With Friday's announcement of Rosedale stepping down from CEO of Linden Lab and stepping up as board chairman, things certainly start to look interesting for Second Life. You see, Rosedale was the one who really kicked off this latest generation of virtual worlds, much of it by imagination and force of will.
Unfortunately, for some years he's barely been involved. But wait -- he's CEO of Linden Lab, right? Yes, that's right; which means he's probably had about as much focus on the world itself as the person who orders the beef jerky and pencils. Maybe less.
In many companies like Linden Lab, usually all the really important strategic decisions get made by the board, and all the important tactical decisions by the vice-presidents. The CEO acts as a valve and buffer, reporting the company status and operations to the board and relaying their decisions and wishes to the company. The CEO is both a reporting conduit and a safety valve. They're also the ones who generally do media appearances, travel, and act as a human image/icon for the business. (Whether Linden Lab follows this particular model or not, however, doesn't matter so much in this case, as we'll see)
Much of this doesn't seem to be in Rosedale's nature, and it is a role that doesn't actually leave much time for using or thinking about Second Life, itself. Rosedale's also been a company director, where the key decisions are likely actually made, but without the time to spend directly with the product, it seems hard to see just how much genuine input into the virtual world Rosedale has had over the last few years.
We're going to suggest probably very, very little.
Once a replacement CEO is on-deck that changes. The daily grind of CEO activities is then off Rosedale's plate. His attention can be on Second Life itself nearly full-time (something which we believe is rare in Linden Lab, where the work behind the virtual world drastically limits the amount of time spent observing and interacting with the virtual world).
If you choose to analogize Rosedale as the god of Second Life, well god's been away for a long time and the world has been running largely without him. Soon, by all the signs, he will be returning. To observe, consider and make decisions for his creation.
We're fascinated by the possibilities, yet also a little nervous. Linden Lab has, for years, seen Second Life through a very narrow aperture, unable to devote the resources to really getting a solid feel for what goes on in the virtual world, and how people are interacting with it. As different employees spent a bit of time here and there, it has been a bit like the blind men and the elephant - or a bit like us figuring out what's going on inside Linden Lab by observation, if you prefer.
In the new role, Rosedale will be able to really sit down with Second Life and interact and observe and then sit down with the board and communicate all of that, along with his vision, for decision-making.
It doesn't actually matter so much at what level the decision-making in Linden Lab is taking place, and whether Linden Lab is a representative company of its class or not. We think that will be a more direct and responsive decision-making role with respect to Second Life than Rosedale's had for years, and Rosedale will probably have more impact on Second Life and its users after the appointment of his successor than he ever has before.
Whether that pleases or frightens you depends a lot on the sorts of observations and decisions you think Rosedale might make, when the time comes and whether you think his vision truly aligns with the vision of the people who use Second Life on an every-day basis.
-- Next week, we'll be examining what an IPO would mean to Linden Lab.
