ORKING

TREET

An exploration of the dynamics linking community and business successin the synthetic universe of Second Life.

Andre Hanyu-Deutmeyer TC 660HPlan II Honors ProgramThe University of Texas at AustinMay 8, 2007Anne Beamish, Ph.D.Department of Community Planning and Urban StudiesSupervising Professor John D. LeckenbyDepartment of Interactive AdvertisingSecond Reader

Contents.

Foreword and Abstract.

Part I:An Introduction to Second Life and Marketing in Online Virtual Worlds.

a. Introduction: Working the Street.b. Enter Second Life.c. Recognizing an Electronic Pasture.d. A World of Sex, Profit…and School?e. A Winning Combo: Tech, Empowerment, and Dreams.f. All the World’s a Stage.g. Marketing and Advertising Potential.h. A Word of Warning: Resident Backlash to Corporate Incursion.610131620283140

Part II:Case Studies and Business Advice.

a. Resident Business Case Study – Atlantis Modeling Agency.b. Corporate Case Study – Pontiac’s Motorati Island.c. Metaverse Development Company – Green Grotto Studios.d. Failures and Successes: Lessons from Corporate Ventures in Second Life.e. Conclusion: A Contextual Framework for Business Ventures in Second Life. f. Final Remarks.444959677073

Appendix

Additional Information.Second Life Statistics. Acknowledgements and Biography.

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WorkingThe Street.

Foreword

Before jumping into the meat of this paper, I would like to first address my reasoning behindselecting the title

Working the Street

and its applicability to the content of this essay. For thoseof you who have read Neal Stephenson’s

Snow Crash

, the reference to his center of theMetaverse, The Street, is an obvious one. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book,“The Street” is the metaverse (virtual world) equivalent of Times Square or Wall Street. It isdescribed as a place where any sign or building located there will be seen by “the hundredmillion richest, hippest, best-connected people on earth…every day of their lives.” Thatdescription in a nutshell sums up the business potential of virtual worlds like Second Life.Additionally the title is a reference to the colloquial meaning of the phrase “working the street” –which is to say that it is a reference to prostitution. For better or worse, prostitution is aninescapable aspect of Second Life. However, as this essay will demonstrate, it is but a minor part of the much greater social revolution that is occurring with Second Life.Efficacy of the title aside, it is worth noting that this paper is written from a personal perspective,and while I do try to ground my conclusions by referencing existing literature and the opinions of those more knowledgeable than myself, I perform no empirical research of my own. I mentionthis here because while I am wholeheartedly convinced that my conclusions in this essay aretruths, I have conducted no empirical research of my own to back them, and in this regard, I feelthat my paper falls short. Consequently it is an area I hope to expand upon in the future.