saturday, 24 March 2007.
Doing virtual business in a virtual world, and paying with virtual money that you convert to real money? Yeah right, in your virtual dreams!
Actually, it's really happening. If you haven’t already discovered the virtual world of Second Life, it's time to take a look into what some people think is the virtual future.
We've been talking about Second Life and virtual worlds with our clients and at some of our workshops for a while now. On 19 March 2007, the ABC’s highly acclaimed current affairs program Four Corners devoted its whole program to Second Life and what it may or may not mean for our future. You can see the
broadband download of it on the ABC site.
Joining Second Life is free of charge. Not all people who sign up become regular inhabitants of the virtual world, but enough do for it to become a significant part of the online future. In fact, it seems to be reaching a critical mass of global awareness and these days its growth is exponential.
Virtual worlds such as Second Life could be viewed as a bit of escapist fun that may be just a passing fad, but we don't see it that way. In fact, we think it's a powerful glimpse into the online future. But what does the growing virtual world mean for business today? How can your business benefit from it?
Should you be setting up your shop or corporate headquarters in Second Life as many of the world’s leading brands are doing right now? Or should you be focusing your efforts on the real world, and using online technologies to build your real world business?
Smart operators on Second Life are doing both. They are selling virtual products and services to virtual customers in the Second Life world, and are also providing a real world delivery service of real world product to the real world customer. The “value-added intersection” of the real world with the virtual is creating new opportunities for organisations large and small to use online technologies to do business both locally and globally - and to thrive!
As an example of a glimpse into the future, if your 'Second Life' character (known as your avatar) can exist in the virtual world but have your real body looks, size and shape, then you can try on virtual clothes online and see how you look. If you're happy, then you can arrange for the clothes to be delivered to your real-world address. The same goes for buying eye-glasses, hair styles, jewellery and almost any personal apparel.
You can meet new people and build new relationships in the virtual world that may flow into successful real-world relationships. Obviously, that could be pretty good for online match-making services.
Then there's cosmetic surgery and weight loss programs. Consider the personal and business opportunities that could arise if you can view yourself how you are now and then preview how you could look with a few minor (or major) alterations...
Of course, it does not stop there. Imagine if you're wanting to build a new home and are looking for an interesting house design and the plans to build it... You can go into the virtual world, find a home that may suit you and walk through it to explore every virtual room. If you like it, then you'll be able to get the plans sent to you in the real world. That's pretty good if you're building a home - and it's also pretty cool if you're an architect, engineer or a builder selling building plans online globally.
So how do you find customers in these online markets in a virtual world? Sure you can hang up your shingle and declare yourself open for business, but if you go looking for markets online, you may or may not find them. Building trust and credibility is not so easy.
It's far smarter to go looking for communities of people with similar interests and then add value back into the community. The value will be different for different communities, but the key is to build your reputation online, and in doing so, create your market. And it may become bigger than you could ever have imagined.
Look to become a valuable part of relevant online (and off-line) communities, and the community will become your market. And look to see how you can achieve a value-added intersection between the real world and the virtual. It’s part of the future, and the future is virtually now!
By Richard Keeves, Managing Director, IBC.
What do you think of the possible virtual worlds of the future? We'd love to get your comments.
Please email futurethinking@ibc.com.au (no spam) or contact Richard Keeves directly.
