Isn’t a game. Ok, got it. From what I heard tonight, Cory thinks of Second Life as a communications platform.

SL’s product is nothing new. One of my first online experiences was with the ImagiNation Network. Singapore had no commercial ISPs yet and I was running on an export model US Robotics modem which I bought through an under-the-table deal.

ImagiNation had the avatars, the meeting places, the chat facilities. SL is ImagiNation 2.0, if I may be the first to coin the term and pay homage to the visionaries ahead of their time back in 1991. But communication is where the similarities end.

SL allows users to create in-world objects - from musical instruments, weapons, automobiles and even buildings and has a hands-off approach to the evolution of the in-game in-world world. It’s like ImagiNation meets Google Sketchup. You get to build things, other people get to use the things you build.

An interesting point brought up during the talk was the crossing between the real world and the in-game world. Economies within SL are tied to the real world, with exchange rates between in-world Linden Dollars and real-life money. Recently, Second Life produced its first millionaire. 1 million US dollars, mind you.

The possibilities are numerous, but not endless. Education in SL is taking off, with international collaborations between academic institutions. Personally, I feel subjects like architecture and woodworking are better suited in SL, as the virtual creation of objects is very similar to the real life activities, only infinitely cheaper and risk-free. Other subjects are still delivered via video, audio and text, facilities which can already be found on webpages, emails and podcasts.

The tools provided by Linden Labs to residents of Second Life have made innovation travel on internet time. Numerous third-party vendors have come on board to help the geometrically-challenged build virtual objects to simulate real world environments, a particularly useful service for organisations that want to run experiments that would cost pots of money to implement physically.

Much as SL strives to mirror real life, I believe it is a world of its own. I can’t sell health insurance in-world because no one falls sick or dies.

Some things will work in SL, and some things won’t.

Right now trying to figure out what would and what wouldn’t is an intensive intellectual exercise; and that is where Second Life starts to feel like a Second Job. Which doesn’t being home the bacon.

Yet.