This is where it starts to hurt.
Don’t get me wrong. The Sun Microsystems islands are professionally done and beautiful to look at. (Nice touch, in one region it looks like they set the environment so that there is always a big sun on the horizon). But they also lapse into every Second Life marketing cliche. With few exceptions it’s a textbook 3-D brochure.
It starts with the freebie gift shop. The balloon is rather well done. Okay, I’d feel like a fool walking around with it. )Maybe I could use it to annoy people in the Intel region). There are the usual shirts, mugs, and backpacks. Someone help me out here… What is it with the backpacks again?
The next paragraph is directed at Sun but really it applies to a lot of corporations in Second Life. They’re just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
People, listen up. If you’re going to make a freebie t-shirt, make it a good freebie t-shirt. Don’t just slap your logo on a template like you were in Making My First Shirt class. Just because it’s a freebie doesn’t mean it has to be crap. You spent how much money putting this region together? Use some of that budget to pay a professional designer to make some nice clothes for you. Look at the freebie t-shirts that Body Politik gives away, then tell me why I would not immediately delete your shirt from my inventory after trying it on. You want your logo all over Second Life, right? Then make something people will wear, dammit.
Okay, rant done, thank you for listening. In the main lobby you’ll find a tour that will take you through the major highlights of the two islands. I’ll tell you about a few, myself.
Over in the Sun Technology Building there are wonderfully detailed versions of Sun’s real life products. Row after beautiful row of… grey and purple boxes. Click on each one and you’ll get a notecard about the computer and a link to the appropriate web page. So why am I doing this in Second Life? It does offer a different kind of web surfing experience… but I doubt if anyone in the market for a Sun server is checking out the specs via Second Life. Oooh, I like the color of that one. I’ll take three!
Over at the Java Dome you can learn more about Java and click objects that will take you to free web-based Java games. (Again, why am I dong this in Second Life?). There’s more freebie backpacks there, as well, and *sigh* not-so-good Java t-shirts and jackets.
The Developer Playroom is supposed to be a hangout and meeting area for developers. When you enter you’re asked to check the schedule of events, but there is no schedule. An archive of chats (good idea!) ends in December, 2007.
Further down the line is a customer training area with a blank schedule of events. Maybe it’s not up and running yet. Nearby is Club Java. From a design perspective it’s probably the best looking club I’ve seen in all of Geek Week. But again… no schedule of events. I know some people who would probably love to host and DJ in a space like this.
Finally, there’s the Sun Eco Initiative dome, which does a very good job of looking and feeling like a trade show display… and gives you the same information you can find on Sun’s web site.
Okay, I get it. Sun has the basics down. As 3-D brochures go, it’s one of the best 3-D brochures I’ve ever seen. As I read one of the Developer Playroom chat transcripts I found a spot where someone asked why Sun was in Second Life. They explained that this is a new medium and they’re looking to it as another way to communicate with customers. While I don’t find visiting the Sun regions much of a thrill, I have to say that they’ve set the bar low and have done what they set out to do. Now, will they take it to the next level?
Maybe. There are four more Sun regions which are not open to the public yet. One has to wonder if they’re building something new and different. Stay tuned.
[...] Next door, Ben & Jerry’s has their own Orientation Island. There you can find some freebie avatars. While you can toss the skins (one step up from newbie skins) the t-shirts are really quite nice. Finally, someone is listening to me. [...]