Look who’s back, back again. Philly’s back, tell a friend..
Just when you think it can’t get any worse at Linden Lab, it does. Today saw the news that Mark Kingdon (M Linden) stepped down as CEO to be replaced in the interim by the founder Philip Rosedale (Philip Linden).
Obviously that raises all sorts of questions in what is already turbulent times for the Second Life platform.
The rumours started when Mark Kingdon was absent from making a keynote speech at SL7B with Philip citing an “emergency”. M Linden’s days were already numbered, though in hindsight it makes more sense that he leaves now.
The whole thing appears to look orchestrated – the investors look at the numbers and aren’t happy with what they’re seeing. So they want drastic changes, and a change in the CEO to someone who can take Linden Lab forward, rather than holding it stagnant.
So where did it all go wrong for M Linden?
It seemed that whatever he tried, nothing was working for Mark Kingdon. I like the guy – he’s genuinely a nice person, and he tried. But he was out of his depth when it came to balancing the needs of an online community with making it a successful and growing business.
1. SL Enterprise
Admittedly, this was a nugget that M Linden inherited. I saw immediately that it’d fail spectacularly, and lo-and-behold, it did. Companies have little to no need to fork out $50,000 on a grid when there are several cheaper and easier to use alternatives. This turned out a be a huge flop and the Linden team behind the project found themselves laid off.
2. Avaline
Next up in the line of completely useless services conjured up by the Lab was Avaline – the ability to call your avatar up from a real world phone line. Absolutely nobody could work out why this had any use whatsoever when we already had Skype. Another service hits the scrapheap.
3. XStreet SL
Snapping up XStreet SL was actually a nice bit of business by Linden Lab, but then they did what they did best and alienated the Second Life userbase. By forcing out the possibility to trade freebies on the marketplace (though I still support that idea) they angered a lot of retailers who promptly removed their goods in protest.
4. Zindra
Creating a red light district in Second Life was messy, confusing and created an alienation of the adult industry in SL. That’s not really a bad thing, and it stops kids from being able to access the naughty bits without verification, but I imagine it dented the income. Sex sells.
5. Viewer 2.0
As far as the monumental cock-ups go, this one takes some beating. I’ve harpered on for a couple of years on how Linden Lab needs to fix the first hour experience in order to retain new users registering for Second Life. Their solution was to create a viewer which not only confuses new users, but is vigorously opposed by long time residents too. Go figure, the team which worked on this project were laid off too.
6. SLim
An off-grid client which lets you communicate with friends in SL whilst on a computer which can’t handle the graphics is actually a good idea. Linden Lab somehow lost their way with this particular project though and it ended up in the wilderness.. like so many things seem to.
7. Search
There was a (now) infamous blogpost on how Linden Lab intended to make Second Life search more fair and remove the strong influence that traffic had. All they succeeded in doing in the new viewer was create the most impossible search I’ve ever seen in my life. Nevermind that is was extremely difficult to find anywhere, but then they hid the World Map. Finding your way around Second Life got considerably more difficult and as a result, the SL economy suffered.
8. Homesteads.
Hah. Hahahahaha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. Hah.
9. Avatars United
M Linden always had this fascination about Facebook and how it grew to absurd numbers in such a short time. His purchase of Avatars United was an obvious reaction to this, and implementing it to make Second Life’s community stronger and more integrated between the 2D and 3D web. Yet again, nothing more has happened with this.
10. The Alphabet Linden
This was just more annoying than anything else. We get that you might not want to be found in SL Search so you can be bitched at, but picking out a single letter is a shocking way of going about it.
Wow.. that’s pretty bad.
Well it’s not quite as bad as I’ve made it out to be – Mark Kingdon was hired as someone who’d stabilise Linden Lab and turn it into a viable business. He bought on a load of experienced suits from the likes of Adobe and AOL, and set about coming up with a bunch of ways to increase funds. The SL brand was seriously lacking in people who knew how to run a business, because quite frankly, Philip Linden has no idea how to.
M Linden did it the wrong way though and started off targeting commercial RL businesses. Too little, too late.. the door had long slammed behind them. The SL Enterprise project was fruitless and Linden Lab then turned its attention to capitalising on the residents it already had.
Cleaning up the Mainland by bringing in Zindra was a good move in principle, but then they ruined it with the Linden Homes scheme – why give up on Mainland and create new “gated communities”? Now the new sims are becoming deserted and the whole thing just looks a mess.
I like the Linden Endowment for the Arts though – that’s a good cookie which I urged the Lab to take up some months back. It seemed to take M Linden a while to cotton on that community was key to Second Life, and the reason most residents continue to use the platform. Again though, too little, too late. For him.
Also worth pointing out – investors tend not to sack the CEO unless things really aren’t working. I don’t understand why they’d lay off Mark Kingdon when he was insisting Linden Lab would see it’s biggest profits this year – unless that’s not a truth. It raises all sorts of questions of what state the Lab’s finances are really in, and how viable they are.
Yay! Philly’s Back!
I want to be happy, I really do. Philip Linden oozes charisma and passion, with his boyish looks and energy. He’s definitely not your average CEO, and that’s why SL’s community warms to him – he’s one of us.
But one of us isn’t going to fix SL’s problems – one of the main reasons Philip stepped down was because the platform was facing problems left, right and centre. The grid was falling apart and crashing all the time, the SL economy was in decline and questions were being asked about the state of LL’s future and finances. It was clear that Linden Lab had grown beyond Philip’s control and needed an experienced heavyweight to guide it along.
So Philip went away and came up with something called the Love Machine. Disappointingly, he didn’t come out with a line of sex toys. In fact, he didn’t seem to come out with any products other than some half-baked idea that he was going to save the world. Or something.
If he’d have gone away and done something which looked halfway productive, or even gone travelling around Asia for a few months to “find himself”, I’d have more confidence, but right now it looks a lot like: “Welcome back to the old boss, like the new boss who was like the old/new boss”. Something like that, anyways..
Philip’s a good guy and he always has the SL community’s interests at heart as this is his baby. He wants to nuture and watch it grow – but I fear he has no idea on how to.
I guess this is why he’s the interim CEO until someone better comes along. People keep screaming “He’s gonna be like Steve Jobs!”. He’s really not, because Steve Jobs actually did something during his time away from Apple before being rehired – he grew up and learnt how to be a businessman.
Roll on the next CEO. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Mistletoe on June 24, 2010
I’m curious to see how it turns out. I didn’t come into SL until after Phillip left (at least I’m pretty sure of that; I’ll check dates to confirm) so I really don’t know what to expect. We’ll see I guess.
Tweets that mention Metaversally Speaking: Linden Lab CEO Changes: Mark Kingdon Out, Philip Rosedale Returns -- Topsy.com on June 25, 2010
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Grendel on June 25, 2010
I liked Phillip, didn’t like Kingdom, he seemed too much of a Michal Eisner type, yes he had business know-how, but really wasn’t that interested in SL itself from appearances.
What LL really needs is someone with the passion for the SL community Phillip has, and the business know-how that Kingdom had. bu themselves neither is 100% great, but at least Phillip seemed to care a little bit more
LB on June 25, 2010
I have been in SL for almost five years, and I can honestly say that I have seen it change and grow into what it is now. When I started, there were approx 70,000 members. This was before the days of wooing big corps to come in, and there was a definite community feel. That is what Philip brought to the table, and that is what made it financially successful for those of us it provides an income for. It is only when it became contrived that it started going downhill. I don’t necessarily think that it has outgrown Philip, I think that Philip’s special approach is what made it so successful to begin with. Maybe we need Philip back in charge (and out of his own head) to make SL the charming community it used to be. It worked before, and I am pretty sure it is exactly what we need now.
Nexus Burbclave on June 25, 2010
Interesting analysis. I am with you on the notion that the Steve Jobs comparisons are likely over the top. While I agree with much of your analysis, I am still hopeful that Philip’s tenure will be long… or at least long enough. I believe both his product knowledge and the warm fuzzies that his presence generates for the community are going to be key ingredients to righting the ship.
Cat Cotton on June 25, 2010
Welcome back Philip
I hope you enjoyed your time away, I know I did lol. Hell I might have to acturaly create something new now 
feeling all inspired n stuff.
…I have been in SL since Beta; yup Beta. 2ndLife is better when Philip is around mainly because he really does care. That alone means a great deal to us artist types.
We care too Philip; Welcome back. Smiles warmly @ you.
Take Care;
Cat
Annamaria Button on June 25, 2010
I hope that now they will understand that SL has nothing to do with ugly RL-oriented noob stuff such as Facebook and MSN … running after social networks will always make of SL a loser, because SL is for visionary people with at least a little of experience in PC stuff, not just using a web browser, it cannot be for businesses unless they don’t learn how to become profitable SL businesses (for RL businesses it’s cheaper to create a “traditional” website and hire a good SEO expert), it cannot be for people who just seek kinda 3D MSN or Facebook, annoying everybody with their hunt for those friends and partners they cannot achieve in RL and destroying SL philosophy.
I live in Italy, where the Internet has a poor developement compared to other western countries (except my town, Cagliari, Sardinia, and few other areas) and approach to online community is rather immature, you can’t imagine how did stupid people using voice chat for doing everything, even just to say “ciao” (hello) and trying to oblige anyone who wanted just a genuine SL experience to use that shity stuff make our SL frustrating. This is just an example.
We don’t need such people in SL, they only destroy the spirit of the metaverse, we don’t need any marketing campaign to attract these RL losers. The world will always need dreams, greater, such as dreams Nelson Mandela made true in South Africa, or smaller, such as SL … the world is full of dreamers … SL doesn’t need any justification on a basis of its utility in RL, SL is like arts. It is. And that’s enough.
I hope Philip Linden has learnt enough from his past errors, first of all introducing voice chat in a moment when a lot of people who didn’t understand a f*** about SL philosophy was entering the grid (for e-learning, concerts, model shows presentation and things like that, stream was and is enough), and he will be again the right man to sell a dream to dreamers the right way, not to sell any stupid complex and expensive Facebook clone.
Tateru Nino on June 25, 2010
A few notes:
* The Enterprise team was dropped before Enterprise had a chance to flop. When it was done, but before it made available for purchase, I understand.
* Avaline was a Philip-era product. It was in the works for quite a while before Mark showed up.
* SLim – this wasn’t one of the Lab’s products. It belonged to Vivox, and I think maybe the Lab got tired of them trying to get it right. I think the Lab was probably working on something similar, but with the layofss… well, who knows?
Raul Crimson on June 25, 2010
Well, you know i was not a big fan of M, but i should say i think during his work stability and performance went better (under my experience and point of view, of course).
Viewer 2.0 is not a bad product, but probably was not the product old residents wanted. Old residents are terribly reluctant to any minor change sometimes (i remember lot of people complaining about Windlight) so we all knew someway that would happen with Viewer 2.0, no matter how bad or good is actually the product.
About the rest… i agree M was not the “right” person for Second Life, he tried his best he just didn’t had the best results or at least the results he wanted.
Kalel Mommsen on June 25, 2010
i’d rather have the young inexperienced ceo then a business man… more fun and room to grow..
RevMagdalen on June 25, 2010
Annamaria Button,
You’ve perfectly expressed an attitude I’ve seen from many experienced SL old-timers. The attitude that SL is a special unique world with special people living in it, and noobs are to be shunned and avoided until they prove they’re worthy of remaining in-world. Anything that draws in noobs or makes it easier for them is a tainting and watering-down of the pure Second Life community.
Unfortunately the problem with this belief is that Second Life is actually NOT a magical world for special people, it’s actually a product being created moment-to-moment by expensively-spinning servers owned by a company called Linden Lab, and that company has to start making some money or people are going to stop paying to keep the servers spinning that create the fabulous world you love.
To make money, there have to be more users. To get more users there have to be things like a web browser plugin world viewer that you don’t need gamer graphics capacity to run. There have to be familiar features that people know from other social networks, to help them get adjusted. The first hour experience has to be positive and not frustrating.
I myself have just recently returned to Second Life after years of absence, because I have become part of a 2D web community that could really benefit from a 3D virtual space. We gather together to strengthen community bonds, assess information collaboratively, and express ourselves as a group through collective virtual action and building.
Other communities in the 2D web will start to see the benefits of 3D and join in too, hopefully. If they do, that will be wonderful for Linden Lab and Second Life. New users coming in-world means that your special part of the world that you want to protect and keep pristine can keep existing at all. I suggest if you want to keep noobs out of your land you simply change privacy settings to allow only your group to enter your land, instead of advocating that no new people come to Second Life.
Chaffro on June 25, 2010
Good post. I was talking to a Linden last night who was sad that M was leaving; in his words, “M was a good guy and despite what people thought he did get SL.” That may be, but he really should’ve focused on getting the platform stable before looking at expansion through new viwers and add-ons like SLim and XStreet.
I remember when Philip stood down. A lot of people rejoiced about that (or at least the few I knew back then), hoping that the new guy would do something “about this f*’ing lag”…
Gwyneth Llewelyn on June 26, 2010
Excellent analysis (as usual!), Prad! I totally agree with you. Philip’s “coming back” — even if only as “interim CEO” — will not “save the world”. However, it will boost the confidence of those that required confidence boosts to remain active in SL. It’s merely a huge psychological issue — people wanted change, and change they got. Of course that remains true even if the “change” won’t make much of a difference, but that’s irrelevant: it’s a clever PR act, but one which will improve everybody’s morale — from the still remaining Linden employees, to residents, to the media.
But yes, let’s wait to see who becomes the new “definitive” CEO and what actual plans they will bring with them.
Business versus Fun: How Rosedale’s Return Splits Second Life « Metaversally Speaking.. on June 26, 2010
[...] Blogroll « Linden Lab CEO Change: Mark Kingdon Out, Philip Rosedale Returns [...]
Donna Truths on June 30, 2010
Good riddance to that vicious, back stabbing little queen, Mark Kingdon. He was WAY over his head. Had not a clue and it showed.
He cavalierly fired hundreds of people at Organic and Linden Labs. He would fire his own grandmother if he thought it would get him ahead. We”ll see how HE likes being unemployed.
Let him fade back into the woodwork. His self-importance and grandiosisity is what made him self destruct. Anyone who ever worked with him was forced to submit to the endless BS he was constantly spewing in an effort to manipulate perceptions of him. It didn’t work this time. Management and the Board weren’t as stupid as his previous employers.
Gwyn’s Home » Blog Archive » King of Spades Out, Ace of Hearts In on July 2, 2010
[...] advanced by anyone. It means mostly that there is something we’re not being told about, as Prad and others point out: so if LL was profitable — they have consistently shown more real profits [...]
Yordie Sands on July 2, 2010
hi Prad… first a big “what he said” ! And especially with regard to Philip being a Steve Jobs.
A few months ago I tried to understand what the LoveMachine was and I spent time trying to “get it” and the only thing I got was that Philip & co were going to teach the world how to fly by the seat of our collective business pants (and skirts).
Steve Jobs is the icon of a business visionary, but there was a time when he wandered the halls of Apple in gauze robes and lost his way. You are right, Jobs didn’t go flying off into deep space like Philip but his great Next OS was a bridge too far.
I keep coming back to the basic idea that the biggest problem with LL is the owners. They (and Mitch Kapor in particular) don’t seem to understand that the product they have created has great potential, but not the kind of potential they can see. I keep using the Xerox PARC example becasue in the 1970s, the scientists and engineers at PARC handed Xerox management the future of computing and management lacked the vision to understand what they had.
Donna Truths on July 29, 2010
You like Mark Kingdon, he’s a generally nice guy????
You obvioulsy don’t know him very well. He’s a manipulative, back stabbing little fegele and they are well off to get rid of him.
He did nothing 0f note but they were stupid enough to believe his hype when he lobbied for the job. Either they’re dumb or can Linden management can plead “temporary insanity”.
Mark needs, with his Art History degree, to be running a tatoo parlour in the Castro. He’d fit in perfectly.