Second Life a viable meeting option?

There is something very nerdy about virtual worlds and the folks that inhabit them way too much. One thing is certain, virtual worlds are going to have more and more real-life applications that will affect all of us in the meeting planning industry.

While you may have dismissed the possibility of hosting meetings & events in virtual worlds in the past, the new generation of information workers have a different attitude. All the Gen-Y kids coming out of Stanford, MIT, and Princeton, the business leaders in 10 years, all have "In-World" avatars that reflect their own preferences and personalities. One day (not too far away), these same avatars will be a confluence of Facebook profiles, V-Cards, LinkedIn profiles and more. Some of the world's largest companies have been investing heavily in Second Life for quite some time.

As meeting planners, we can't afford to ignore new technologies that will have a huge impact on the future of our industry. Imagine completing 10 site visits in one day, without ever leaving your office. Start thinking of the look on senior management's faces when you demonstrate the cost savings gained by having no airfare, no accommodations, no F&B. Are any of you currently using this technology past the demo stage? Is the push coming from your team or your IT department? If not, are any of you in discussion about it? Who is driving it, Meeting Planning, IT, Marketing/Sales or Senior Management?

Here is an interesting example: Virtual Forbidden City developed by IBM in partnership with the Palace Museum. It was designed to encourage people from all around the world to explore and learn about Chinese history and culture.

Starwood's new hotel chain aloft actually launched it's brand with virtual tours in Second Life before any of the properties were opened.

Dell Island (video) is another great example of how consumers can interact with products online. Not a believer yet? Check out the infinite possibilities at What is Scion City. While this is nothing more than an extended commercial, approaching it in a different fashion allows for more engagement. It's only a matter of time until the graphics in Second Life are as good as they are on Grand Theft Auto IV on X-Box 360.

Here an example that touches our political and mainstream media systems - John Edwards' 'In-World' Presidential Campaign mocked by John Stewart:


The business applications for meeting planners are endless, but once again a cultural/consumption shift will have to occur to make it useful. Planners need to anticipate the needs of their customers and attendees and and be there waiting for them when they walk through the door. Being prepared to offer this to our internal customers before they ask for it is what makes us valuable to our organizations.

Instead of a hosting a mandatory compliance training meeting in a boring conference center in some random suburb of Boston, you can host it in your virtual meeting room 'In-World' at your own branded meeting space/swim-up pool-bar, on a Pete Dye-designed golf course sitting on your private island in the Carribean.

Hey, you can dream, right? That's what makes Second Life so interesting. If you'd like to learn more, check out Millions of Us.