It had to happen...
I must say, I am pleasantly surprised to see it took such a long time for Second Life to suffer it's first Denial of Service attack, but it's finally there.
Now don't be hasty, I like Linden Lab's work and yes, i do live in Second Life as well. I embraced the concept a while back, and as an avid geek, found it quite extraordinary. This being said, i purposely used the word geek, because it takes a certain proportion of warped sense of reality to take part in Second Life. ie: your "real one" is somehow missing something, hence the escape and "free your mind Neo" factor that Linden has brought to my IP.
But Second Life remains a game, and already companies and smart minds started to take advantage of this virtual space to advertise, make money, users started stealing other's stuff, etc...Sounds familiar? There's no escaping it, no matter how cool your avatar is, he's bound to face the same challenges in cyber as in real life. Now the point i am trying to make here is the following: Second Life, as great as it is, suffers for now of a stigma that can be dangerous in our profession as Online Marketers: Hype.
From social networks advertising frenzy, to over the top, latest and greatest online gizmos, bells, tricks and whistles that are popping out daily, always be conscious of one thing when talking or hearing about these different tactics, and be very cautious when being sold on how incredibly efficient they can be.
Overzealous Web experts often forget that the pace set by Web innovations, is by no stretch of their vivid imaginations, followed by mass, and by that i mean users, and ultimately customers of the companies we are trying to sell our expertise to. I'm raising the cautionary flag here as i sense some looming hype factor on current Web initiatives, that is not without reminiscing of the 2000 burst.
Did I say the bubble will burst? Hell no, are u reading properly? All i am saying, is that in propagating false online marketing results via hyped initiatives, your not helping yourselves or anyone working in Web (unless your after that quick buck).
Always maintain a cool head on Web stuff, it will always be "the latest" and the coolest thing, but at the end of the day, bare in mind who your client is, and most importantly, who their customer are: You will not triple your silver-cutlery sales by posting adwords in Myspace. If you're a youth global brand though, or your client is, you should already be there.
Webmarketing innovations are all prototypes at first, some make it through and become integral part of this ever growing online marketing arsenal that makes our industry so great, but basics are never to be forgotten, in real, or Second life.
Avdv.
Link to Second Life's first real life issue: Second life hit by worm