The Cross Over is Beginning
I knew that it wouldn’t take long before the “real” world began to cross over to the “virtual” world. We’ve still got a ways to go, but it’s going to happen.
I’ve been out of the loop for a week so I’m a bit behind, but I just read about Amazon investigating the possibilities of a bridge between Second Life and their products. This is where it gets interesting as a business is looking at this as a direct extension, a new market, for an already established company. That is where people and companies need to look. It’ll never be a replacement for a line of business, but rather another arm that can reach out and get more people.
American Apparel also took a step into this area by opening up a store in Second Life. I’m not sure if this will work because do people really want to wear the same style fashions in virtual worlds as they do in the real world? I’m sure some will, but I personally like the freedom of being completely different with my avatar. I don’t want to wear the same stuff. I want to have fun and be different and I imagine others do as well.
Pay attention which companies start jumping in and more importantly HOW they jump in. That is where it gets interesting. Big deal if someone opens up a shop and treats it just like a regular shop. That won’t work. It’ll get some PR splash, but long term will fade into the matrix and no one will care. But, how could you treat it differently? What is the next evolution? THAT is the meat of the question and the fun part of the puzzle.
