David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor of Fortune magazine, has written a thorough article on SL and its potential as a viable medium for communications. The most refreshing aspect of the article is that he drives home the point that SL is not a game, and that its success depends primarily on its acceptance as the next Big Thing: the 3D Internet.

It does, however, seem to be somewhat of a circular argument: to gain acceptance, respected and powerful RL companies must make use of SL in ways other than a mere playground, yet without knowing how exactly to do this, major companies are unlikely to take the plunge.
Certainly, IBM's massive investment in SL is a step in the right direction. The article notes that over 3,000 IBM employees had entered SL by January, with about a tenth of that number using SL regularly for business meetings. One only wonders if there is a company dress code in these meetings, as in RL.

Regardless, the naysayers point to the seeming frivolity of SL, though proponents of the platform argue that the nascent Internet went through a similar period of finding its killer sites, and thus, its means to achieve lasting value. While comparisons to the early days of the Internet abound, however, they stop just short of mentioning the rise of the Tech Bubble, and its subsequent burst, leaving thousands out of work, and the world as a whole somewhat disillusioned. Is this a possibility for SL as well?

SL is still new enough in the eyes of the world that it retains its 'flash in the pan' reputation. There is still a substantial feeling of 'wait and see' among analysts, which works both for and against SL. The key seems to be for companies to simply step up and announce that they're throwing their hats into the ring. The very existence of this blog, owned as it is by AOL, seems to be a prime example of this. It's a show of tacit support for the platform, saying, in essence, 'We wouldn't throw our money away on something we don't think will last.' And so it is with the rest of the world. I think we all want SL to survive and thrive, even if we ourselves can't foresee the turning point after which its destiny will be assured.

Certainly, the longer it's around, the safer it will seem to those companies leery of jumping onto something they don't completely understand. The lessons of the past decade still linger in the tech world. Nobody wants to bet on a losing runner, but it isn't always speed that wins the race.

(Via CNN Money)