Why Second Life is less popular than Facebook/Orkut in India?
November 24, 2008
Author: Business Beyond Reality
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Entry Filed under: Social Media, Virtual Worlds. Tags: Facebook, India, Orkut, Second Life, Virtual Worlds.
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1.
William French | November 26, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Without any analysis your graphic is interesting, but it doesn’t strike me as a complete piece of research. So I’m not sure where you’re going with it. While there are some similarities between Facebook and SL, there are also big differences. One is breaking ground in what In-Stat has recently labeled Web 3.0, the other, maybe is more of a Web 2.0 paradigm. Maybe the Web 3.0 model doesn’t work well in India? Your graphic doesn’t really explain to me what is really happening in that region as it is general to the issues SL faces.
The In-Stat info is here in you’re interested:
http://www.BeateNetworks.com/blog/index.php?/archives/503-In-Stat-Web-3.0-is-Here.html
2.
Rameshsharma Ramloll | November 26, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hi Aditya,
I agree with the analysis.
Difficult to compare two different classes of applications though. Second Life is clearly not worth it if the goal is purely for social networking. For e.g. I find social networking through Seeismic and Youtube far more effective than in SL. Because of video, emotional bandwidth..support for asynchronous communications etc…provides better opportunities for these media to succeed in connecting people.
Now if you use SL primarily for some application where spatial context and content is central, then the social networking aspect of SL is definitely useful.
Ramesh
3.
Bernhard Drax | November 26, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Very interesting and illuminating!
4.
John Purvis | November 26, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I was expecting quite a lot more than what actually appears on the link. Did I miss something? It looked like a cover page to something that should have followed. Please elaborate on the topic if you could
5.
Elizabeth Dorland | November 26, 2008 at 2:08 pm
P.S. Linkedin is pretty boring compared to Facebook and twitter. My impression is that you find the more innovative types more easily and dynamically NOT here. Tell me why I am wrong.
Chimera
6.
Elizabeth Dorland | November 26, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Maybe true, but where is the discussion/analysis/justification/conclusion? Not very useful without that.
Chimera Cosmos
7.
Brian Meeks | November 26, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Those are some very interesting points. I really liked the graphic and found the links to be helpful as well.
8.
Sue Schroeder | November 26, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Comparing Facebook and SL is like comparing apples and quantum mechanics. They are so totally different!
Facebook is DESIGNED to be a social networking tool. SL is not. Facebook will bounce you if they think you are using an alias, SL encourages (and almost requires) it. Facebook does not encourage business. SL does. Facebook limits the types of interactions you can have, and gives you specific tools to help you “socialize”. SL lets you build your own tools and do things besides socialize.
If I were to say why SL is less prevalent than facebook in India, I’d say that the hardware requirements are too stiff for most people. The per-capita percentage of computer ownership in India is MUCH lower than in the 1st world.
– Sue
9.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 7:20 pm
@William French:
Thanks for your comments. Well as far as the Web3.0 not working well in India, I really don’t see that as a possible cause. I’d agree more with Sue in her comment (Comment #8) that hardware requirements are too stiff for most people. There is another almost equally important cause. The popularity of a Social Networking site/application spreads the name further and more people join it. Since that activation energy has not been given for Second Life in India, people still are not attracted to join SL. Infact they can’t even network with their acquaintances in India for the number of active users of Second Life is mere 2500-3000! That I see as the primary cause of low popularity of SL in India.
10.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 7:25 pm
@ Rameshsharma Ramloll:
Yes I would agree to most of your points. SL does great when Social Networking through it is targeted towards achieving bigger goals. Collaboration between Globally Distributed Teams is one of the important applications. Rivers Run Red has come out with Immersive Workspaces which is a tool which links 2D Web with SL. Education is yet another important area.
11.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 7:25 pm
@Bernhard Drax:
Thanks.
12.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 7:59 pm
@John Purvis:
Thanks for the comment. I’ll elaborate on this topic in my next post ! Keep Watching ! Or you may join the Official Group on LinkedIn to stay informed by the digest ! Please click here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1327767&trk=hb_side_g
This group would be fully functional from Dec 1st, 2008.
13.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 8:02 pm
@Elizabeth Dorland:
Thanks for the comment. I’ll elaborate on this topic in my next post ! Keep Watching !
By the way, can you please restate your comment #5? I would like to reply but haven’t really understood the comment. Thanks.
14.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 8:03 pm
@Brian Meeks:
Thanks Brian. But don’t forget to watch this space every now & then for updates !
15.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 8:31 pm
@Sue Schroeder:
Thanks for your comments Sue.
I agree with your point of stiff hardware requirements for SL which is not available to a lot of people in India. By lots I mean figures in Millions. Because that’s the quantum in which Indians are there on Orkut. But per-capita availability of PCs is really not the problem here. If Orkut has millions of users from India, the cause boils down to hardware stiff requirements and popularity; and not number of PCs available.
As far as your point is concerned that SL is not meant for Social Networking, you might like to go through the following article which includes a small quote from the Ex-CEO of Linden Lab.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011413.htm
“But Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, says the supporting technology is continually advancing. “Second Life is improving in resolution and functionality at the rate of Moore’s Law. The real world isn’t getting better by the day.” Rosedale views Second Life not as a multiplayer online role-playing game, like World of Warcraft, or in the same category as Will Wright’s forthcoming Spore, which allows players to design their own species. Rather, he sees it as a new social-networking platform, like MySpace”
The article was published in the year 2006 and proves that SL began as a platform for Social Network and still remains one. Other areas of application in Second Life have evolved over time !
16.
Bernhard Drax | November 26, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Hi Aditya,
Please do. I have been producing machinima reports in SL for over a year (http://www.youtube.com/draxtordespres) and have been trying to “explain” via these reports the power of immersive platforms to the mainstream.
All best
Bernhard Drax
17.
Business Beyond Reality | November 26, 2008 at 8:41 pm
@Bernhard Drax:
Thanks for your comment.
18.
Liz Dorland (Chimera Cosmos) | November 27, 2008 at 7:38 am
Sorry–my sentence was a bit convoluted. In the “find innovative…contacts…NOT here” comment, HERE meant LInkedin. More boring format = less interesting contacts on average
You wrote: “The article was published in the year 2006 and proves that SL began as a platform for Social Network and still remains one. Other areas of application in Second Life have evolved over time!”
If you study the history of SL (and long-time resident Bernhard Drax would be a good source–or books by Wagner James Au and Tom Boelstorff) you will find that the evolution was not as expected or planned, And “social network” doesn’t begin to describe it. I believe Philip has said that SL is a “world” but it was the author of the article who wrote “social network”.
19.
Liz Dorland (Chimera Cosmos) | November 27, 2008 at 7:44 am
Another observation.
How do you form a network of friends and contacts in “Real Life”? You have to talk with people in depth, go to events where you share interests, build relationships over time.
The process of getting acquainted and acclimated in Second Life is exactly the same. It takes effort–much like moving to a foreign country and learning/adapting to norms. I doubt you would say that about LinkedIn or Facebook. Unless you have spent significant time in Second Life, there is no way you can understand the nature of the environment. It is well worth the effort if your connectivity allows.