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Second Life Takes Off, Gains Interest of Older Generation

Authored by Jay Baage on October 27, 2006 - 6:07am.
The following is a blog entry from LeeAnn Prescott at Hitwise: Last week Reuters announced it opened a bureau inside the multiplayer game Second Life. This continues a trend of real-world companies joining Second Life - currently Adidas, Reebok, Toyota, Nissan, IBM and Starwood Hotels are among the companies that have set up shop within Second Life, along with dozens of other people who have created Second Life businesses and are actually making money from the game. Several advertising agencies have also set up locations in Second Life, and companies are beginning to use it to foster collaboration among geographically scattered workforces.

Hitwise data shows that last week the share of US Internet searches for 'second life' shot up 73% compared to the previous week (week ending 10/21/06 vs. week ending 10/14/06), and visits to the Second Life website more than doubled in the two weeks between the weeks ending 10/7/06 and 10/21/06. On a year-over-year basis, visits to SecondLife.com were up 219% from the week ending 10/22/05 compared to the week ending 10/21/06.

A very good article on the Popular Science website, Popsci.com, explains some of the intricacies of business in Second Life. One article I read in my research included a comment from a regular Second Lifer who said that it seemed like there were now more newbies and marketing people in Second Life who seemed like they were just checking it out for business potential. A perfect opportunity to demonstrate the concept of 'dynamic demographics' - that demographics of visitors to a website can change based upon news events and where links are placed.

Hitwise demographic data shows that the age range of visitors to SecondLife.com did indeed change due to all the press Second Life recently received. Note that this data is based on visitors to the Second Life website, not necessarily players of the game. You'll see that for the four week period ending 9/23/06, 32.67% of visitors to SecondLife.com were between 18 and 24, and only 5.57% were over 55. Fast forward four weeks, to the period ending 10/21/06, and you'll see a bit of a flip-flop: The over 55 group grew to 15.05% of SecondLife.com visitors, while the 18-24 group dropped 7 percentage points to 25.67%.

It will be interesting to see how many of these older visitors become players in Second Life - right now the appeal of Second Life skews to those under 45. An older, and potentially more moneyed, player set in Second Life could attract a different caliber of advertisers to the game.

Note: I have not been inside Second Life, so I would be interested to hear from players about what it's like and why they like it.

Note. This post originally appeared on Hitwise blog here.
tags: Games | Internet | Marketing | In-Game Ads | Stats | Second Life |



Comments

Good catch on the generation change

Submitted by Taran (not verified) on October 27, 2006 - 8:16am.
That might explain some of the noises being made about the new 'invasion'; a generational gap on top of everything else.

Second Life - Why All the Hype?

Submitted by Daphne (not verified) on October 27, 2006 - 9:38am.
Why all of the wasted press on Second Lifers? People have been pretending to be something other than who they are for ages!!! It's called SCHIZOPHRENIA!!!!

My experience in Second Life

Submitted by niko donburi (not verified) on October 27, 2006 - 5:50pm.
I have been a resident of Second Life for almost six months now. While there are certainly a majority of twenty-somethings in-world, there are also a surprising number of us who are 40+. The platform itself (and yes, Second Life is a platform and not a game) is not necessarily skewed towards one age demographic or another. As for myself, I have found Second Life to be an excellent place to spend my free time as opposed to planting myself in front of the television or mindlessly surfing the internet. Second Life is merely a place where you can do about anything you wish. Want to build a castle? An ecologically living climate? Design clothes? Run a casino? Design a golf course? Teach or take a class? Whatever it is, someone (like you) is doing it. As for myself, in Second Life I perform live music on almost a weekly basis (shameless plug: see www.sonicbids.com/nikodonburi for more info). I have a literally worldwide audience hearing my music, paying attention to the lyrics. I don't have to leave my family in the evenings and don't have to deal with hauling my gear to a gig nor spending late nights in smokey bars. I've done all that. It sucks. For me, Second Life is a perfect venue and I've earned enough money from playing the gigs to cover all my expenses thus far. Is Second Life for everyone? No, it is not. If you are someone who thrives on twitch games such as Half-Life, Halo and the like, you will find Second Life to be a boring waste of your time. Please stay out. Go play World of Warcraft. If, however, you have been interested in any of the following, you will likely find Second Life of interest: traveling to foreign countries, running a business, building things, programming, art, music, having a good conversation. I would invite any and all readers to stop in to Second Life and check it out for themselves. Yes, we are currently undergoing an incredible influx of new residents to SL and it has caused some server issues. But the door is always open for good people, such as yourself. Feel free to IM me in-world, Niko Donburi P.S. Daphne's comment above made me chuckle. A psychiatrist has created a mental hospital in Second Life which affects visitors in such a way that they can experience what it is like to actually be schizophrenic. He evidently uses it with his psych students.

Veddy Interesting

Submitted by Gauisus Speculaas (not verified) on October 28, 2006 - 2:56am.
From an old guy who's sneaking up on his 1st birthday in SL, I appreciate seeing your stats on old guys in SL. I can't really expand much on nico's great post above, excepting to suggest that you visit my blog (see my homepage link), Speculaativity. Second Life's a vibrant, interesting experience, and I have made online friends whose RL (Real Life) locations in Europe and Australia I may never visit. One of my favorite musicians IRL (In Real Life), Ben Folds, recently performed at the W Hotels' SL opening and I've sat in on streaming audio Second Life discussions of up to 50 RL educators looking to use the venue (not a game, right, Rico) to help students prepare for a world (or worlds) we can't even imagine at this point in time. NASA has a strong educational presence in Second Life as well, and there are folks who are using SL to earn livings that support them IRL and also those who use it very successfully to raise funds for real world charity causes. Visit Speculaativity for pictures taken inworld and links to other blogs and resources.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it's just plain fun. Look me up, too, Jay, if you get inworld. There's a great Search feature, for events, popular places, groups, people, and more. Last time I looked, I was the only Gauisus!

As one of the 'older"

Submitted by No one really (not verified) on January 2, 2007 - 8:39am.
As one of the 'older" newbies on SL I'm finding the influx of virtual "sex shops" and activities quite frustrating! even when you have the mature content checked off. However that being said and since I joined with a few other like-minded people we are having a blast! We are managing to find all kinds of great activities. Its kinda like playing Barbie Dolls and home decorator without having to really spend a great deal of money. Its really is a great way to waste some time and gain enjoyment

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