A Day in the (Second) Life
It may seem like the Twilight Zone, but Second Life allows people to enter a new dimension … one you can't afford to ignore

A few weeks ago, I went out for a nice stroll. I bumped into a friend of mine from PCMA. Weird thing is, we don't live in the same town. I hadn't expected to see her. Plus, she looked very different, yet I knew it was her.

A few more folks were with my friend, and I realized that I was in the middle of a site inspection. Being the good planner I am, I followed along. We saw a few meeting rooms and were shown some great conference space. We were even offered a cup of coffee.

Nothing out of the ordinary, you say? True, except that I never left my office. This impromptu gathering took place on Second Life (www.secondlife.com). Convene wrote about it in last month's issue (check out the story at www.pcma.org/resources/convene/archives). For those of you who haven't heard about Second Life, it may be hard to grasp what it is. It's, well, a second life … a 3-D digital world/virtual community created and inhabited by its residents. Its purpose? It's a place to be, a place to socialize, a place to wander.

The stats about Second Life participation are mind boggling. There are more than nine million residents. Money is transacted, as people buy virtual land, and build virtual homes and offices on it. Lots of money: on a daily basis, nearly $1 million.

What does all this have to do with our industry? Everything. It's a meeting destination. It's a marketing opportunity. It's a place to network with millions of folks without leaving your home.

Starwood Hotels has constructed its flagship Aloft property in Second Life, prior to building it on terra firma (let's call that our first life). Anyone in Second Life can walk into the hotel and experience it. Even if you don't plan on venturing into Second Life, just Google Aloft, or read the blog, www.virtualaloft.com.

When I met my PCMA buddy, I walked into a site visit not of a hotel, but of the MeCo (Meetings Community, www.meetingscommunity.org) Mansion. Designed by Dan Parks, one of the moderators of MeCo on Google Groups (a great forum for planners to discuss issues pertinent to their work), it is a virtual mansion, full of networking rooms, meeting space (yes, meetings and events can occur here), and great industry resources.

Why spend time networking, marketing, or learning in Second Life? Wouldn't that time be better spent doing the same thing in our first life? It's a question that, to a large extent, can define a generational divide.

If you're a Gen Yer (the Internet generation), Second Life is just the next level of social networking, which Web 2.0 has fostered (check out www.wikipedia.org, www.digg.com, www.craigs list.com, and http://del.icio.us for examples of some other incredibly popular Web 2.0 sites). It's part of the fabric of this demographic group's existence … and as they continue to enter and ultimately become the driving force in the workplace, we can't dismiss how they choose to do business, network, and ultimately redefine our industry. Gen Xers and Boomers may be skeptical - but with more than nine million folks in Second Life alone, can it really be considered just a fad?

Any time virtual tools are discussed in our industry, the question inevitably arises: Will virtual replace the need for face-to-face? My answer is an emphatic "no." However, we will need to understand and use these tools to provide a blended educational and networking experience for our attendees, customers, and clients. Our jobs are secure … as long as we embrace the change that's upon us.

James Spellos, CMP, (jspellos@meeting-u.com) is founder and president of Meeting U., which provides customized training solutions for the meeting professional. A certified Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), he has 15-plus years of computer training, software training, meeting planning education, and technology consulting experience. Working Smarter is sponsored by PSAV Presentation Services. Visit its Web site at www.psav.com.