if the mainstream press was as dismissive of the web over all the porn sites and freakish blogs that are undeniably prevalent.
Just as in all lives, you will find all kinds of people representing themselves. It is tragic how ill-informed most of the press is about Second Life and other virtual worlds. The dumbest part is if you see things holistically as an evolving aspect of social computing, you are actually shooting yourself in the foot. How very disappointing that SAI does not distinguish itself. When I saw Linden Lab ranked highly in the SAI 25, I was encouraged. But this article undermines my otherwise strong opinion for the writing I find here.
If you are unwilling to educate yourself properly on this subject matter, then take this famous advice: "Better to be silent and thought the fool than to speak and remove all doubt."