Linden Lab seems to be in a bit of a limbo state right now.
The PR people aren’t answering any communications, Web-site updates seem to be on hold, communications of any substance are thin on the ground, teens are on hold. Perhaps it is because the Lab’s new CEO, Rod Humble, doesn’t join the company until sometime around the 17th, but it feels more like the sort of thing that the Lab traditionally does before Big Surprise Announcements.
Some are asking if a new marketing and communications directive that has Lab employees removing “Linden” from their work-only social-media profiles (their personal socmedia accounts seem to be untouched) is a sign of an impending acquisition. Why remove the word “Linden” from employee’s work accounts, unless that’s being replaced with some other word soon? Personally, I don’t buy into that notion.
I’ve contacted the Lab for clarification, of course, but the metaphorical phone is ringing out. Either the PR spokesperson isn’t there, or there’s instructions not to talk. Hard to say which, what with the close proximity of the holiday season, and that there’s literally nobody else authorised to communicate with me officially. Usually, though, the first week of the New Year is pretty much full-steam-ahead at the Lab. If that is the case, why’s it so quiet?
Could it, in fact, be a Big Surprise Announcement? I really hope not. The thing I hate most from Linden Lab is surprise. Prove me wrong. Make a fool out of me. But please, no surprises.
There’s a trend in the HR community this year to issue “social networking policies” in the hopes of finding a legal way of muzzling employees and stifling leaks that won’t run into 1st Amendment trouble here in the US. The “you can’t call yourself Linden” thing may be part of that.
maybe a part of the reason …. http://lindenlab.hrmdirect.com/employment/openings.php
Precursor to Google Lab? Rod Google?
Coming from another source, I’d just say “ah, just more speculation.” But you’ve been around these folks long enough to do pattern recognition.
Having just come off a talk by some leaders in the (remaining) edu-sector of SL, they at least are solidly split about the value of SL as anything more than a good place to get scattered educators to meet for conferences and training. Some are going to stay, along with students and campuses, for two years that they’ve renewed under LL’s special offer. Others, with heavy reps in-word, are advising colleagues to leave SL as a platform for doing serious work. LL’s policies and the emphasis on gaming are proof to many educators that we are not valued there. More when the transcript for yesterday’s event runs.
I plan to survey educators again with a better designed instrument than my hasty survey done in the wake of last fall’s end of edu-and-nonprofit discounts. At our meeting of about 45 folks yesterday, the general consensus was that LL repeatedly shot itself in the foot last year (just the past year?) and change will be inevitable.
Maybe the names “Linden” and “Second Life” are so toxic that they need a change without a change of corporate ownership. My campus colleagues not in virtual worlds now chuckle whenever they hear “Second Life”: the name is a joke. When you say, “simulation in a 3D environment called OpenSim,” they don’t chuckle and even ask what you are building.
But beyond name-changes, if the Lindens want to end the abandonment of land on a wholesale basis, they need to lower tiers for all residents. And a new logo: the hand-and-eye are kinda new-age cultish.
How about a big foot with a bullet hole in it?
I honestly don’t know quite what to think at the moment. Not sure which way the frog is going to jump. I’ve just got this calm-before-the-storm feeling.
I don’t know if I should give the acquisition notion any credence at all. It fits a pattern of a few other companies that have done similar just prior to such an event, and I know a lot of folks are thinking that that is exactly what’s going on – but I really can’t see a case for the Lab selling up to anyone, unless the offer was ridiculously good.
I’m just not seeing it myself. But I do have a weird feeling about things.
I’d be really disappointed to discover that Google’s not smart enough to recognize the decrepit state of the Linden codebase.
People in the so called “german community” laughed at me as I said at the end of 1st quarter 2010 that the count of estate sims will go lower the first time, beginning at the end of quarter 3 in 2010.
I agree with Ignatius “….Maybe the names “Linden” and “Second Life” are so toxic that they need a change without a change of corporate ownership…” Here in germany nobody talk about SL or Linden Lab in the media anymore. Maybe not the fault of Lindens, But what they will need is better PR. All the time. It’s very late now.
I was wondering as I heard that Ron Humble will be CEO at Linden Lab. Why he should change from a proper job at EA on an ejection seat at Linden Lab?
Btw.: What is doing Mark Kingdon right now?
@Linda Mark? I’m not really sure. He’s over in New York, and probably considering offers. Whatever the prevailing opinion of him might be among the past and present Second Life user-base, he’s got a lot of cred in business.
Oh, I started answering your question about Rod Humble – and when I got to three paragraphs with no end in sight at that point … well, I’ll make it a blog post sometime within the next day.
Hey, I was LinkedIn-diving to see if Mark had a new job yet (no).
But what I noticed while thrashing around there was that Cyn Skyberg, ex-VP Customer Relations (and briefly, Partnerships) at LL became “Chief Talent and Culture Officer” at Wikimedia Foundation back in September.
Wasn’t that about when the Jimmy Wales “personal appeal” haunting started? I’m just sayin’…
@Linda Here is my rather lengthy answer to your question. Possibly littered with some personal background that you probably didn’t know.
http://www.crunchbase.com/person/mark-kingdon
is all I could find on him.
Hm, this reminds me of this: http://blogs.secondlife.com/message/538795
Now you mention, will Linden Lab employees that go inworld still have Linden accounts now they gave lastnames the finger?
I’m at Michael Linden’s last Office Hour.
They’re revamping the communication with customers. And the planes for the new system seem pretty vague–Michael doesn’t really know anything.
I hope we don’t have to use Facebook.
Do you mean “most recent office hour” or “final office hour”? I assume the former.
It would be nice to see Google buy LL and keep it a PC-centric virtual world, but the prevailing trend is console, and as I have mentioned before, a new viewer using kinect would be great. My money would be on LL being bought by Microsoft and it becoming an Xbox-centric virtual world.
Oh look – http://www.reghardware.com/2011/01/07/microsoft_2011_announcements/ – “…In his speech Ballmer revealed a clutch of Kinect-enabled experiences coming soon in 2011. One, Avatar Kinect, will bring a player’s avatar to life using facial recognition technology. This means an avatar will not only mimic a player’s movements, but also their expressions….” In what virtual world, I wonder?
Don’t forget mobiles, bad choicess regarding OS aside, more and more mobiles are gradually crossing into the netbook category, some even already passing it and reaching towards the laptop category, i wouldn’t give it more than two years ’til mobiles that aren’t too expensive will have enough horsepower to run a desktop SL client.
Mari has some more details about Michael’s *last* office hour and some other communication upcoming changes:
http://www.plurk.com/p/a17dxx
Indeed, I got similar yesterday from other sources. Just working on writing it up.
@Wolf Baginski:
“They’re revamping the communication with customers.”…
Which one? Besides the “We are so excited to announce…” claqueurs, jubilantly announcing the next catastrophic change for customers, i don’t really see a lot of communication. The Lab should not revamp anything not existing, they should really get in touch with the people.
And with that they should noch forget again, that the US is not the only profitable market – it’s just about the half of the lab’s income…..