Virtuality Seeps Into The Mainstream

If I hadn’t been looking at online real estate and related news last night, I’d have missed an interview with Coldwell Banker representatives Charlie Young and David Siroty over on… of all things… Mortgage News Daily (Link). Interesting to see ideas – which not so long ago received blank stares from most everyone – seep into the cultural mainstream. Here’s a piece of the article:

We interviewed Charlie Young, Senior Vice President, Marketing and David Siroty, Director of Public Relations, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation about the corporation’s decision to take a stake in Second Life.
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Mortgage News Daily: What drove the decision of Coldwell Banker to make what is really a pretty radical move?
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Charlie Young: “We had been looking at Second Life for a year trying to figure out the right way to enter. We wanted to enhance the experience for users, not simply have a corporate presence. It was learning about the land baron issue that mandated our involvement. Coldwell Bankers was founded in 1906 after the San Francisco Earthquake when our founder Colbert Coldwell wanted to bring ethics and integrity into the real estate market. Back then, the unscrupulous were taking advantage of the real estate consumer and that was what we were seeing in Second Life.”

Surreal.

DS: “Another thing; Coldwell Banker is not looking to benefit financially from our presence in Second Life. This is a learning experience for us.

Excellent.

It’s great when a company understands the real value in these virtual endeavors. Their Reputation just gained a few points in my mind.