I’d mentioned previously that graphic novelist Warren Ellis was giving Second Life a try. Well, he’s apparently hit on a couple of things I’ve previously mentioned in his most recent post (Link). The first thing he discusses is the virtual weapons one finds inworld. Unfortunately he doesn’t go further than noticing them. At some point I figure he’ll come to the same conclusion I did (reLink). We’ll see. I’d be interested in seeing where he takes that idea.

The second thing he picked up on was the fabbing of Second Life avatars and other items. If he’s seen the styrofoam models to which he refers in his post (mentioned here – reLink), he either has low expectations or the guys making them have actually moved to RENshape. Doubtful. That stuff costs a bit more than home insulation foam. I’m still wondering if they’re turning a profit (of course they might have picked up a CNC at some corporate firesale, but even then the numbers still look tough). I’ll have to drop them a note.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but leave a post over on Micro Persuasion’s entry (Link) discussing the Hype versus the Reality of marketing in Second Life. Though the hype is certainly in overdrive, people are rightly pointing to SL as a way to think about future marketing potentials – something I’ve been saying for some time as some of you know. What they haven’t been considering are the tie-ins to the whole system (so of course I posted some links to entries I’ve made on that topic). I’ll be curious to see if anyone in the marketing community figures it out and starts discussing it. Something for which I’ll be on the lookout and which gives me a reason to visit my new (and now free) Google Analytics page.