This week, we cover the final installment of our summarized history of Second Life and Linden Lab (check out the first installment or the second, if you missed them). It's only possible to cover a tiny fraction of the events that took place in the space we have here, but the highlights paint an interesting picture.

We'll be working our way from 2008 to June 2010, and looking at what future directions we expect from there.

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, 2008-2010 and beyond

The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, 2008-2010 and beyond originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Second Life has just seen its seventh anniversary (called its seventh birthday, only it technically isn't -- the original birthday is in March, but the anniversary is in June. There's history there). It's also traditionally a time when Linden Lab and Second Life users most often treat each other as enemies and obstacles; and it is a time for retrospectives and for considering the future.

With the departure of Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon (the press release release says "stepping down," but the day prior to the release many Linden staffers were saying that Kingdon was fired) Linden Lab has hit a turning point -- or the end of another era.

Accordingly, over the next couple of weeks, we're going to look at the history of Second Life, starting back in 1999 and continuing to the present day. Or at least as much as we can cover the ten-year history of something so rich and diverse in the available space.

Second Life is quite legitimately a phenomenon (and even won an Emmy award). It was also something of an accident, since it wasn't what Linden Lab started out to make.

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life

The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A change is as good as a holiday, they say. Seriously, I don't actually know anyone who says this other than myself; though I'm assured that there are some folks out there who do.

With that tragically underutilized platitude in mind, then, last week I posed a question to a spread of well-known virtual environment users (at least to those that I felt would actually respond) and collected the responses.

The question put to the respondents was "What's the single thing that the operators/developers could do to make you feel more satisfied with their virtual environment offering; what thing would help an operator keep you as a customer, or that would make some other operator more appealing than the one or ones you already have?"

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: Vox virtualis

The Virtual Whirl: Vox virtualis originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Linden Lab has released the new viewer, bringing Second Life up to 1.23 a few days earlier than expected, off the back of a very short release-candidate cycle.

The new viewer brings three things with it: The new Adults-only continent (formerly Ursula and now Zindra), user-verification by documents or payment-status, and a new Adults-only content rating that opens up Second Life to more extreme sexual and violent content.

Continue reading Second Life moves to 1.23, opens adult continent, allows more content

Second Life moves to 1.23, opens adult continent, allows more content originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The lineup of staff at Second Life virtual environment developer/operator, Linden Lab changes on a month by month basis. There's been a bit of motion since the last high-profile hire.

Judy Wade, formerly Entrepreneur-in-residence at Kapor Enterprises Inc, has been hired as the vice president of Strategy and Emerging Business. That's the same Kapor as Mitch Kapor who has a seat on the board of directors as the Lab.

Eric Argel, formerly director of Information Architecture at Organic Inc San Francisco, is now director of Information Architecture at Linden Lab. That's the same Organic Inc where newly minted Linden Lab CEO, Mark Kingdon came from.

Continue reading Linden Lab arrivals and departures

Linden Lab arrivals and departures originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You could be forgiven for having forgotten about the Linden Prize already, given that it's been four months since it was announced by Mitch Kapor. Nevertheless, we weren't entirely surprised to see Linden Lab reannounce it, this time with some actual details, terms and conditions.

The fundamentals of the prize seem to remain unchanged. It is US$10,000 worth of Linden Dollars for (as Kapor put it) 'superlative achievement exemplifying the mission "elevating the human condition" through using Second Life.'

The terms and conditions now make eligibility somewhat more precise.

Continue reading Linden Prize reannounced

Linden Prize reannounced originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You may remember Richard Minsky, founder of The Center for Book Arts in New York City and owner of SLART Magazine. We previously wrote about his assertion of his rights and obligations with respect to his SLART trademark, which covers (among other things) Minsky's SLART magazine. The SL portion obviously represents Second Life, and the ART well... that's art.

Minsky originally filed his SLART trademark on 22 March, 2007. It was published for opposition on 18 September, 2007, and finally granted formal registration by the US Patent and Trademarks office on 18 March, 2008 (registration number 3399258). SLART, therefore, is owned by Minsky insofar as the US Government is concerned at the present time, whether that grant was conferred rightly or wrongly, unless it is somehow overturned or abandoned.

Now he has filed a civil suit in a federal court, naming Linden Lab, Philip Rosedale, Mitch Kapor and one or more other Second Life users (as John Does) for (variously) trademark infringement, trademark dilution, tortious interference (that is interference that causes injury), and fraud.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Continue reading Minsky vs Linden Lab: Minsky's mark

Minsky vs Linden Lab: Minsky's mark originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With all the talk about virtual environments (virtual world is, after all, something of a misnomer), what if you could use the real environment and bring the virtual to you? That's been the fundament of Augmented Reality for some time, and the core of many a spirited discussion -- the overlaying of information, images, representation onto what we perceive of the real world. Information about products, places, people, directions to destinations.

What about games? What if you could layer a gamespace into your physical environment? Or a non-game virtual environment, like Second Life, for example? The Escapist's Howard Wen talks to Blain MacIntyre, Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who has been one of several researchers there hacking on the Second Life viewer, adding Augmented Reality features to the software.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Continue reading Goodbye, virtual environments. Hello, real environments.

Goodbye, virtual environments. Hello, real environments. originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mitch Kapor's announcement of the Linden Prize at Second Life's fifth anniversary was rather surprising. Out of roughly 27 and a half minutes of presentation, the "very important announcement" got all of two and a half minutes of talk-time before Linden Lab's staff ran to the fire exits.

There wasn't actually any fire, of course, but it was certainly astonishing just how fast they wound up and departed the event, especially in contrast to Rosedale and Kingdon's speeches on 23 June. It bordered on the unseemly.

Continue reading Thoughts on the Linden Prize

Thoughts on the Linden Prize originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overshadowing the Linden Prize announcement -- and frankly, that wasn't hard, as the Linden Prize got a whole two and a half minutes of airtime before Kapor and the Lab staff bolted for the fire-exits -- Linden Lab snuck in one last announcement at a minute after midnight.

The Lab have finally publicly acknowledged the historic intergrid teleportation that took place one month ago, though that isn't the interesting part (other than causing us to wonder why it took them a month to get around to it). No, the interesting part is the announcement of the Open Grid Public Beta.

Continue reading Open Grid public beta

Open Grid public beta originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Several minutes ago, Mitch Kapor gave his closing keynote for Second Life's fifth anniversary event (never mind that technically it wasn't a keynote, by definition). The topic was announced to be Second Life as a disruptive technology platform.

Since the announcement of this speech, we've been asked frequently what disruptive technology actually means. After all, it is a term not in very wide circulation, and most disruptive technologies have failed to succeed. The ones that you may be familiar with are the success stories -- the very few that actually survived.

So, we'll quickly explain the term, and then go back to Kapor.

Continue reading Mitch Kapor's SL5 keynote and the Linden Prize

Mitch Kapor's SL5 keynote and the Linden Prize originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the years, Linden Lab has put a lot of effort into attempting to reward, or to give recognition to (another kind of reward, really) Second Life users who made positive contributions to the overall user-experience. The Lab staff used to refer to it as a mandate or as a part of "their charter."

So far, almost all of these efforts have fallen a bit flat. By flat, we mean flat at the bottom of a deep hole. A deep hole full of explosives.

Continue reading Peering Inside: Rewards and recognition

Peering Inside: Rewards and recognition originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dusan Writer has spotted an HTML comment in the source for search.secondlife.com which says "<!-- placeholer page for XBOX, PS3, and iPhone versions of client when they launch next real soon now -->"

Definitely quite the tease. Certainly, Second Life can be made to run on a PS3 (and there's at least one enterprising user who has had some success on that front); the Xbox 360 would present a much more considerable technical challenge; and as for the iPhone, well, Linden Lab has been making noises about lighter-weight clients/viewers for some months.

We're not sure quite how much credence to put to the message, however, as "real soon now" is a piece of engineer slang/sarcasm generally taken to mean "Whenever, when it's ready, maybe never". However this could neatly dovetail with Kapor's "very important announcement" coming up in seven days.

Lab's teasing 'placeholer': Xbox, PS3, iPhone? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's a certain amount of background anticipation among Second Life users about the "very important announcement" that Linden Lab tipped to be a part of former chairman Mitch Kapor's speech on the morning of 7 July. At least among those users who are aware of it, which seems to be very few. The ripples of that anticipation, however, have spread far wider.

'Blizzard has bought Linden Lab,' I hear for the ninth time today, and it's early yet. Another item in my mailbox from a user tells me that they are sure that Electronic Arts has snapped up the virtual world operator. Two more pitch IBM as a potential purchaser, and five insist that an IPO announcement will come on the day.

What's interesting is that of all the material people are certain enough to send on to me, they all relate to a sale or an IPO, essentially taking the business out of the hands of its current owners, and it all seems to be presented with an astonished, yet hopeful air.

Continue reading Will Kapor bore? Rumors say sale!

Will Kapor bore? Rumors say sale! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the last couple of years, Linden Lab has grown from around 50 people to (we are told) around 250 people. It is a growth stage of companies that most do not survive, as usually they do something lethally boneheaded in the process.

Another stage that many companies do not survive is their first change of CEO. It is a massive change for the company's table of organization, reporting chains and corporate culture. The first CEO change generally sees a large staff turnover.

That's what usually happens, anyway. While we're not predicting sudden death for Linden Lab, they're getting their first new CEO today.

Continue reading Linden Lab lands Kingdon: new CEO

Linden Lab lands Kingdon: new CEO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Linden Lab reports that it is putting more 'resources' on to DMCA duty to deal with improper duplication of content in Second Life.

This would be a significant improvement over reports of one person, not even performing the DMCA processing full-time. We don't think the new people will be full-time either, but more person-hours either way. Well, that's all assuming that 'resources' means people. Maybe it means the rumored part-time DMCA processor is now full-time.

Continue reading Peering Inside: Linden Lab, the DMCA, and content

Peering Inside: Linden Lab, the DMCA, and content originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading A hands-free interface for Second Life

A hands-free interface for Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mitch Kapor speaking a few minutes ago with Cornell University's Professor Robert Bloomfield at the special Metanomics session today, straight up nixes plans for an IPO.

Kapor says that he feels his earlier statements in other media were 'misconstrued', and that there are definitely no plans for an IPO. Kapor sounded rather baffled as to how his comments suggested to people that an IPO was in the wind. "My recollection is not saying that an IPO was under consideration... being able to take a company public is started 12 to 18 months in advance... it's very complex..."

The audio was a bit spotty, so we will need to wait for the transcript, but the magic IPO phrase seems to be, "Gosh, I hope not."

Kapor: IPO? WTF? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the wake of the announcement that Philip Rosedale would be moving up to chairman of the Linden Lab board of directors, and that present chairman Mitch Kapor would be moving to a key (but as-yet-unnamed) role, Cornell University Professor Robert Bloomfield (Beyers Sellers in Second Life) will be hosting a special Metanomics session this Friday at 10:30AM SLT (US Pacific time). The session will feature a one-on-one discussion with Kapor, himself.

The topic? Bloomfield offers, "We will talk about his vision for virtual worlds technology and business strategy and, of course, the future of Linden Lab and Second Life."

Live coverage of this special edition of Metanomics on Friday, March 28, 2008 from the CMP sim, owned by United Business Media's Think Services division, will be broadcast exclusively on slcn.tv for those who cannot attend in person, or are unable to attend the sim in person.

Special Metanomics session: Linden Lab Upper Management Musical Chairs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"It was not precipitated by a crisis," said current chairman Kapor, speaking to Reuters today. "We had always anticipated that there would be a time when he'd decide he no longer wanted to be a CEO."

We don't know about you, but we don't think that CEO is really where Rosedale wanted to be in the long run. Rosedale will remain on board at Linden Lab working on strategy and product development.

Philip Rosedale stepping down as Linden Lab CEO originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reuters' Eric Krangel Adam Pasick will be interviewing a number of notable personalities in Second Life and simultaneously in Davos, Switzerland this year - the second annual set of Davos/Second Life interviews from our friends at Reuters.

Is it just us, or does it get a little weird specifying two places at once?

Continue reading Reuters at Davos, 2008

Reuters at Davos, 2008 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.