More on the Media in Second Life

A recent article by Mark Glaser for the online magazine MediaShift (part of the PBS site) looks at the demise of Reuters, CNN, and Wired in Second Life. And despite the about-face reactions of the ex-staffers who left the SL bureaus, Glaser paints a positive picture of reportage about Second Life.

Glaser also comments of the nature of business within Second Life.

"One thing that has survived the hype is the virtual economy of Second Life and other online worlds and gaming environments, where people sell virtual goods with game-based money that can be converted to real money. BusinessWeek's Robert Hof believes that's a story that has staying power.

"'The notion of virtual economies is already becoming a solid business model for many game companies, and even social networks like Facebook -- by some accounts up to $2 billion in revenues -- so that seems like a trend that has some legs, and it's one you can credit Second Life with proving as much as anyone,' Hof said. 'And of course, the idea of user-generated content is huge today on a number of fronts, though Second Life is just one example of that.'"

Lawrence Mullen, a journalism professor at the University of Nevava, Las Vegas, is quoted as saying "There are a number of virtual magazines in SL - they come and go - but there are many new projects always starting. And maybe it's good that the large media corporations aren't getting into SL - thus giving others a chance to redefine what journalism is or should be."

This notion of SL journalism being redefined in SL is interesting. Interesting enough for me to have already buzzed of an email to Mullen to do an interview for SLentrepreneur.

It's a great article; I wished I'd written it ;)