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Exclusive interview with Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon
Mark Kingdon, Linden Lab's CEO, has been a bit of a mystery figure since his appointment about a year and a half ago. While he has not been uncommunicative, it's been hard to get a very good sense of the man at the helm of Linden Lab, his passions, interests and direction. We were very pleased, therefore, when he took the time to sit down with us and answer a whole grab-bag of questions, about himself, about Linden Lab, and – of course – about Second Life. Bear with us, because we've got a lot of ground to cover.
Second Life pwns Gordon Freeman, Warhammer Online, others
Wagner James Au at New World Notes is carrying some surprising data from ratings giant, Nielsen Media Research. From actual measurements of usage across over 180,000 homes in the USA, Linden Lab's Second Life (paradoxically measured under the 'PC games' category) rates the number two most played title, just behind World of Warcraft. Forget Warhammer Online, or EVE Online, they don't even make the top ten. World of Warcraft and Second Life beat out Gordon Freeman (Half Life 2), Civilization IV and StarCraft. As for actual weekly usage, Second Life is top of the pops at an average of 760 minutes per user per week. World of Warcraft earns the top spot with 653 minutes per user per week, but has a whole lot more users. How about Google's YouTube, the 800 pound gorilla and market leader of online video? Just 47 minutes per week (figure from C|net). Facebook? 84 minutes per week. Myspace, just 10.5 minutes per week (figures from ITProPortal). This data is measured from actual homes, as we mentioned. Almost 200,000 of them, so it isn't just data that's centric to the hardcore gamer. This is a random sampling of ordinary people. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Linden Lab CEO on openspace/void price increases
Mark Kingdon, Linden Lab's shiny new CEO, made a statement to Wagner James Au at GigaOm about the announced openspace/void simulator price rises that have so many Second Life users up in arms, 'this price adjustment affects only a portion of land in Second Life; it does not apply to private islands or regular mainland property. We made this change to ensure an optimal Second Life experience for all Residents.' We're not sure if this gets points for being intentionally misleading, or unintentionally misleading. Either way, it scores a lot of points. Lets break it down a piece at a time.
Copybot: the self replicating meme
Ever since the original panic over Copybot (a Second Life bot that was trivially equipped to duplicate geometry or avatars) there's been a recurring series of rumors about Copybot 2.0, starting from about a week or two after the original fuss. Every month we get Instant Messages or emails about Copybot 2.0. We also get the occasional message that Elvis Presley has a Second Life avatar, and that someone is spreading a virus around in a Second Life object or texture that will delete our files, kill our housepets and burn our homes down.
Cinemassively: The Making of Second Life
Newer Second Life residents may associate the popular blog, New World Notes, with Hamlet Au. The oldbies, however, know him as the former Hamlet Linden. He was hired five years ago by Linden Lab to be an embedded reporter in-world. He left a couple of years ago to write a novel about his experiences.Now he's telling those stories in his new book, The Making of Second Life. In this machinima, by Lainy Voom, a female narrates several storylines that are illustrated for the viewers. Presented comic book style, some of the topics covered are cheating lovers, activists, and adult entrepreneurs. The book went on sale in February.
Cinemassively: GigaOm interviews Philip Rosedale
(Disclosure: Some of the raw footage in the background was commissioned by Linden Lab for news agencies. I was the machinimatographer on the project.)Before Philip Rosedale announced his intention to resign as CEO of Linden Lab, he sat down with Chris Albrecht, of the GigaOM Show. Chris starts off with other news, so to tune in to Hamlet Au and Philip Linden, skip ahead to about 2:45. The duo discuss what SL was like back in the day, how large it has grown, and whether there's a backlash.Proving that you can't believe everything you read on the internet, the show reports that, according to Wikipedia, Second Life has over 20 million accounts. However, if you check out the economic statistics page on the official site, SL is at just under 13 million. Again, they mention transparency. That word is starting to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard.[Thanks, Melissa!]
Ladies and gentlemen: Flexiboobs
If you were around in Second Life when flexiprims were introduced, you knew, as I did, that it was only a matter of time before this happened: flexiboobs have arrived.Raven Ivanova sells these avatar attachments at her store Smashing Prims, where apparently they're quite popular -- to the tune of about $2,000 after only 2 months on the market. Residents can buy the breasts as separate attachments, or as adjuncts to dresses that Ivanova also sells at her store. For the full story, and a video of the flexiboobs in action, check out Hamlet Au's New World Notes. I'm going to have to stop predicting the future. Or failing that, predict something useful to me.
Cinemassively: Sand, Episode 1
If you're just tuning in, we've been following the storyline of Scion City in Second Life. So far, they've discovered a vehicle that allowed them to uncover a transmission device. A mysterious woman transmits a message to them, but it is not yet clear what she wants ...Episode 1, directed by Michael Verdi, sees one of the explorers doubting that any life could exist below the sand. The transmission device begins playing the commercial for Scion City, which gives them the idea that if they unearth the structure, they'll have enough power to save their colony. After a bit of digging, they find a vehicle with a skeleton in it, and a hatch that leads to something. When they struggle to open it, an explorer decides to use the vehicle they found in Episode 0 to help. Did they survive the crash? What's inside the hatch? Tune in tomorrow for more of the story!Read on for more trivia about the films ...
