Provide a solution

There's an update on the solution providers program over on the blog. Unlike a lot of naysayers I don't have a problem with corporates arriving inworld. I welcome them with open arms, I then wonder what the hell they're doing and who advised them, but I welcome them.

I don't see corporates as the enemy, or that there's a hidden agenda whereby us residents are going to be wiped off the face of the map to make way for corporates. I just wonder why they don't engage.

Part of this comes of course from the tumultuous nature of some Second Life residents who are only too willing to grief, and another comes from the fact that so many inworld locations are run by amateurs. I don't mean amateurs in a bad way, but, and this may surprise you, Ciaran Laval isn't my real name! Yes I know, it shocked me too when I found out. However a corporate isn't going to do business with me in any great capacity whilst I'm still anonymous.

So the solution provider program is for real business, to provide real deals. Everything is accounted for correctly. That's all fine and dandy, I've heard mutterings before that the solution provider program is biased towards certain providers but that's a side issue.

Personally I wouldn't reccomend Second Life professionally because of the way Linden Lab treat their bread and butter customers and yes openspaces definitely fit into that category. Why would a corporation want to associate themselves with a product that would do that to its own customers? Linden Lab won't get away with this kind of action forever if their hopes and dreams are to be realised. They need to fix their customer relations and they need to fix the fast.

Then there's the fact that the blog post lists some examples that I never even knew existed. Yes Second Life is a big place but surely if you're going to promote and woo bigger customers you need to give them exposure. This will not fit in with some people's ideas of fairness but this is how life works. Linden Lab can charge extra for extra visibility but heck offer people a place in some sort of corporate showcase for a premium. Showcase is a wonderful advertising medium, it adds value, utilise it.

Second Life is full of potential, but potential only lasts so long before people come to the conclusion that potential will never be fulfilled. Linden Lab need to grasp the nettle of opportunity and start acting professionally themselves, after all they're at the top of any solution provider tree. Sort out your customer relations guys, before history passes you by.