Linden Lab positions Second Life as cost-effective Telepresence
In an interview with CNet’s Dan Farber, Linden Lab VP of platforms and technology development Joe Miller discusses business applications for Second Life, including meetings, interviews, and project collaboration. The biggest issue with the interview (and the associated controversial headline) is that Second Life can’t, and shouldn’t be, compared with a product like Cisco’s TelePresence.
Stacking one up against the other in terms of performance is a moot point; Cisco’s product would win hands-down when it comes to quality of communication, the ability to have full HD video for any virtual meeting, and the assurance that any interactions would be completely griefer-free.
However, when it comes to providing a solution for small companies and any business use that needs to stay within the confines of a tight budget, especially in today’s economy, it’s obvious that Second Life wins handily. Sure, there is always the possibility that a prospective employee will forget to remove his or her wings before showing up for a job interview, but as a cost-effective solution, Second Life can be an improvement over phone interviews or travel costs.
TelePresence has long suffered from the "if you have to ask you can’t afford it" syndrome, and unless you were a large company, the costs and bandwidth requirements were prohibitive. Our sister publication, Network Word, looked at Proctor & Gamble’s struggles as a TelePresence early adopter, and Proctor & Gamble is an $83 billion company with over 40 set-ups installed (which cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 per set-up).
In comparison, Second Life probably looks a lot better, especially for smaller companies. A private region costs $1000 to purchase, and a monthly maintenance fee of $295, a more cost-effective solution than relying on TelePresence providers or purchasing set-ups. With voice capabilities and the ability to add anyone in to a collaborative session who has a PC without requiring any specific set-up, it’s also a far more inclusive solution, especially when looking for something between a phone interview or webcam chat and flying a candidate in for an interview.
More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard: