Will Second Life be replaced by a Competitor?

There are never guarantees in business. Well, unless a business stops marketing... You get the picture.

Linden Labs product Second Life has competition brewing and making progress. Seemingly the new and sustainable frontier of virtual worlds is higher education, whose momentum is only growing. Using peer-reviewed academic journals as an indicator, there is a lot of research and interest in academia, even though "some" of the seniors and older boomers in higher ed are sure this is a passing fad. Kind of like...automobiles.

Back to the lack of guarantees in business, a competitor can take advantage of the king/queen of any market by preying on a product's weaknesses. Let's face it, SL is not intuitive, but it is powerful. It is hardly free to own an island, yet higher ed gets one for half price.

In the list below are some of the major players in the virtual world arena, although there are certainly others. Of note is OpenSim which is open source, and ReactionGrid which is going head to head with SL for education and business marketshare. Perhaps one of SL's competitors will keep better check on much of the anti-social behavior and sexuality found in Second Life, which steers quite a few people away. And again, the complexity issue must be overcome.

Anyway, the worlds below are interesting. Although not competing with SL's adult grid, check out Indiana University's Quest Atlantis. This is what the site says: Quest Atlantis (QA) is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-16, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in the commercial gaming environment with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. Participation in this game is designed to enhance the lives of children while helping them grow into knowledgeable, responsible, and empathetic adults.

ActiveWorlds
http://activeworlds.com/

Forterra
http://forterrainc.com/

OpenSim (open source)
http://opensimulator.org/

QuestAtlantis
http://questatlantis.org/

ReactionGrid
http://reactiongrid.com/

There
http://there.com/

Sketch of Wyoming SBDC Island: Wyoming Entrepreneur

I think we have a working draft of the project. There are some interactive elements here. The island will feature different parts of Wyoming with emphasis on the Yellowstone environment and some desert.

We will have fishing and kayaking on the Green River, climbing on Devil's Tower, an old steam engine train to see it all, mineral pools, Old Faithful Geyser and Lodge, horse riding, Teton Mountains, and a few other things.

Focus of course is on teaching and learning about entrepreneurship in Wyoming. I present this concept to our builder Monday, October 4th in a web conference and a visit to the island.

Initial Build Finalized, Links to Free Consulting and BLOG in Place

Finally have signs on the island with links to free consulting and this blog. Not much on the island yet so the signs stand out.

Our design is finalized so construction of the island features and structures will begin in October, months ahead of our original timeline. Getting a good start is...good!

Wyoming Entrepreneur Group & an Airplane

Nervously, I started a Second Life group today. I say nervously since once you start a group, you have 48 hours to get someone to join, or you lose your L$100 and you can never use the name again. Worst of all, it takes 12-24 hours before you show up in any searches, so that does not leave much time.

Luckily, I am a member of the Wyoming Residents group and invited all of them to join the Wyoming Entrepreneur group.

We now have 5 members which is one per hour since I created the group.

This will be useful as we try and tie our community into this project through communication and who knows, maybe even a little Wyoming volunteer building labor (hint-hint, I know you're out there).

We bought a plane!

That's what you do I guess: buy a plane. And yes, it flies very, very well. What a way to travel the island.

Feel free to try it out and here is the SLURL to the island:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wyoming%20Entrepreneur/117/110/24

Thar be land ahead! Wyoming SBDC has a Secone Life Island (kind of)

A unique fixer upper? Well, they are all when new and besides, we have an experienced and talented Second Life builder on the schedule. No, not me! But I will get there.

These shots may not be inspiring, but considering the journey I have taken they are awesome!

Thanks to the Wyoming SBDC State Office for support and vision.

And now the real work begins. We are looking to have a working model March 2010 and launch the island officially May 2010. I love exceeding timelines but we'll see.

Linden Verified Island Name - Getting Closer

Good news as Linden Labs sent me an email confirming the name of our island which is of course: Wyoming Entrepreneur.