Brass Tacks on Non-Profit Presences In Second Life: To What End?

The image (linked to the source) is priceless, and if you replace 'web 2.0 widgetz' with 'Second Life Presence'... well, it goes without saying.

For example, I was involved in helping create the IFAW presence/presentation in Second Life when I worked for Trellon. If you held a gun to my head right now, I wouldn't be able to tell you how effective it was (actually, the image inspired me to ask IFAW folk - waiting for a response) - I do know that IFAW didn't spend much on the presence - I don't think that any Non-profit should spend much on a presence within Second Life for very intuitive reasons. There is only so far even a Seal Team can take you.

Non-profits typically lag corporations when it comes to following trends (an article by itself!), and we all know that the corporate interest bubble of SecondLife has burst to some degree. It hasn't completely fallen away, mind you - there are simply more realistic expectations. Some have made [w:philanthropy] a 'big deal'^tm in Second Life, but when you think about it - it just doesn't make as much sense as it looks 'cool'. Second Life Hype vs. Human Needs is very poignant in this regard.

It isn't that Second Life isn't good for non profits. It is a question of how good Second Life is in these regards. I'd love to see some published metrics on that.

And as someone labeled a [w:digital divide] activist in the real world, I always snicker when I hear someone say that SL helps with the Digital Divide.