When one of Europes oldest insurance companies told me they wanted to build community in Second Life, I was more than a little skeptical. When they told me they were building a driving game in the virtual world, that taught Second Lifer's that "safety was fun too", eyebrows were raised. After being given the grand tour yesterday however, and having played the game after it's final frantic tweaks had been made, I have to concede that it's not a bad plan at all, and may even do just what they hope: Get people to have fun on their new SIM [teleport link] and bring the 176yr old brand of Assicurazioni Generali to Second Lifers in a unique, and potentially engaging way.
The island is relatively unremarkable. Regular buildings and areas for meetings, much like any such thing. The game however, which is the center of the build, is fun, in a 2D retro kind of way. And that's exactly what design firm Newton 21 set out to create -- a tacky, tongue in cheek tribute to the arcade games of yore. If you're in your thirties of forties, like many Second Lifer's. you'll remember these games with some affection no doubt. Clockwork Miles, the project lead for Newton told me that they knew it would be impossible to build a driving game on par with anything available in recent times, so decided to work with what they had, and make the retro game to appeal to those of us that remember playing Frogger, Pacman and the like. It's fun, and you even get to record your high score...
Whether Generali can actually build community in Second Life remains to be seen, and they know that as well, and are prepared to tweak the strategy on the fly.
Disclosure: Generali are new sponsors of our Metanomics series of events.
Up until recently SAP have been quietly 
Ever wondered just how many major brands are now in 
British 
IBM, who already have literally thousands of employees engaged in the virtual world of 
I spent some time talking to Misacha Vaughan, co-owner of the newly launched 
Recently launched virtual tourism business 
The dolphin I rode was great fun. By using the arrow keys, and up and down buttons on the keyboard, Dolphilina and I jumped and swerved and splashed our way around several of the small Islands around the Scout-It headquarters in Fishermans Cove. Delphina tells me there are whole underwater regions one can explore in SL, but i've yet to see them. Certainly a virtual tour by dolphin would be a great way to explore. And that's the point. Scout-It's mission is to show new residents and old, the sides of Second Life they might not normally experience, and to encourage exploration and outdoor pursuits in the virtual world. Dumbolina's controls (the elephant, who Delphina tells me can be a little cranky..) were considerably harder to master, so I opted to sit up back and be flown and walked around the neighborhood.
I was curious to find out whether Scout-It was actually making money. They're not, but Delphina isn't phased, it's a young business and is just starting to pick up customers and turn over real money. They have a whole stack of rented store space in areas with heavy walk through traffic, and have been exhibiting at several events I've been to recently in order to get word out, and certainly during the time I was there, a half dozen or so people were checking out the vehicles adn animals. 
Creative, slightly whacky businesses like Scout-It are not uncommon in Second Life. An environment where one can fly, teleport, alter physical appearance at will and even carry a sword to business meetings without cause for comment, tends to breed pretty remarkable business ideas and quirky entrepreneurs. Certainly the effort put into Scout-It is amazing, and as a way to see the sights, and explore new spaces and expereinces, it's a great way to spend a little free time. As a business Idea, I'm not so sure, but then I get the impression that money is very much secondary to having fun at the Scout-It HQ. 
I managed to catch up with Savannah Glimmer of 