Recent Comments:
Get a Mac, get a job
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
Aug 21st 2008 4:40PM Thanks for listing Aquent as a recruiting resource for creative and marketing professionals. As some of you may remember, we were called "MacTemps" when we started out 20 years ago.
Matt
The Value of One
Second Life Insider
Jan 3rd 2007 10:16AM Having studied philosophy for many years I'm familiar with theories of meaning and agree that, strictly speaking, nothing has an "intrinsic, direct meaning" - if something means anything, it derives said meaning from its context, the broader "meaning system" in which it is embedded, and not from itself. As far as I can tell, you are saying, "Because 1 million, as a number, means something to the mass media, it doesn't matter if it corresponds to any set of objects, virtual or otherwise, in reality, or even to us." But aren't you using the 1 million number to generate interest in your product? Didn't the media get that number from you? Don't you think that they thought it corresponded to something outside of their interest in it?
Finally, the 1 million or 2 million number doesn't mean anything to me as a user of SL, but is certainly meaningful to companies and other institutions looking to invest in SL. Isn't it a problem if they assume that 1 million means, "1 million people could potentially visit my sim," when in reality the number of potential visitors is more like 800,000 or, to be realistic, and not a little generous, 20,000?
Tateru's New World Numbers: The Trouble with Two Million
Second Life Insider
Nov 21st 2006 1:48PM I guess the recent media attention (WSJ, NPR, etc.) has its downside after all. I'm not sure I understand the long-term plan on the part of Linden Labs. Are more users necessarily better, especially when there is a relatively low barrier to entry to basic membership? As this post points out, more new people, who aren't paying or active participants, are a drain on resources both human and technical, the ensuing technical problems degrade the experience for dedicated users, etc. One problem is that, unlike myspace, for example, where anyone can explore the world without setting up a profile, you have to create an avatar in order check out SL, bringing with it the problems just mentioned. Would it be possible to set up a SL channel or something like that so that people could check it out without entering? Just a thought. Matt
