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.

It's been quite a year for Second Life, through 2009. This or that media outlet still pronounces it to be dead, though it is quite a bit less common than last year or the year before. After five years of obituaries with no sign that they're any more credible now than they were before, a number of routine nay-sayers have turned their attention elsewhere, writing obituaries for Facebook and Twitter.

From a business perspective, Second Life seems to have had a good year. No major growth, but no major declines either. There's a minor decline in concurrent users over time, though it's hardly become a significant data point. Still, we're very much looking forward to the metrics and time-frames that Linden Lab will use in coming weeks to announce 'strong fourth quarter growth.'

Continue reading Second Life 2009: The year in review

Second Life 2009: The year in review originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Online gaming revenues soar in China originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seriously. This gets weirder.

Thomson Reuters, you may recall, yesterday announced the closure of their Second Life bureau, which actually closed up shop five months ago. Technically that was actually their second announcement, having already announced it elsewhere some months ago. Now the old island is still there, and nobody's turned the lights off yet, but what's really odd is that Thomson Reuters appears to be in the throes of preparing a new Thomson Reuters island in Linden Lab's virtual environment.

Actually, the island was (until just recently) Thomson Scientific island. It's just recently been renamed to Thomson Reuters, and the Thomson Scientific trappings have been replaced throughout with Thomson Reuters branding and advertising -- though most of the Scientific division's structures and facilities are still there, like the drug laboratory.

Continue reading Reuters opening new Second Life island?

Reuters opening new Second Life island? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Thomson Reuters news service (still mostly colloquially known just as Reuters) has announced the closing of their Second Life bureau ... making it official, five months after its actual closure and making it perhaps the last news service to report on its own departure.

Reuters did not replace it's last dedicated reporter (Eric Krangel) when he departed for Silicon Alley Insider back in October. In December, there was more fuss when Linden Lab charged the island fees to a credit card that it had twice promised that it had expunged from its billing system.

Continue reading Reuters late to announce Second Life bureau closure

Reuters late to announce Second Life bureau closure originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What's worse than having a service provider slap a fat charge on your credit card that's not supposed to be there? It's having it happen a second time, after they've assured you that your credit-card details have been expunged from their records.

News agency Thomson Reuters employee, Evan Maloney, is in just that position in his evocatively titled email to the public regapi list "Linden can't be trusted with your credit card information". Maloney's been slapped with the US$500 fee for the Reuters Second Life surname not once, but twice. Last time it took many weeks to sort out -- Maloney isn't eligible for customer support, not being a premium account -- so trying to reach someone at Linden Lab via the mailing list seems to be his primary support option for getting things fixed.

Continue reading Linden Lab misuses Reuters employee credit card

Linden Lab misuses Reuters employee credit card originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eric Krangel, whom most Second Life users will more readily recognize as the personable and approachable Eric Reuters and primary representative of the Thomson Reuters news service in Second Life for so long, is finally moving on.

Krangel will be taking up a writing position with Silicon Alley Insider, ending his long stint that saw him replace Adam Pasick (aka Adam Reuters) as the front-man for Thomson Reuters in Linden Lab's virtual environment.

In many ways it seems like the end of an era.

	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 Reuters reporter to withdraw from Second Life

Reuters reporter to withdraw from Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:30:00 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.

When Linden Lab chooses to shake things up, it doesn't do it by half-measures. Easter Monday saw an announcement by Linden Lab that they were introducing a new Second Life logo program, and changing the terms under which various words and images are presented.

Unfortunately, we technically can't show you the new logo, since by all rights we have to go through the application process first. Actually, after reading all the terms and conditions a bunch of times, we are not sure that we're even allowed to mention its name. It's inSL, anyway. We'll let the company lawyers sort through the paperwork.

Continue reading Linden Lab asserts control of names and images

Linden Lab asserts control of names and images originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:15:00 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.

China cracks down on MMOs, claiming they're "spiritual opium" originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mayor Gavin Newsom's not completely a stranger to Second Life, having been interviewed by Reuters' Adam Pasick in Second Life at the WEF media event in Davos, twelve months ago.

Well, Newsom's back at the New Globe Theater in Second Life for an discussion with Philip Rosedale over the parallels, opportunities and challenges of managing two famously diverse, tech-savvy and dynamic communities with global profiles: the City of San Francisco, and Second Life. Newsom will also be discussing his priorities for his next term, and both Rosedale and Newsom will be taking questions.

Continue reading Mayor Newsom to make another SL appearance

Mayor Newsom to make another SL appearance originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hype and backlash cycle "missing the point" with regards to Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rase Kenzo (aka Thomas Simon) has rejected settlement with the parties represented by lawyer Frank Taney. The settlement offer involved $2,000USD compensation to each of the six plaintiffs, and $5,000USD in legal fees. It probably doesn't get much cheaper than that, in the USA.

Nevertheless, Kenzo has rejected the settlement, indicating that he thinks it's too much, and besides, he doesn't have the money. Instead, he's opting for a potentially much more expensive court case - though he is trying to find a lawyer who will take the case pro-bono.

Continue reading Simon says: no to settlement

Simon says: no to settlement originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google almost certainly creating multi-user virtual world

Google almost certainly creating multi-user virtual world originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.