I had planned a very interesting post for today all about my experience in the game Second Life, but I can’t get the software to run properly, so I’ll just bitch/dish.

Second Life is a 3D virtual world and very similar to a massively multiplayer online game, but instead of revolving around a narrative it is almost completely open-ended. Read WikiPedia:

Second Life (SL) is a privately-owned, partly subscription-based 3-D Virtual world that went online in March 2002 and was released to the public in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab. While not technically a massively-multiplayer online game (MMOG), SL allows anyone to create nearly any kind of place or area within its world. Games can also be created, including first-person shooters and puzzle games such as Tringo. Founded by former RealNetworks CTO Philip Rosedale, Second Life gives its users (referred to as “residents”) tools to add to and edit its world and participate in its economy. The majority of the content in the Second Life world is resident-created. Linden Lab actively promotes the concept that residents retain the intellectual property rights to objects they create (although they are required to offer Linden Lab a limited license for the purposes of promotion and marketing to it.

I got interested in Second Life a few months ago when I heard a speaker at work discussing her in-game experiences. I didn’t immediately download the software or register until yesterday based on tow event: Second Life’s Third Birthday and Avatar Marketing: What Is the Future for Real-Life Companies Marketing to Second Life Avatars?

The second item, the marketing panel discussion, was the real impetus for me. I got the news from Steve Rubel and even read the paper and listened to the podcast of the speaker, Paul Hemp of the Harvard Business Review.

Given all the recent press regarding Second Life – this Business Week cover article and the news that American Apparel will sell clothing in-game – I thought it would be a great time to see what all the fuss was about.

Sadly, I can’t get the software to run despite having the right hardware for the job, reading the FAQ, following the Support advice and reinstalling the software.

Maybe someone will Podcast or Blog the talk or, better yet, help me get setup so I can play with the cool kids in the future.

Either way, I’ve got my eyes on Second Life.