The Use of Second Life in Business
Abstract
Second Life and other virtual worlds like it are quickly becoming one more in an arsenal of mainstream applications that business are using to gain an edge on their competitors. However, since virtual worlds are still in the infancy stage, the ways that companies can best use them to further their goals is still under development.
This paper takes a look at how businesses are using virtual worlds in the areas of brand and service expansion, virtual human resources, employee development, business to business marketing, product exhibitions, and on-line collaboration (both internally, with customers and with the media). It will also examine companies who have taken on building their own virtual worlds or are using virtual worlds other than Second Life.
Keywords
Second Life, Virtual Worlds, On-Line Collaboration, 3-D environment, Business.
1 Introduction
Everywhere you look it appears that Second Life as a virtual world, is gaining momentum. It’s growing throughout the business sector, as well as in educational environments. One place where it’s not growing is in the disabled community. For corporations moving into the realm of Second Life, there’s an increased need for careful evaluation of security risks. This group project will present other growth opportunities for Second Life, as well as address some of the security issues that need to be considered when embarking into this new world of virtual communication.
Companies on the cutting edge and even those not traditionally seen as “technology based”, are using virtual worlds such as Second Life (and others) to provide additional benefits to their employees, customers and the g ...