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influx interview-three questions for reuben steiger-millions of us (37.86346191571964 , -122.49182939529419) Ruben Steiger is the founder of Millions of Us, one of the premier virtual architecture firms for Second Life and one of our speakers at Influx Ideas 07.

Recently, we asked Reuben three questions.

1. What has Millions of Us been up to in the last 6 months?

We've now brought one-third of the Fortune 50 into Second Life. We've grown to almost 30 full-time employees, and we've been enhancing our programming, incorporating early lessons and taking advantage of new resources. One example is a recent Microsoft campaign where we achieved participation rates of up to 74 hours for participants in a contest - these numbers are unheard of. We've also officially become a cross-platform social media agency, with a specialty in virtual worlds - this includes but does not limit us to Second Life. We've just announced a partnership with Gaia Online, a very hot teen online community with virtual world elements. Gaia delivers a much sought-after teen audience to our clients, and they provide a venue for some really cheeky programming. Gaia clocks up 2.5 million unique users per month, spending an average of 2-3 hours online per visit - amazing.

2. Is the recent criticism of Second Life as a branding tool warranted?

Not really - it's an inevitable part of the media cycle. Some of the criticism is partially warranted, but a lot of it is poorly contextualized and opportunistic, in the sense that pundits love to tear down technologies that have ridden a wave of hype. IT analyst firm Gartner calls this the hype cycle - new technologies spark a wave of initial excitement, expectations inflate, the technology is found to be imperfect in some ways, and there is a backlash - but in the long term, a good technology will overcome the hype cycle and enjoy long-term adoption. Long-term adoption cements opportunities for marketers.  All of the possibilities that made industry-watchers so excited about Second Life are still out there, and just a few have been realized, while many are just around the corner. People taking the long view understand that as digital natives come to dominate marketing spend, virtual worlds are going to be critical - and the virtual worlds phenomenon is much bigger than Second Life. That said, we continue to be very optimistic about Second Life; our clients' investments today will yield solid benefits in the short term, and huge dividends in the long term. Another thing to consider is Second Life's growth vector internationally - it's huge in places as diverse as Germany, Brazil, Poland, the Netherlands and South Korea, with higher per capita usage figures than those in the US. When the client is released in Japanese- and Korean- language versions later this summer, we expect to see turbocharged growth in Asia. In sum, Second Life has gone from obscurity to world domination in less than a year, making it an irresistible target for professional skeptics.


3. What do you think brands have learned from their Second Life experiences and where do you think it's headed?

Brands have learned that they have to engage as opposed to merely planting a flag - those that have been willing to join in dialogues, experiments, and games with users have been much more successful than those that have just thrown up buildings and expected people to pay attention. The Microsoft campaign we mentioned above is a perfect example. There are a couple of big trends for 2007 and beyond that we see. The first is the use of Second Life to market films and TV - it allows people to walk on to sets and to interact with characters in a way that's been impossible up to now. Our Warner Bros. Gossip Girl project is evidence of this, and the trend will only strengthen as several studios make a big push into distributing more 3D films (Dreamworks has stated that all of its animation output after 2009 will be in 3D). The second trend is in virtual goods, which are already generating US$1.5 billion per year in sales. These goods can be exchanged in environments ranging from Facebook to Second Life, and many others. There are big opportunities here for brands.





Posted by Ed Cotton Many brands jumped onto Second Life because of the PR impact; there was a time when a mere appearance in the virtual world guaranteed a story. Brands were attracted because for limited out of pocket they could break through and garner attention. Obviously, things have moved on a little and the PR impact is no longer there, so brands need to consider a strategy for SL.

Starwood is one company that’s always been thinking of SL as something more than PR. The company has been using SL to test out its new aloft concept and get feedback on improvements. Quite simply, it’s been using it as a research tool.

Tomorrow, Starwood is introducing a new version of aloft on Second Life, based on the suggestions from Second Life residents. These are pretty smart and practical suggestions and include:

-    Radios in the showers
-    Additional lobby seating
-    Local art on the walls of the lobby

In addition, Starwood is going to donate the land from the hotel, once this project is done, to a member of the Second Life community. All people have to do is send in a best use suggestion in 500 words or less.

Second Life has been bashed in the media in the last couple of months with a consequence that many media planners are taking it off their schedules. Clearly, Second Life is not a brand launch play; it’s an environment to test out new ideas and to have a permanent brand presence. This should be about a short-term idea to support an ad campaign, but it needs to be considered within the context of long-term brand strategy.

Influx readers will get the chance to learn more about the future of brands in Second Life at the Influx Ideas 07 conference. Rueben Steiger, the founder of Millions of Us, one of the leading creators of Second Life environments, will be one of our speakers.