If you've noticed a distinct dearth of postings on the Second Life blog lately, it's with good cause. There has been hardly anything on this most visible of Linden Lab communication channels. Even a recent announcement by Katt Linden, Linden Lab's communications manager had to go sideways. A post on the Second Life wiki, and a note in the message-of-the-day to go search for it in there -- by yesterday, it was also posted to the Second Life education blog.
Torley Linden in turn apparently was not able to get his Video Tip of the Week onto the official blog either, instead posting it to his personal blog, with an apology for both it and the Knowledge Base Article of the Week. 'Linden Lab,' he says, 'is undergoing changes in communication policy', but is unable to say what, when, why or how long. Time-critical announcements, innocuous routine customer-oriented tutorials and information, and changed policies regarding gambling -- all not being posted as they normally would.
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We're not sure exactly what changes in policy are going on -- obviously, there's not actually anyone we can ask.
At this stage in the transformation from startup to corporation, there's usually a move to avoid publishing any public communications that haven't had all the meaning and usefulness boiled out of them by the PR department. Many companies grow out of that after a time.
Since the beginning of this new century, many startups are actively choosing to avoid this phase, preferring to keep more open and unfettered communications via blogs, twitter and other such so-called Web2.0 means.
We're guessing that whatever changes Linden Lab must be undergoing in communications policy must either be particularly severe (especially if the communications manager herself doesn't seem to be able to get an important and time-critical announcement posted for one of the Lab's PR pushes) or there's something else going on that's brought an almost complete halt to visible routine official communications.
We're getting that sense of another shoe about to drop. The floor is open, if you have any ideas what it might be.
Update (11hrs 53 minutes later): Linden Lab has responded. See below.
