WELCOME TO IDIS SECOND LIFE BROWN BAG LUNCHEON

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WELCOME TO IDIS SECOND LIFE BROWN BAG LUNCHEON

• July 26, 2007

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Who We Are

• Issue Dynamics Inc. (IDI) is a leading
  Washington, DC-based public affairs firm that has
  been aligning allies, connecting voices and
  promoting action for over 20 years.

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WHAT IS SECOND LIFE?
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A 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by
its more than 8.3 million registered users.
More on that later
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A medium where users can explore, meet,
socialize, participate in individual and group
activities, create and trade items and services
from one another.
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• A new platform for education, recruitment, and
  mobilization.

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Who Uses Second Life?
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SL users are more likely to be male than in the
general population.
Source Linden Labs. June 2007.
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SL users identify themselves as being highly
educated.
Source De Nood, David and Attema, Jelle. The
Second Life of Virtual Reality. EPN. December
2006. Pg. 20.
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POP QUIZ!
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Question What is the average age of a Second
Life user?

• 13-17
• 18-24
• 25-34
• 35-44
• 45
• Unknown

-- -- -- -- -- --

• 0.86
• 26.48
• 38.24
• 21.65
• 12.20
• 0.56

Source Linden Labs. Monthly Active Users by
Age Bucket, June 2007.
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Why does Second Life matter?
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Reason 1 Your constituents online communities
matter to them. 43 percent of Internet users who
are members of online communities say that they
feel as strongly about their virtual community
as they do about their real-world communities.
Source Online World As Important to
Internet Users as Real World? Center for the
Digital Future, Annenberg School of
Communication, University of Southern California.
November 29, 2006.
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Reason 2 Internet users are migrating to virtual
worlds. 80 of active Internet users and Fortune
500 enterprises will have a second life in a
virtual world (not necessarily Second Life)
within the next five years. Source
Gartner says 80 percent of active Internet users
will have a second life in the virtual world by
the end of 2011, Gartner, Inc. April 24, 2007.
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Reason 3 Involvement in online communities leads
to offline action and social activism. More than
one-fifth of online community members (20.3)
take actions offline at least once a year that
are related to their online community. Almost
two-thirds of online community members who
participate in social causes through the Internet
(64.9) say they are involved in causes that were
new to them when they began participating on the
Internet. More than 40 percent (43.7) of online
community members participate more in social
activism since they started participating in
online communities. Source Online World As
Important to Internet Users as Real World?
Center for the Digital Future, Annenberg School
of Communication, University of Southern
California. November 29, 2006.
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Reason 4 Major funders are interested in Second
Life. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation recently donated 550,000 to the
Center on Public Diplomacy of the University of
Southern California to stage events in Second
Life. Source Strom, Stephanie.
Foundation With Real Money Ventures Into Virtual
World, The New York Times. June 22, 2007.
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Reason 5 A growing community is helping
non-profits get the tools they need to succeed in
Second Life More than 30 non-profits have opened
offices in a virtual business incubator in Second
Life called the Nonprofit Commons that is
operated by TechSoup, a group that helps other
nonprofits with technology. Source
Strom, Stephanie. Foundation With Real Money
Ventures Into Virtual World, The New York Times.
June 22, 2007.
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Debunking a Few Second Life Myths
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Myth 1 Second Life is Huge or Second Life is
Small. Fact While there are more than 8.2
million registered users of Second Life, as of
June 2007, most experts believe that there are
around 500,000 active users of Second
Life. Source Au, Wagner James.
Debunking 5 Business Myths about Second Life,
July 12, 2007. Online http//gigaom.com/2007/07/
12/debunking-5-business-myths-about-second-life/
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Myth 2 Second Life is Mostly for
Perverts. Fact Linden Labs reports that just
18 of the Second Life world has been designated
to have Mature content. Explicit activity is
relegated to a subset of that percentage. A
Teen Grid has been set up that bans explicit
content altogether. Source Au, Wagner
James. Debunking 5 Business Myths about Second
Life, July 12, 2007. Online http//gigaom.com/2
007/07/12/debunking-5-business-myths-about-second-
life/
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Myth 3 Vandalism is Rampant in Second
Life. Fact Most sabotage, such as it is,
involves impermanent special effects which can be
prevented entirely, using the available land
management controls which regulate unauthorized
content creation on users property.
Source Au, Wagner James. Debunking 5
Business Myths about Second Life, July 12, 2007.
Online http//gigaom.com/2007/07/12/debunking-5-
business-myths-about-second-life/
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Myth 4 Second Life is Easy. Fact Second Life
has a steep learning curve, significant technical
requirements, and a unique community that resists
traditional marketing practices.
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Myth 5 Second Life is Expensive -- or Second
Life is Cheap. Fact The cost of entry into
Second Life varies greatly depending on your
goals. The more complex an experience you
desire, the more it is likely to cost. Basic
membership is free, but building out a complex
presence can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Source Steel, Emily. Avatars at the
office, The Wall Street Journal. November 13,
2006.
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How can non-profit organizations use Second Life?
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Education
Strategy Enhance existing online and offline
issue education platforms by utilizing Second
Lifes unique capabilities

• Suggested Tactics
• Hold regular office hours in Second Life
• Use your in-world headquarters to host
  educational materials (notecards, videos, photos,
  etc.)
• Build interactive experiences
• Example Swimming with whales to promote an
  anti-whaling campaigns.
• Hold an educational event or virtual press
  conference

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Educational Success IFAW Raises Awareness About
the Canadian Seal Hunt

• The Ask Enhance the International Fund for
  Animal Welfares (IFAW) efforts end the Canadian
  harp seal hunt by educating Second Life users
  about the issue.
• The Solution Build a online meeting space and
  organized briefings to update Second Life
  bloggers, group leaders, and general users about
  the progress of IFAWs Canadian protest
  activities.

• The Result Coverage in the Dallas Morning News
  and blog postings by top 20-ranked Kotaku.com and
  influential Second Life blogger Linda Zimmer.
  More than twenty Residents joined the IFAW Second
  Life groups. ePolitics.com noted this is the
  sort of mass-appeal campaign thats most likely
  to get some benefit from venturing into the
  virtual wilds.

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Recruitment
Strategy Connect with like-minded users in
Second Life to help raise your organizations
online presence and build support for your
campaigns.

• Suggested Tactics
• Outreach to Second Life-based groups
• Create your own group to manage message
• Build a SL headquarters as a meeting point
• Advertise with SL bloggers and SL media outlets
• Host recruitment parties

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Recruitment Success ACLU Rallies to End Torture

• The Ask Maximize participation and media
  coverage of the ACLUs National Day of Action
  rally in Second Life.
• The Solution Organization of a virtual rally
  on Capitol Hill in Second Life. Outreach to
  existing ACLU and NetRoots groups in SL as well
  as SL-focused bloggers to generate attendance.
• The Result Almost three dozen attendees at the
  event, four blog postings, and a new connection
  discovered between the official ACLU and their
  Second Life supporters.

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Mobilization
Strategy Use the fruits of effective educational
and recruitment efforts to generate action in
support of organizational goals.

• Suggested Tactics
• Hold virtual letter writing events
• Conduct in-world strategy sessions
• Partner with in-world merchants to hold auctions
• Complement offline conferences with in-world
  events
• Sell virtual products related to issue campaigns
  (buy-a-yak)

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Mobilization Success Cancer Society Raises
90,000

• The Ask Leverage cancer victims, survivors,
  friends and family in Second Life to raise money
  for cancer research.
• The Solution Re-create a Relay For Life event
  and associated fundraising within the virtual
  world setting, combining traditional design with
  new elements afforded by the online social
  platform.
• The Result More than 90,000 raised in-world
  prior to the July 28 event. More than 3,000
  users are expected to take part. Coverage in
  seventeen newspapers and four magazines,
  including The New York Times, Boston Globe, and
  USA Today, More than sixty blogs postings written
  about the event.

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Lets Demo!