There was an interesting post on Massively called  “Is Linden Lab wasting its time on the existing Second Life population? Then John Carter pointed me to some of @DaleInnis ’s posts related to Linden Labs “futzing around with the world”  that also got me thinking (good stuff, follow some of her links)

This is an old problem that many companies have. How do you keep current customers happy when expanding out to reach even more people? You have enthusiasts that help build and market your product that you don’t want to alienate. At the same time you see the competition in your rear view mirror and your product has not caught on like it might.

For Second Life, I’m right in the middle. I’ve been a part of different communities for years. I love art and music and creativity that is so easily expressed there. I love the coming together of minds and discussions on philosophy and psychology (I can talk all day about augmentalist and immersionists). I spend money. The fact you can run a business there and make money is a very powerful feature.

At the same time, in real life, I’m one of those techies or corporate guys that often gets a bad rap in SL. I see so much potential for many of the Second Life technologies to do much more than they do today. It could reach many more people and businesses than it does in its current incarnation. For businesses and education, I see a lot of money that can be saved for people, schools and companies (and money that can be made by virtual world companies). And I’m tired of what sometimes seems to be the continuous focus on the wrong problems, coming at least in part, from the SL community itself. It makes real progress sooooo slow.

So, for now, I’ll just keep using Second Life for fun. Someday I’ll start pushing for it to be used to solve real world problems but at this pace, it is years away.

P.S. Yes, I know there are many examples of virtual worlds  being used in business and there is a lot of enthusiasm for education and training. IMHO, the vector is just not the steep. I also know there are many other Virtual Worlds – I hope the competition triggers a change.

Its no secret I’m keen on the potential for Virtual Worlds.  Today, there is enough there to keep me hooked but I don’t think that is true for most people.  Even for me, it leaves a lot to be desired.  Here are some things I want:

Sports simulations!  I’m watching the Florida/Kentucky game now.  I’d love for 3D avatars to be playing in my 3D world doing the same thing the real players are doing.  Let me watch the game from any angle, fly above the field and hang out virtually with my friends.

Engine mechanics.  Really, I want to bring in my own 3D objects.  In my case, I have an old 82 Corvette I work with.  I hang out with some other Corvette folks on line and sometimes get their advice but doing this online can be hard. It sure would be nice to have my engine in-world and have online friends point to the part I need to fix. My son is into the old Volkswagen beetles.  It would be fun to mock up his designs in-world.

Working Virutal World objects.  Sure, we have a few of these now. We have “TV”s, and drivable cars, and sailboats but most are poor imitations of real world devices. The script I can put on my in-world object is nothing compared to the program I can put on my computer, PDA, or even my cell phone.

Real, virtual economy.  Second Life has kind of tapped into the potential. I want to be able to buy and sell services.  I want to be able to buy and sell virtual stuff. Going to the dentist might be hard, but there is no reason I can’t meet with a lawyer, or configure a car before I buy it (Yes, I know some of this has been done but it is still too primitive).  When I buy my Winnebago and start traveling the country, I want to be able to work in a virtual world like I never left.

Virtual World/Software Integration.  When I create a PPT slides, its a pain to take them to a Virtual World. In the old days, we built models. People could come in and watch you work. They could see as your design takes shape and make comments. You could work together.  Now its a solitary job.  Maybe they can look over your sholder as you sit at your computer.  When I do any kind of 3D design on the computer, I want people to be able to walk into my virtual office and see what I am doing just like they could when I was building real 3D models.