Submitted by Smoke Wijaya on Sun, 31/01/2010 - 12:26
Posted in
Linden Lab announced recently that they have acquired the website www.avatarsunited.com: https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2010/01/29/avatars-unite
Avatars United is a social networking site that at first glance looks much like Facebook, with the big difference (as the name suggests) that Avatars United's focus is on avatar-ID, online presence with the opt-in possibility to make the RL-SL connection. Facebook on the other hand, as well as Friendster before them, crack down on "fake" identities (where fake is everything but your RL ID). An earlier post by LL pointed to this identity-discussion being a hot-topic: https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2010/01/22/will-the-real-you-please-stand-up
There has been much criticism against the early ideas that LL tabled regarding their plans for more/better integration with the social web, especially against the idea that floated around of doing so with Facebook; this criticism might have been reason for LL to look towards Avatars United and in that context I think it is positive (with protection of RL ID in mind).
I am not at all sure yet about whether we, SL users, need this networking tool outside of SL, but it might turn out valuable...we will have to see. But at the same time, within SL we still have all kinds of frustrations for networking/organising that LL is not willing or able to solve, like the 25 group limit and the broken groupIMs. M and other Lindens keep stating they are also working on inworld stability and improvement, yet not much seems to happen; most of the new features come down to guiding people out of SL (client)...like the Xstreet focus and now the Avatars United acquisition.
What do you think?
I am actually thinking that
I am actually thinking that since this is a site that reaches out to other virtual worlds and games .. Blue Mars is on the list too so this even includes direct competition for LL .. the take over by LL will have negative impact on the general idea ofa all avata all world and games social networking site. In general it is good to connect and to reach out but it will be in the interest of LL to connect this site to SL as much as possible and to advertise for SL on this site and this will make it less usable for the users of other worlds and games and lead to a bad name in those communities.
After all, it will recuire that LL allows anyone to freely advertise for their games and worlds equally to LLs advertisment for SL or they should say clearly, that this will be a SL site and only the SL connection is what they care for. Of ocurse they wont do this and maybe they even beleive that their take over will have no impact on the idea of reaching out to other sites and worlds.
So well .. it is wait and see now I guess
Post new comment