Times have changed, and Linden Lab have grown up to realise that they’re not going to influence the internet game anymore – they need to adapt because 3D internet is still some way off from becoming mainstream and people aren’t flocking to Second Life. That means they need to go out and bring people in, which isn’t easy when your platform is only accessible through a 30 megabyte download and an interface which is difficult to grasp at first glance (and in the case of Viewer 2, still difficult to grasp after 4 years in).
Today’s press release from the Lab contained a lot of bad news for some prominent Lindens – ones that are no longer on the Second Life Search are:
- Anna Linden
- Brent Linden
- Callen Linden
- Chiyo Linden
- Christy Linden
- Claudia Linden
- Cody Linden
- Cogsworth Linden
- Crimp Linden
- DJ Linden
- Dough Linden
- Drub Linden
- Gayathri Linden
- George Linden
- Gisele Linden
- Harmony Linden
- James Linden
- Jarv Linden
- Jay Linden
- JessieAnn Linden
- Jules Linden
- Karina Linden
- Katie Linden
- Kristi Linden
- Liana Linden
- Meredith Linden
- Mia Linden
- Pastrami Linden
- Periapse Linden
- Pink Linden
- Rakesh Linden
- Rika Linden
- Rodney Linden
- Scott Linden
- Sejong Linden
- Siz Linden
- Socrates Linden
- Storrs Linden
- Theeba Linden
- Twilight Linden
- William Linden
- Zero Linden
Teen Grid maverick Blue Linden has also been let go, and LL Developer Whump Linden tweeted his shock at being layed off. Up to 30% of Linden Lab’s employees have been laid off, and additional others moved into new roles.
So what of the new direction that Second Life is to take? Well it appears that CEO Mark Kingdon gets it – the fad that has grown in the past few years has been social networking and mobile technology, both of which SL has previously failed to utilise. But nobody can ignore the huge growth of Facebook, and it’s marketing potential – EA recently announced that FIFA Superstars would become a Facebook game, allowing them to capitalise on the platform’s 350 million users, as well as lead an opening to their full games on PC and games consoles.
A Second Life app which allows a sneak preview to the virtual world is one of the Lab’s better ideas, even though several others had the idea first. A simplified “taster” of SL which allows people to whet their appetitie for 3D worlds and then offering them the chance to download the full client makes sense in approaching new users. Unity Viewer is the obvious choice, and I still maintain that, like Flash Player, Unity will gain widespread popularity in the coming future.
And mobile technology will be the new frontier, as products such as the iPhone, iPad and Android phones become popular. However, I’m unsure of how popular accessing a virtual world would be on your phone, and I’m not convinced this approach is benefitial to the SL brand.
So what else is going to change?
The SL Enterprise looks to be dead in the water, which is fine as I had no faith in it anyway. Very few companies are interested in their own private virtual grid at this stage, and with an initial USD$50,000 price tag, it’s not a cheap investment. It’s still unclear what the future holds for Avatars United, but I imagine the Lab will push with integrating it into the SL Dashboard. At the moment, it’s a complete disconnect, and largely irrelevant to the majority of SL users.
And, in the short-term future, the layoffs put SL7B into jeopardy with three of the key LL liasons – Blue, Sejong and Mia – all recieving their marching orders, and several voluteers rumoured to have upped tools and disappeared. Of course it’s not the first time the birthday celebrations have been subject to chaos (SL5B, anyone?) but it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.
And then there’s the money question – who’s watching the pursestrings, and how necessary was firing over 100 people to the future sustainability of the company? M Linden assured everyone the company weathered the recession without much of a dent to the cash cow, but scrapping so many people is going to send the alarm bells ringing that someone might have recently checked the bank balance..
Harper Beresford on June 10, 2010
Prad, while we appreciate the speculation about SL7B, those of us actually doing the work for the celebrations are a little dismayed at your sloppy journalism. Truth be told, Blue Linden was never involved in SL7B. The person running it from the Linden end, Courtney Linden, is still with the company and has been working long hours with the many volunteers who are involved, including myself and Doctor Gascoigne. While we are dismayed about the layoffs of Mia and Sejong (and many other Linden folks), Courtney has been our main contact, so SL7B has not been substantially hobbled by the recent round of layoffs. Nor has this news affected our volunteer staff. (Regardless of the “rumors” you have heard, Prad.)
We look forward to seeing you all at SL7B, (including you, Prad), a celebration which is truly for the residents. While it is sponsored by Linden Lab, using their sims and some of their labor, most of the core work is being done by volunteer residents on behalf of their fellow residents.
We want to make that crystal clear: we are giving our time for you, our fellow residents, in celebration of what we have ALL made Second Life into, which is an amazing place. We aren’t always perfect but we’re doing a pretty damn fine job, which could be an assessment for all of SL. Regardless of the choices of the corporate leadership, Second Life has its own life and culture, one generated by the hundreds of thousands of residents that make up this world.
~ Harper Beresford and Doctor Gascoigne
SL7B Resident Organizers
http://sl7b.wordpress.com
Concerned resident on June 10, 2010
I hope Stroker is satisfied.
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concerned resident 2 on June 10, 2010
@Harper
A heap of people just lost their jobs in a really bad economic climate and all you can do it big yourself up and defend your position – it’s quite disgusting to read. Such lack of empathy. All you can think of is yourself and LL’s lame attempt at a community event.
Why exactly work hours for free, and support a company who just fired 30% of its workforce? You’re doing the jobs that Linden’s should be doing and be paid for. Yet your so brainwashed your thinking it’s some type of community service – it isn’t. You’re doing it for self promotion and the lure of that is so strong it blinds you to what is really happening, under the guise of giving to the community.
Your saving LL a fortune in $ – while they get rich from your hard work.
If LL really cared about this resident event or any resident event they would have employed someone who filled the job criteria set out for the new events manager when they advertised it. BUT NO. Courtney Linden by her own admittance has only been in SL a handful of times and has no idea when it comes to the running of a large scale LL event – no idea about land tools and estate rights and no idea how to manage the practical side of event running together with zero experience.
Harper you seem to be sucked into an illusion and your own self importance, which is at best delusional – why else would you feel the need to add a title to your name? ‘SL7B Resident Organizers’ why just mention you two as organisers? Why not link to the pages of the many volunteers helping? Get over yourself and your big ego, and wake up to the fact that your free labour in a stressed economic world, and nothing more.
Lizzie Lexington on June 10, 2010
Dear Concerned Resident 2,
I appreciate your concern about the employees who lost their job but unfortunately this happens all the time in the tech industry. And attacking Harper for her dedication to a world she loves and enjoys volunteering her time for is not helping matters one bit. And honestly asking someone to stop supporting a company that has laid off 30% of it’s work force is a bit extreme.
But if you really feel that way why not stop using a Dell if you own one since they have laid off about oh 20% over the last couple of years or how about Apple and their layoffs in 2001. And oh if you use an AT&T mobile phone, stop using that too since they laid off a huge number of Southwestern Bell Wireless employees soon after the merger in 2003. Layoffs happen, its very sad and stressful but most move on to better things. Bottom line attacking people who support that Lab is not the solution.
Suzanne on June 10, 2010
I don’t want to add insult to injury but want to point out that real people, not avis are affected here, so there’s something surreal about listing Linden names. I’m a long time resident so I get that part of the experience, but I have to agree with Lizzie’s point about the “reality” of virtual worlds, that is, they’re a technology and it’s the tech business.
I’m concerned for the mental/emotional health of Residents who’ve lost that perspective, when and if, SL goes the way of other online communities. I hope they’ll be ok.
Amused on June 10, 2010
We need to have some empathy for the people laid out by Linden Labs who had to go home and break the news that a breadwinner is now out of work. However, companies lay off people all the time and they go on ~ either Linden Labs will continue to exist, cease to exist, or be sold to an organization with the skills to evolve LL into something sustainable. Or not. This is business. Emotional attachments notwithstanding, evolution is inevitable. LL evolves. Life goes on.
We need not have empathy for Harper. The ego of someone who feels that trumpeting her “damn fine job” is an appropriate endorsement for a community event should not be allowed to speak publicly for the event.
And while we’re on the topic, SL7B serves, at best, a small percentage of the population and appears to be organized by Clueless, er, Courtney Linden and a dwindling band of vitriolic volunteers. Wouldn’t we rather have improved performance, expanded access to integrated content, and enhanced stability as opposed to yet another opportunity for minimally-skilled builders to swamp servers with mediocre art and non-optimized scripts?
Why aren’t people flocking to Second Life? Because something as pointless as an arts and crafts fair — SL7B — is considered the pinnacle of a community event.
Let’s stop throwing meaningless events and throw some time and energy at developing truly meaningful ways for people to participate in the community – in ways that bridge the Real Life and Second Life chasm. Giving a handful of resident volunteers a chance to feel self-important and a handful of builders a chance to make some art that has no socially redeeming value is a serious underuse of the opportunity Second Life provides.
The platform provides the opportunity to connect countless lives and causes. Instead, it is used for art fairs and fetish sex. We can’t blame Linden Labs for the pending death throes of Second Life when it is, in fact, the poor imaginations of the vast majority of residents and the boundless egos of the “resident organizers” that resulted in a meaningless and drama-ridden experience for users both new and old.
Kilroy Fitz on June 11, 2010
I think it takes a lot of ballz to say to people your sufferin is more better than ours. People been out of jobs in the real world for years now and no one builds them a memorial. They just fade off when their internet connection is turned off. People all got friends like that these days.
Stop hatin on Harper. She does lots for peeps. You unconcerned citizen, you sounds jealous of her now.
I get you a big tissue for you to weep in. You feels better. You go have the good cry.
concerned resident 2 on June 11, 2010
@Harper
Come to think of it Harper what experience do you have running large scale events? I’ve not seen or heard of you in any past LL events at all – do you script or build? Do you understand land management tools, estate rights and parcelling? Or where you just roped in by Dr as many have been by being begged to help – which is the highest probability and decided what you say goes which is pretty much what has been said in the Birthday group thus far. I hear so some volunteer org already left due to the current mess that you call an event.
I agree with amused in as far as – SL7B is more of an arts and crafts fair and yes Harper you should not be allowed to speak out publicly for a LL event in this manner at all. You obviously have little experience in conducting yourself in the correct professional manner required – believe it or not SL7B is not about you, no matter how hard you work. Bring back Phaylen Fairchild!
KT Syakumi on June 11, 2010
>>– do you script or build? Do you understand land management tools, estate rights and parcelling?
Um yeah, she does. Not that you actually need to know that to manage an event. That’s why you have staff. Sorry you don’t like SL7B, I assume we probably won’t see you there. Not that we’d know if you were, since you don’t have the kahunas to use your name.
concerned resident 2 on June 11, 2010
”That’s why you have staff. ” LOL need I say more ?
Who died and made Harper Queen?
I am already there watching you and reading the bizarre group gossips – whilst Harper snaps her fingers at ‘her staff”
Wake up! Courtney Linden is the lead not Harper. Harper is just a go to on her knees begging for attention – and manageing the ‘event’ badly and in a very unflexable way. Rumour has it that Harper is after a Linden job. Why else kiss so much ass!
Prad Prathivi on June 12, 2010
Okay, this is just turning into a vicious attack on a single person, so all comments are being moderated now.
Il futuro di Second Life dopo i licenziamenti a Linden Lab. Selezione di commenti e opinioni dall’estero « Opensource Obscure on June 13, 2010
[...] web potrebbe incuriosirsi più facilmente e molti nuovi talenti potrebbero avvicinarvisi – Linden Layoffs: What Now? – Observations from the Linden Lab [...]
Little Lost Linden on June 14, 2010
This is a sad time for Second Life. Hope it can pull through. I think they need to improve the graphics, make the interface a little less cumbersome, and give away free milkshakes.
Little Lost Linden
http://www.thebotzone.net
Toby1 Idler on June 15, 2010
Would one of you kind people care to explain how openGL SL can possibly be made into a browser-based experience?
Or are they suggesting adding a new simpler browser option as an alternative to the full viewer?
They are not talking about scrapping the full SL viewer are they?
Second Life Economy Scare – Run on the Lindex Devalues Linden Dollar « Metaversally Speaking.. on June 17, 2010
[...] the Linden represents the biggest change in the Lindex noted, and some think is a reaction to the recent layoffs at Linden Lab, instilling a lack of confidence in the future of Second Life. A change of more than 10% in the [...]