Table Of ContentMarketing in
Virtual Worlds
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Marketing in
Virtual Worlds
Natalie T. Wood
Saint Joseph’s University
Prentice Hall
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto
Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo
Editorial Director: Sally Yagan Cover Design: Frubiliciousdesign
Editor in Chief: Eric Svendsen Manager, Rights and Permissions: Shannon Barbe
Executive Editor: Melissa Sabella Cover Art: Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc.
Editorial Project Manager: Kierra Kashickey Certain materials have been reproduced with the permission of
Editorial Assistant: Karin Williams Linden Research, Inc.
Director of Marketing: Patrice Lumumba Jones Media Project Manager: Lisa Rinaldi
Senior Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Media Editor: Denise Vaughn
Marketing Assistant: Melinda Jensen Full-Service Project Management: Preparé, Inc.
Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Composition: Preparé, Inc.
Project Manager: Debbie Ryan Printer/Binder: Courier/Kendallville
Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Cover Printer: Lehigh-Phoenix
Senior Art Director: Janet Slowik Text Font: 10/12 Times
Art Director: Steve Frim
Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook
appear on appropriate page within text.
Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc.
Certain materials have been reproduced with the permission of Linden Research, Inc.
Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street,
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of
America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the
publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain
permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education,
Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.
Many of the designations by manufacturers and seller to distinguish their products are claimed as
trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a
trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wood, Natalie T., 1970-
Marketing in virtual worlds / Natalie T. Wood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-611717-9
ISBN-10: 0-13-611717-1
1. Marketing 2. Virtual reality. I. Title.
HF5415.W672 2011
658.8’72—dc22
2009050215
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 10: 0-13-611717-1
ISBN 13: 978-0-13-611717-9
To the “real” people in my life.
—Timothy, Conor, Ronan and Ava
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Brief Contents
Letter from the Author xiii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Virtual Worlds 1
Chapter 2 An Introduction to Second Life 13
Chapter 3 Creating Your Second Life 23
Chapter 4 User Guidelines and Technical Support 35
Chapter 5 Exercises 43
Frequently Asked Questions 69
Glossary 79
Subject Index 81
Name Index 83
vii
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Contents
Letter from the Author xiii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Virtual Worlds 1
The Evolution of Virtual Environments 2
Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) 2
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) 2
Virtual Worlds 3
The Virtual Worlds Market 3
Characteristics of Virtual Worlds 4
How Do Virtual Worlds Work? 7
Why Are Virtual Worlds Important? 10
Conclusion 12
Activity 1.1 Exploring Virtual Worlds 12
Activity 1.2 Businesses in Second Life 12
Chapter 2 An Introduction to Second Life 13
The Popularity of Second Life 13
Membership 14
Basic Membership 14
Premium Membership 15
Land Ownership 15
Mainland 15
Full Private Regions 15
Homestead Regions 16
Openspace Regions 16
Land Maintenance 16
TheSecond LifeEconomy 16
Who Uses Second Lifeand Why? 16
Individuals 16
Entrepreneurs 17
Corporations 17
Corporate Training 17
Reaching Consumers 17
Not-for-Profits 18
Educational Institutions 18
Conclusion 19
Useful Resources 19
Activity 2.1 An Introduction to Second Life 19
Activity 2.2 IBM in Second Life 20
Activity 2.3 Second Life and Education 20
Activity 2.4 Marketing in Virtual Worlds/Second Life 21
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