Exclusive interview with Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon: Part two - Second Life

Having learned something about the man driving Linden Lab and Second Life, we turned our attention to something dear to us all. Second Life, itself.

Massively: Do you see Second Life as a virtual world, a virtual environment, or as a platform? Or more than one of these?

All of the above. Second Life is a virtual world in that it is a destination to which people are drawn. Geography has meaning in Second Life. At its core, though, Second Life is a platform for expression, communication, creativity and commerce. The richness of Second Life comes from the enormous creativity of the Residents. Our job is to provide the platform and tools that make this magic happen.

Massively: Here's the question of the ages: What are the Lab's goals for Second Life? We all assume that Linden Lab has clear goals for Second Life (actually, I think it's mostly an article of faith), but nobody seems to really be aware of where it's going, and many seem to worry that that's because they won't like the answer. Indeed, most addresses to the users lately usually include a "tough decisions... hard road... you're not going to like it" sort of disclaimer.

Our mission remains what it's always been: to connect people in a digital world and in doing so, improve the human condition. For that to happen, Second Life needs to extend and enhance people's everyday lives. I know that sounds grandiose and mundane at the same time. But isn't that life? Heavenly and corporeal all at the same time?

In the nearer term, we have more 'concrete' goals that move us towards our ideal. First off, we need to make Second Life much more accessible to a wide audience. It has to be a delightful experience. Internet easy. Intuitive. Second nature. It also has to be a rational experience with great tools for finding and discovering the people, places and things that matter to you. And, it needs more social tools so you can connect easily with others.

I think the "you might not like the changes ahead" meme is in reaction to the fact that the Second Life community is wonderfully, heroically, fantastically engaged and extraordinarily vocal. I'll never forget the self-immolating avatars during the Open Space re-pricing a year ago!

By design, Viewer 2.0 isn't revolutionary. It is a clean-up of existing functionality (with a few new things added to the mix). But, it will spark a lot of debate. Some people love their pie menus! Even the smallest changes can create a stir while major changes like our Adult Only project can be explosive. Yet, many of these changes are changes that will enable Second Life to appeal to a wider audience, to grow, to prosper, and to achieve our mission. We're not trying to take creativity and expression out of Second Life. We are merely trying to create an experience that Residents can navigate comfortably. With ease. On their own terms.

Massively: As a platform and as an economy it's hard to plan endeavors in Second Life without a roadmap of what's coming up and approximately when. So far, the only thing on that roadmap is Viewer 2009/SL2.0. The rest more or less consists of bite-sized vision-statements. Are there any plans for a roadmap(s) that users, developers, educators and businesses can use to plan?

Yes. In the past, the company didn't publish roadmaps or issue a long-term plan. In fact, the work approach was more "wisdom of the crowds," more self-directed, more spontaneous. That approach created the staggering platform we know and love.

As we move to the next level of growth, and we reach 400 then 500 people in the Lab, our approach to how we work will necessarily evolve. In fact it is evolving now.

We have roadmaps and our work – for the most part – fits into a cogent long-term plan. We are starting to communicate our roadmaps more broadly, now, as well.

For example, a few months ago, we held the first Solution Providers conference in-world, and shared a 'sneak peak' of upcoming platform improvements that relate to Enterprise. You'll see more sharing as we become more comfortable planning and more confident in our ability to deliver on our plans in a timely manner.

Massively: The "first hour" of Second Life is probably pretty difficult, but the next five hours tends to make that first hour look kind of rosy by comparison. Whether we're talking about one hour or six hours, are there any plans or ideas you'd like to share about improving that period?

Indeed, the first five hours of Second Life are very difficult – worse than it is for the participants in Survivor! Our goal is to collapse that five hours of trial and error into a five minute experience that gives new Residents the life skills they need to explore and enjoy Second Life. Beyond making the viewer more intuitive, if we can quickly connect new Residents with new friends and new experiences, then the rest will take care of itself.

Over time, we'll develop unique entry paths for different types of Residents. If you are interested in role-play, there will be an entry path for you...if you are interested in starting a business there will be an entry path for you. In early 2010, we are launching a new entry path for the enterprise segment — enterprise-friendly avatars, an orientation experience that's tailored for business, an in-world expo of the elements of Second Life that are essential for business...and so on.

Massively: What would top your wishlist for Second Life (other than, say, a billion active users or fair treatment by the media)? What do you wish Second Life had that you think it could or should have, but doesn't yet?

• A super lightweight experience to complement the immersive one that let's people dip their toes in and see what it's like to attend a concert, go to a meeting, chat with a friend, etc. without going through the full registration, download, and orientation process.
• A Web 2.0 oriented data model with an array of APIs that expose data streams so that developers can create more apps for Residents to find, discover, connect, transact, share, create and build.

Massively: The UI-revamp's a huge undertaking with at least as much potential to distress as it has to delight. Everything and everyone that refers to the UI is going to have to change their thinking – and in many cases, courses, tutorials, documentation and all sorts.

Obviously that sort of change brings along both extensive risks and costs. What does the new UI bring to the table? What makes it a winner? All we know at this stage is that you and Tom have told us that it doesn't look anything like the builds we saw (shame, actually – I thought that it was proceeding on some quite promising lines) or that were shown at SLCC.

First, to clarify: Viewer 2.0 is not going to look exactly like the pictures Tom showed at SLCC because it didn't have the polish then that it has now. But it is progressing in the direction you saw at SLCC.

Viewer 2.0 is going to be significantly different, but it's not going to be a game-changer right out of the gate. I don't want to deflate hopes, but I want your readers to have realistic expectations. This is a very, very complex piece of software, and its evolution will be an iterative process.

That said, the new viewer is a big step in the direction required to bring Second Life to a broader audience. Beyond the extensive clean-up and simplification of menus and floaters, there are three things I love about Viewer 2.0. One is the browser-like location bar where you enter a region name (e.g., p squared), hit return and voila you are magically teleported there. It is really slick and every time I use it I smile.

Using a simple web metaphor that everyone understands makes Second Life more natural, more intuitive, more accessible. Almost Second nature. In addition, I really like the sliding side panel.

By consolidating things there that would normally appear in floating panels, we've de-cluttered the world-view. Finally, I really like the look and feel. It's more contemporary with a finer level of finish than we have today and the sound effects will be positively elegant.

Experience design is about big things, yes, but is really about many, many small things done extremely well. We'll get there!

Massively: We're noticing that Viewer 2.0 seems to be the preferable name to Viewer 2009. Does that indicate a change in the schedule?

Astute question!

We all figured it was bad luck to name the viewer after a date, so we are calling it Viewer 2.0. It feels right because it is a 2.0 experience. I use it every day and although there is much still to be done, I love it!

[Although we note that that didn't bring us closer to knowing if the original Q4 target was still on the cards]