Two years ago, in July 2024, Dido Haas hosted the first public exhibition of Second Life photography by Miu (MiuMira) within The Annex of her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery. Called Connections, that exhibition garnered over 350 unique visits, people drawn to its wealth of expression and focus – and I was one of those 350 to be some engaged, as I noted in Miu’s Connections at Nitroglobus in Second Life.
It is therefore fitting that Mui is back at The Annex for the months of July and August 2026, in what might be considered an informal second anniversary celebration of her first ever public exhibition of art. Whether seen as such or not by those visiting it over the next several weeks, it is certainly an underscoring of her ability to produce imagines that are both personal and approachable, and which express so much whilst remaining so perfectly minimal.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex – Miu: Unspoken
Entitled Unspoken, this small but highly impactful collection of pieces is very much a continuation of Connections in terms of presentation, style and focus, whilst also taking us deeper into moments of intimacy and tenderness, and of shared experiences where words are, simply, superfluous, unwanted, unnecessary.
Unspoken explores the feelings that defy verbal translation—moments of profound vulnerability, quiet resilience, and complex inner truths. For many, silence is the safest space to exist, process, and protect one’s truest self. By stripping away the noise of explanation, Unspoken invites viewers to sit with these quiet moments. It challenges us to look beyond the surface, connect through shared human experience, and listen to the powerful stories told strictly through the eyes, gestures, and stillness of the human form.
– From the artist
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex – Miu: Unspoken
Through these pieces we can witness a story that is never forced, never overtly stated, but which instead exists in the nuance of pose and focus. A story of quiet moments of intimacy and vulnerability, of love and being, which are expressed both through studies of the individual and those shared with another.
Within each piece is a flow of those moments existing in the brief, transient space this exists between longer, deeper moments of intimacy and expression, but are also within their brief flourish, rich in emotion and feeling, only needing a flash of recognition in order for them to indelibly imprint themselves on our consciousness.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery Annex – Miu: Unspoken
We hear much about the power of non-verbal communication and the inability of our current digitally-driven realm to transmit these wordless aspects of communication. All that is said on the subject is true; there is so much about Second Life that does communicate – but there is so much of communication that is absent from it.
However, that absence is not absolute; through the pieces presented within Unspoken, Mui both offers us the connection to the unspoken wealth of mood, feelings and expressive which can be found through our avatars and which, if brought to the point of practical expressiveness could so readily transform our digital world into one of intense meaning and contented sharing.
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026 – click any image for full size
Frighteningly (in some respects), it’s been almost a decade since my first visit to Mother Road – Mirage Motel 66, a homage to the original Mother Road region created by Paul Cutter (Xtreme Paule) – see Get your pics on Route 66 in Second Life. However you look at it, that’s a long time, so I recently decided to hop back as see what has changed. And the answer is a lot – but without actually changing in nature.
Route 66 has tended to be a popular inspiration for region builds in SL (hence the original Mother Road design) , and Paul opted to use the history of the Route and the original Mother Road region to offer a setting mindful of Nevada in general style, with the tarmac of the the titular road running arrow-like straight through it. At the he initially opened the setting, Paul noted to me that it was something of an experiment; a 1/2 region design built as both a showcase and what might be possible in the future.
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026
Well, that 1/2 region has since ground into a total of three regions and has brought forth a healthy community. The original Full region is now completely occupied by the setting, and has been joined by two more, each a Full region leveraging the Land Capacity bonus, one to the east of the original region and one to the south.
Much of the expansion is given over to rental parcels – so visitors should be wary of residents’ desire for privacy when they are exploring – but these are mixed with numerous public spaces and buildings to add atmosphere and a sense of space. There are also more roads, both paved and unpaved, allowing residents within the community to enjoy the freedom of driving (as can those joining the local Group – LS $250) whilst again giving a feel of reality to the setting.
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026
They variety of homes is rich, running from a trailer park to expansive houses with solar, patios, pools and plenty of parking, with smally houses and cabins filling out the middle ground. Some sit roadside with proper drives, other sit at the ends of dirt tracks. Together they all form a sense of Americana that’s unmistakable in setting and style – if perhaps at times over-egged by Hollywood.
Nor does the setting exist purely on the ground. As well as a rental – umm, office -, the Landing Point(s) offer(s) teleports up to a series of sky platforms. These comprise:
Camina Madre: a residential platform continuing the overall theme from the ground level in its mixing of rentals.
Lost Oasis: a desert setting apparently largely forgotten by time, through which the main routes hurries as if anxious to leave it behind.
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026
The Road and Camping Theatre and Camina Madre are directly connected to one another as well as to the ground level, allowing for direct teleporting between them. Lost Oasis, however, sits at the end of its own teleport that only connects between it and the ground. All three sky platforms appear to be more welcoming / better suited to visitor vehicle rezzing than might be the case on the ground.
The motel that greeted visitors to the original version of the setting remains, and appears to have undergone a small revamp down the years, with “suites” now available – nice to see places making the effort to keep up-to-date and welcoming 🙂 . Those looking for a meal can find one in the diner next door or perhaps in the bar across the road which has apparently replaced the gas station that used to sit across from the motel – ah, progress, progress!
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026
I would also point out that the bike rezzers I remember from my first visit can still be found – just be wary of the region boundaries!
As I noted back in 2017, this is not, the most affluent of locations; rusting hulks of cars are scattered around, together with the detritus of civilisation and the homes are somewhat tired. But it is, without a doubt effective and engaging in its presentation – and given the number of rental occupancies, it is appreciated by the local inhabitants. It also remains ideal for photography, with rezzing rights available, as noted above, on joining the local Group.
Mother Road Mirage Hotel 66, June 2026
If there were one thing I would note about Mother Road in this form is that it is rich in objects and textures (as one might expect from three regions adjoining one another and two of them with the Land Capacity bonus). This makes for a lot for the viewer to handle if you wind Draw Distance up. This is a bit of a shame, as Mother Road really deserves to be seen as a continuous setting; however, if your system is liable to get upset with you for playing with settings, just keep things low and just enjoy the views as the materialise.
One thing you should not do, however, is avoid the setting on the belief Draw Distance must be dialled up; it has a lot to offer for the keen SL explorer.
Northrop Grumman’s Lockheed L-1011 Tristar Stargazer lifting a Pegasus XL air-launched vehicle to altitude ready for deployment. Credit: USSF
A daring rescue attempt in space is due to commence at 10:23 UTC on June 30th. It will cost NASA some US $30 million, but if successful it will be priceless.
The mission is to rescue the Swift Observatory, a three telescope observatory operating in low Earth orbit for primarily studying gamma ray bursts (GRBs). Smaller than the famous Hubble Space Telescope, Swift – and that’s a name, not an acronym – has been in operational since 2004. It’s a partnership programme between NASA Goddard, the UK and Italy, and was in part intended to take over the work of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, which ceased operations in 2000, only with far greater sensitivity.
Originally intended to have a primary nominal mission of just 2 years, Swift has continued to operate almost flawlessly and its science mission has expanded so it ow functions as a general-purpose multi-wavelength observatory, particularly for the rapid follow-up and characterization of astrophysical transients of all types. It was given its name because of the speed with which it can move between targets of interest. Where Hubble can take up to 2 days to re-orient itself to observe different targets, Swift can do so in minutes, allowing it to carry out up to 70 individual observations a day.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Observatory. Credit: NASA
This speed is important and the phenomena it is observing can be relative transient – particularly GRBs. What’s more it can re-orient itself complete autonomously; when its Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) picks up on a target, it can rapidly slew itself to observe the event without ground-based intervention. Afterwards, it will also automatically re-orient itself to resume whatever other observations it was carrying out beforehand.
Now officially called the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in honour of the mission’s first Principal investigator, who passed away in 2017, Swift has been in trouble over the course of the last 18 months as increased solar activity during the current Solar Maximum cycle has caused an expansion in Earth’s atmosphere (as commonly happens) which has exacerbated the observatory’s rate of orbital decay. If not corrected, Swift’s altitude will fall below 300 km, and shortly thereafter it will start to tumble and re-enter the atmosphere.
To the rescue: Katalyst Space’s LINK. Credit; Katalyst
Given its science value and relative low cost (US $250 million), the decision was taken to try to boost Swift’s altitude using a custom-build satellite designed and built by Katalyst Space in just nine months. Called LINK, the relative small, solar-powered vehicle is due to be air launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL vehicle carried aloft by a modified Lockheed L-1011 aircraft called Stargazer.
Taking off from the Ronald Reagan Space and Missile Test Range located on Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific, Stargazer will carry the Pegasus XL to altitude before releasing it to allow its rocket motor to ignite and carry it to orbit were the nose-mounted payload can be deployed.
The plan calls for LINK to spend a number of weeks undergoing its own commissioning tests prior to it rendezvous with Swift and use three small robot arms to connect to the observatory and then use its ion thrusters to gently push Swift into a higher orbit – up to its original 600km orbit – before detaching to allow the observatory to continue operations for at least another five years.
LINK mounted on a Pegasus XL air launch rocket with the payload farings about to be fitted around it. Credit: Northrop Grumman
If LINK is successful, it will be a remarkable success – and a major gain for Katalyst, which plans to start offering satellite reboosting services to customers and already has a contract with the United States Space Force. This involves the company’s larger Nexus vehicle, with the first flight due in 2027 with LINK being very much a proof of concept flight for Nexus.
NASA’s OIG Reveals Out-of-Control Nature of Artemis Expenditure
The US Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has frequently been criticised on the basis of its huge launch cost – around US $2.5 billion, which the US government’s own Office of Management Budget (OMB) indicated would likely rise to US $4 billion per launch. However, given it is the only vehicle currently able to launch America’s only deep space capable crew vehicle in the form of Orion, it is not easily replaced.
Hence why in February 2026, rather than cancelling SLS outright as some pundits had been demanding, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced significant changes to the Artemis programme to return humans to the moon (see: Space Sunday: major Artemis updates and a rollback), which included cancelling just the Block 1B and Block 2 enhancements of SLS whilst extending the capabilities of the current Block 1 version to meet launch requirements until such time as alternative vehicle capable of launching Orion – most likely a modified version of the Vulcan-Centaur from United Launch Alliance – become available.
The original planned evolution of SLS, from the current Block 1 version for crewed launches through a cargo variant of the same vehicle to the Block 1B version utilising the EUS in both crewed and cargo versions, through the evolved Block 2 design with more powerful solid rocket boosters. Under the new plan, NASA will replace the Block 1B version with a “near Block 1” enhanced variant. Credit: NASA
Now, a memo made public on June 24th, 2026, NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reveals just how badly costs were getting out of control for the SLS enhancements and part of Gateway Station.
Core to the Block 1B and Block 2 versions of SLS were the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) and the Universal Stage Adapter (USA). Ordered in 2017 from Boeing as a prime SLS contractor, EUS was supposed to be a more powerful upper stage for SLS Block 1B and Block 2, allowing SLS (together with more powerful versions of the vehicle’s solid rocket boosters (SRBs)) SLS to lift up to 130 tonnes to orbit and deliver up to 46 tonnes to lunar orbit.
A rendering of the EUS in action (engine unit, orange segment). The Tapered cone is the USA, shown connected to the Orion’s European Service Module after the fairings protecting the latter have been jettisoned post-launch and ascent. Credit: NASA
Because Boeing stated EUS development could be folded-in to their current SLS workflow, the cost for its development was put at US $962 million with initial delivery to be in 2021. By 2026 and its cancellation, some US $2 billion had been spent on EUS, with a further US $1.7 billion likely required to get it to a position where the first units could be delivered to NASA – in 2028.
The USA contract was awarded to Dynetics Inc., in 2017. It called for the development of a conical unit massing some 2.7 tonnes designed to mate the Orion space vehicle to the EUS on Block 1B and Block 2 SLS vehicles, with Orion. At 10 metres in length, 8.5 metres across where it connected to the EUS and 5.4 metres across where it connected to the Orion, USA was to carry electrical and communication paths between the two and provide environmental control to payloads during ground operations and launch and ascent.
A test article of the USA within the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centres. Credit: NASA
The original contract was put at US $131 million with initial delivery to be in 2022. By the end of February 2026 and USA’s cancellation, the cost had risen to US $497 million, with initial delivery pushed back to 2030.
Finally, for SLS at least, was the Mobile Launcher 2 (ML-2), a new version of the platforms and towers used to support SLS vehicles on their journey to the launch pad and then support them throughout launch operations. In particular, ML-2 was supposed to support Block1B and Block 2 SLS launches.
The woefully behind schedule ML-2 under construction at Kennedy Space Centre earlier in 2026. The building to the left is the Launch Control Complex for NASA launches from LC-39B (launches from LC-39A now being exclusively SpaceX). Credit: Jeff Faust
The contract went to Bechtel National, Inc., in 2019 at a cost of US $383 million and an expected delivery in 2023. By its cancellation in April 2026, the cost had risen to some US $1.6 billion with delivery pushed back to the end of 2026, earliest and it would then require some two years of validation and testing at a further cost of US $2 billion.
It addition to this, the memo highlights the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, indicating a reason why the planned lunar Gateway Station was cancelled beyond its sheer pointlessness.
HALO, as built by Thales Alenia Space in Europe (responsible for the International Space Station modules Harmony, Tranquillity and Columbus and the observation Cupola) under contract to Northrop Grumman, is essentially a modified version of the pressurised module used in Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply vehicle, also manufactured by Thales. HALO was contracted at 1.3 billion, with that cost rising to US $1.9 billion by the time the basic module had been delivered to Northrop Grumman ready for completion, with OIG estimating this would further increase the overall cost by the time it was ready for delivery to NASA in 2031, several years late.
The HALO pressurised module intended for Gateway revealed as the upper section of its shipping unit is lifted clear following its delivery to Northrop Grumman in the USA from Thales Alenia in Europe. Credit: Northrop Grumman
OIG highlighted that some of the rising costs could be laid at the feet of the contractors, with all three responsible for delays and failures, and Bechtel National being particularly highlighted for refusal to work with NASA in the planning for ML-2 construction and then ignoring NASA’s expertise in developing the original Mobile launchers. However, it also notes there have been many failures at NASA in properly managing and controlling projects and in putting contracts in place which failed to allow for full fiscal control.
Responding to the memo, Isaacman’s office indicated they were a core part of why the Artemis programme was redirected in February and also why the agency was undertaking a broader overhaul of its methods and processes related to costing and contractual management in order to reduce the risks of such major over-runs in future projects.
NASA Needs US $1 Billion in Launch Facilities Infrastructure Investment
Ahead of the OIG’s memo, the Inspector General published a report into the state of NASA’s launch infrastructure at both Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) and Wallops Island, Virginia, and the ability of both meeting the needs of Artemis and commercial launch operations. It does not make for happy reading, with KSC alone requiring around US $1 billion for essential support infrastructure updates.
In short, whilst several of the actual launch complexes at both receive lease payments from the companies using them – SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, United Launch Alliance, etc., – NASA is responsible for all of the underpinning infrastructure required to support such launch operations at both Wallops and KSC (with the responsibilities at the latter extending into the commercial launch facilities in the neighbouring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in what is called the “common infrastructure agreement”).
The launch facilities at Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for which NASA is responsible for all supporting infrastructure – road, power, on-site consumable supplies, communications lines, etc. Credit: NASA OIG
This infrastructure includes, but is not limited to, the roadways linking various parts of the space centres; the critical electrical power grids serving all launches facilities; the neutral gas supply systems serving them; fuelling capabilities; communications and data capabilities; flight hardware transportation – even elements such as security support and occupational and environmental health services.
The problem here is that many of these physical infrastructure elements – the roads, electric and gas systems, etc., have not been updated in a long time – in KSC’s case, not since the centre was being built in the 1960s. The result is that many are now in danger of breakage or complete collapse.
The report highlights this with just a single example: the electrical supply feeder system at KSC’s Launch Complex 39. Laid in the 1960s, this runs from the C5 substation near the Vehicle Assembly Building along underground conduits to a switch station and from there to LC-39A and LC-39B. However:
The loads placed on these cables are reaching the limits of their capability.
The conduits through which they run are a decade beyond their lifespan and literally disintegrating.
There is therefore a real risk of overload or short circuit which could completely remove electrical power from one or both launch pads, and there is no back-up.
Further, the transformers at the C5 substation are at the end of their plan lifespan and are suffering degraded performance and severe corrosion.
All electrical power supplied to LC-39A and LC-39B run through a single set of underground electrical feeders now a decade past their end of life. There are no independent back-up feeds, and even the main power transformers at the C4 substation are at the intended end of their operational lifespan. Credit NASA OIG
Elsewhere, the infrastructure is simply being over-stretched and is in need of comprehensive surveys to assess their condition and ability to meet the continued growth in demand. This is a problem exacerbated by the rapid growth of launches in the last 5.5 years. The combined launch facilities at KSC and the neighbouring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) have, for example, seen their overall annual launch cadence increase by 352%.
This means that the volume of heavy refrigerated transporter carrying liquid propellants into the tank farm at KSC / CCSFS has risen from fewer than 2,000 annually in 2017 to over 8,700 in 2025 – on roads never designed to take such mass or see such volume of use.
Nor does it end there. The report indicates that with the state of the current support infrastructure at KSC / CCSFS, NASA will be over capacity in terms of the launches it can handle by 2029 unless serious work commences now – and will be unable to meet the demand for launches required to support Artemis (such as the high-cadence, 16 short-period launches required by SpaceX to send each of its HLS vehicle to the Moon (depending on how many of these are actually used)).
The 64 km of underground pipelines supplying gaseous nitrogen and helium, both vital to launch operations at KSC and commercial facilities at CCSFS are also NASA’s responsibility and rapidly approaching the point where they cannot adequately support launch operations across multiple sites. Credit: NASA OIG
The irony here is that NASA did actually make an attempt to deal with the crisis well ahead of time: in 2016, it sought Congressional approval to implement the Infrastructure Investment Fund. This would have allowed the agency to accept contributions from non-federal sources for long-term, large-scale shared infrastructure projects. Congress refused, and continued to refuse each time NASA raised the idea in various forms through until 2022.
Whilst the situation is not exactly rosy at Wallops, the approach to leasing agreements and responsibilities for infrastructure maintenance are a little different, which has the potential to help alleviate some of the concerns – which is not to say action is not required. The report duly notes that Wallops has seen launch cadence increase from 3 to 17 a year in the past 5 years, and this will increase to 43 in the next couple of years, and so elements of infrastructure there do need improving.
The report outlines a step-by-step plan for addressing the most significant infrastructure issues NASA faces at both Wallops and KSC/CCSFS. It also notes that unless Congress significantly re-evaluate infrastructure funding for NASA, under the current annual funding levels for support infrastructure, it will take NASA 260 years to complete all the required updates and modernisation.
On Friday, June 26th 2026, Linden Lab held the last of the SL23B Meet the Lindens events, featuring Second Life Studios and its work.
Unlike previous articles in this series, this is not a summary of the full discussion. Instead, topics thought to be of the widest interest to reader have been annotated.
Because of this, the full content of the session can be obtained via the official video of the event, which is also embedded at the end of this article.
Also, please note:
Because of the format selected, topics and questions are not necessarily in chronological order compared to the video, but have been grouped by subject.
Timestamps to the relevant point in the video have been included for all questions for ease of reference.
Participants
SL23B Meet the Lindens: Second Life Studios
There was a large contingent of Moles at the session alongside LL staff, with those actively participating in the discussions comprising:
Brett Linden, Vice President of Marketing Second Life
Derek Linden, Senior Manager of Product Operations.
Izzy Linden, Creative Producer for Second Life Studios.
Second Life Studios has actually been around for a while operating in the background but not generally advertised [although many will be familiar with the LPDW and the Moles].
Regards it as the “heart of collaboration between Linden Lab and our residents”, whether working with the Moles to create infrastructure or collaborating with resident creators in developing experiences, etc.
Brett Linden – Context
Second Life Studios came out of a need to have better coordination with growth and marketing in bringing people into SL and what happens once they arrive inside the world. So Marketing the SL Studios are somewhat combined to better drive new user acquisition and engagement.
Who Are the Moles?
The Moles were formed in 2008 as the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW) and a Second Life residents around the world hired by Linden Lab as independent contractors to undertake specific tasks. They are managed by Derrick Linden.
Their work was originally focused on the Mainland, adding the infrastructure – roads, bridges, etc., and the landscaping, but has grown beyond this.
Notable major projects carried out by the Moles include: the infrastructure within Nautilus City; the development of Bay City; the Linden Homes continent of Bellisseria; facilities for events like Shop & Hop, SLB, etc; the turn-key regions available for businesses, starter avatars, etc; LL-provided experiences and the games accessible via the Portal Parks).
The Moles have also been involved in technical projects like Project Bento and the avatar skeleton extension, and work with marketing, QA and other LL teams, and the framework of Second Life Studios.
In keeping with their name, Moles were originally given a mole avatar, complete with hard hat. However, over the years, most have moved to having a more individual and personal look.
Positions in the LDPW are open to application by residents. Résumés (note card or email) of qualifications/experience (incl. links SLurls, Flickr, You Tube, etc.) to be sent to Derrick Linden (derrick.linden-at-lindenlab.com).
Some of this was discussed in the Marketing and Growth Meet the Lindens session in which the marketing and user acquisition work was discussed, together with the existing and upcoming marketing channels LL will be using and the creative partnerships being developed with residents.
All of this work is being coordinated with a new Strategic Insights Team – a team of data experts at LL helping guide the company towards achieving its goals.
SL Studios fits into this because no matter how much is spent on advertising and promotion, it will all fall down if that first exposure to SL just doesn’t work to retain users.
SL Studios is also part of the New User Experience Working Group, which also involves resident creators, sharing information, learning about what works and does not work in creating experiences for new users – with the Mobile Learning Centre built by the Studios team proving to be the strongest performer in testing.
And it is not just new users: SL Studios is a key part in land operations and maintenance, Linden Homes, community events and so on.
The spaceship themed Mobile Learning Centre by Second Life Studios
Brett Linden – Broader Notes:
The future will see better synergy with marketing and acquisition efforts including partnerships with creators in some cases.
Lua scripting is coming to SL, and there will be a showcase experience for that, which can be seen as an example of a partnership.
LL wants to continue working with all types of creators, the Moles, external partners, etc., to bring Second Life and make it better, especially for newcomers during that precious first minute or so of what people uh are they’re forming their opinions of whether this is for them or not.
On Working with Creators
[61:00:01-1:01:38] In terms of partnerships, what qualities do you look for in potential collaborations? And what have you learned from working so closely with creators across the community?
Brett Linden:
There are a lot of uh opportunities for collaboration, and much of this was covered in the Marketing and Growth session.
However, LL really is trying to take in feedback and look at the data and the numbers to assess what sort of changes should be made in the future [which affects what is being sought by way of collaboration].
Izzy Linden:
Has greatly enjoyed working with creators. Some bring amazing ideas which might be a concept being thought of, other times a way to accomplish something LL hadn’t thought of.
The important part is that this isn’t a competition; together LL and residents build a stronger community, and that’s always better for everyone in Second Life.
Taking a Second Life Studios Project from Conception to Release
The first stage is to define the overall scope of a project. How long will it take? How many resources are needed? Once this is defined, “mood boards” are developed to build a collective view of what’s possible.
The “mood boards” are used to focus things down to a cohesive concept, which is in turn used to develop road map of the work to be done: what will it look like? What will the creators need to build? What supporting will be needed? And so on.
As the project is built, so it involves other elements as well, such as animation, scripting, lighting, sounds, which are worked on as the project is built out. Then there is also quality control and project release.
Brett Linden:
Just to expand on this: there is also the open formCreator Partnership Programme, which has received 700+ pitches. The projects that are taken up can involve Second Life Studios working alongside resident creators.
[35:03-36:16] How do you balance nostalgia and innovation when designing for a platform with more than 20 years of history?
Izzy Linden:
This is always in the forefront of thinking. Whilst striving to innovate and bring new and interesting options to Second Life, there is a need to honour history and traditions.
Believe some of this is accomplished through innovations and themes like Linden Homes which bring new and exciting homes to our users but also balance Mainland and communities like Bay City together with the total freedom found in having a private island, and giving residents the freedom to choose / move between options.
[Side note: during the discussion individuals were asked for what may have at some point inspired them in terms of region designs. Answers notably included Paul Cutter’s (Xtreme Paule) Mother Road [which I last visited – at Paul’s invitation – in 2017, and have an update on how it has expanded waiting in the wings] and Fantasy Faire, SLB and the art installation such as found in SLEA. ]
Mainland Notes
[39:37-42:25] What role does Mainland play in the future of Second Life? Are there plans for broader improvements such as terrain texture updates, infrastructure upgrades, road expansions, or other modernisation efforts?
This work is not isolated, and there are plans in development – not yet in a position to be discussed –which will hopefully excite residents.
So yes, Mainland is getting more of an intentional focus, and that includes goals of terrain texture updates, environment settings and the general look and feel of the world.
LL is always looking for opportunities to expand / improve the Mainland infrastructure – roads, waterways. The approach here is deliberate: suggestions are taken when submitted as feedback or a pro-active look is taken for areas where that infrastructure is genuinely lacking and there is the available land to actually do something meaningful, and target it.
Brett Linden:
Yes, Mainland is important and the upcoming “community priorities programme” [intended to give the community a stronger voice in weighing in on where they want attention focused in-world] in progress. There is going to be more opportunities for people to weigh-in on matters.
Izzy Linden:
Mainland is a critical part of the tradition of Second Life. It’s a place where residents are only limited by their creativity. It’s going away anytime soon.
There is a lot LL can do to assist in the process with additional infrastructure and such like as Derek notes, and so is excited for the future of Mainland.
[42:34-44:41] Many mainland residents have neighbouring parcels that have been abandoned for years by owners who haven’t logged in for a decade or more. Can you explain how LL approaches these situations and whether there are any discussions about addressing long-term inactive land ownership?
Derek Linden:
A frequent topic, which is more nuanced than might appear to be the case. These parcels are not necessarily Abandoned Land, in virtually all of these cases the parcel holder is paying tier, even if their accounts appear to be inactive.
This creates a real obligation for LL. When someone steps away from Second Life, for whatever period of time, they have a reasonable expectation that when they come back, their land is going to be exactly as they left it. That trust has to be taken seriously.
While understanding some people may be frustrated with dealing with a neighbouring eyesore or neglected parcel; LL has to be really thoughtful about balancing that against the rights of the person who is still a paying customer uh for all intents and purposes.
Won’t pretend that this is problem with a potential solution, but it deserves on-going conversation. LL wants the mainland to feel vibrant and alive and long-term vacancy does work against that, so the company will continue to consider and think about that.
[26:06-30:55] If you could redesign one area of Mainland from scratch, what would you choose and why?
Alotta Mole: redesign the Second Life Railroad (SLRR) system and Mainland roads to better reflect how SL is used and provide more opportunities along them for discovery.
Itsa Mole: wouldn’t really want to change anything about Mainland because it is a part of the Second Life experience.
Abnor Mole: extending the road system or add coastlines to those areas lacking them so that people could sail / boat around them.
Izzy Linden: more collaboration with Mainland residents, so small communities like “mini Bay city”, planting the seeds and then allowing the resident to grow things.
Brett Linden: would point to the upcoming “community priorities programme” [see above] as a way for Mainland residents to suggest Mainland improvements, preservation efforts, infrastructure projects they would like to see.
[1:10:51-1:12:06] As since Zindra is getting some attention, could we get water regions or protected waterways added northeast of the continent to facilitate sailing all around it?
Derek Linden:
Sailable water around Zindra is a frequent and not unreasonable request given the size of the sailing community.
Nothing to currently announce, but as thought is given to what comes next for Zindra, water access is part of that conversation. LL is aware of the gaps being described and wants to be thought about thoughtful about what can be done with that space as opportunities arise.
Linden Homes Notes
LL will continue to rotate existing Linden Home themes availability
[36:35-37:36] Many residents would like to see more Premium Plus homes made available. Are there plans for this?
Izzy Linden:
LL is always adding Premium Plus homes to the available join flow, but would rather avoid creating multiple regions which are not occupied. So there are attempt to balance things.
So things are rotated. One theme might get rolled out and receive a pick-up, and when that peters out, then a switch is made to another theme.
[37:39-38:18] Residents in Bellisseria are curious about the long- awaited completion of the Mediterranean continent. Can you share any updates on those plans?
Izzy Linden:
As noted, LL expand existing areas based on use and need; as all the available homes for a theme are acquired, more can be added.
At the same time, LL does not want to finish an entire area that then has a whole bunch of partially empty regions with a fiscal cost shared by everybody. So again, it’s a balance.
[38:38-39:36] Copperfield Heights has proven extremely popular. Are there plans for additional regions and might we see more 2048 parcels offered in future releases?
Izzy Linden:
There is an attempt to keep some Copperfield Heights available as it is the most recent Linden Homes theme, but there are other themes as mentioned, so things will rotate.
Personally loves Copperfield Height as it does mix Plus, Premium and Premium Plus together.
[1:03:34-1:04:08] Has the team ever considered a short-term vacation rental system that would allow residents to temporarily experience different Linden home themes without permanently giving up their existing home?
Izzy Linden:
An interesting idea, but will need some significant thought into it so as not to compete with those residents already offering vacation options. Would just say it’s not outside of the realm of possibility.
[1:13:55-1:14:51] Are there any plans to revamp the older Linden home area textures to PBR?
Izzy Linden:
Yes, but care must be taken with PBR because it affects so many different things that it might require a complete rebuild of themes – which is not out of the realm of possibility.
Currently LL is making some additional builds for some of the existing homes that aren’t just more of the same; they are kind-of thematically compatible but have additional options.
Updating older Linden Home themes to match the likes of Aspen Ridge (shown) is not necessarily straightforward. Further, at the present time LL is focused on offering additional options to selected older themes, rather than directly updating to PDR or offering brand new themes.
[1:14:56-1:15:45] Are there any new themes on the horizon for Linden Homes?
Izzy Linden:
While not currently working on any completely new themes, thought is always being given to what any new themes might be.
Right now the focus is on additions to some existing themes a little like the recent updates to the Log Homes theme, except they’re compatible with the selected existing themes but not exactly more of the same.
Misc Questions
[1:12:25-1:13:20] Education: Is there is there someone who looks into the needs of small non-profit educational projects in Second Life?
Derek Linden:
LL does have a non-profit and educational programme that does offer discounts for the needs for those individuals, and there are a number of contacts associated with it.
There are some requirements around the programme, but support tickets requesting assistance from the Land Operations team can be filed, so conversations can be had on available options and where LL can help.
[1:01:54-1:02:58] The Cornfield: The Cornfield remains one of Second Life’s most legendary locations. Is there any chance residents might see it return in some form someday?
Derek Linden:
The cornfield holds a really special place in Second Life’s history, but currently there are no concrete plans around it right now. But it has not been forgotten about, either; its legacy and meaning for many in the community is understood.
If there is a “right” opportunity for bringing it back, it would be considered. It’s more a case of if it is revisited it is done so in a way that honours what makes it special rather than just dusting it off for the sake of it.
The OSD meeting is a combining of the former Third Party Viewer Developer meeting and the Open Source Development meeting. It is open discussion of Second Life development, including but not limited to open source contributions, third-party viewer development and policy, and current open source programs.
This meeting is generally held twice a month on a Friday, at 13:00 SLT at the Hippotropolis Theatre and is generally text chat only.
Default viewer: Flat UI – 26.2.0.25386466510, -“flat” UI and font update, dated May.
Second Life Project Viewers – Lua Editor Alpha viewer 6.1.0.23768336784, April 29.
Viewer Notes
26.3 is still slated to be the next viewer to be issues, but when is currently TBD.
Lua (with Linux support) will be the next viewer after 26.3.
The next major update after Lua is likely to be vcpkg (under-the-hood viewer packaging), but this is probably going to be late summer before this surfaces.
Some upcoming viewer-side WebRTC updates:
libwebrtc is to be updated to m144
The issue with p2p/adhoc/conference calls dropping when opening Voice Preferences is getting a fix.
(Also, on the back-end, the WebRTC Voice-to-text experimentation is continuing.).
Geenz Linden is working on a pipeline split in the background that should make getting off of OpenGL generally easier. This won’t move the needle over night, and thus far is mostly code clean-up.
OpenGL, Vulkan
The majority of the meeting was a discussion on succeeding OpenGL, with a focus on Vulkan.
Geenz noted:
There are “a few plans brewing for Vulkan/Metal/D3D12 support”. For MacOS a rendering hardware interface (RHI) to target Metal.
Broadly speaking, there does not appear to be anything “super high risk under Vulkan”, but the Lab still needs to approach things with care.
Based on available stats, the number of people using “pre-Vulkan” hardware is no longer extensive & the viewer also logs the number of people using systems capable of Vulkan support.
However, the problem is not so much who can / is using Vulkan, but rather how up-to-date are people’s drivers and, “are there any landmines lurking in that specific driver/hardware combo” because SL still has to support hardware that doesn’t get driver updates, etc.
The work he did for masked water in things like boat hulls should be relatively easy to port.
One of the major questions with Vulkan support will be can users’ hardware support modern Vulkan extension (such as bindless, which is liable to be a major optimisation for SL if it goes the Vulkan route).
In terms of the general plan for switching APIs away from OpenGL, Geenz noted:
Right now the plan is vaguely shaped as: split out LLPipeline and related components (including the draw pools), setup a general interface for the viewer “core” to talk to “a renderer”, amber the OpenGL renderer beyond minor development as our “classic” renderer, and have a separate renderer that at first will be off by default until we’re confident we’ve taken care of everyone’s bugs sufficiently. The devil is in the details of course, but generally we want to avoid another PBR-shaped release where we’re having to speed towards shoving everyone onto something that needed more feedback before it released. So, people get a choice for a while with the target for the new stuff being “similar+”
So short term at least people with be able to switch between renderers, where “short term” is likely measured in years.
The chances are as LL gain confidence in different set-ups they will start enabling it by default for certain detected hardware.
Concern was raised that a switch-over could result in a “ALM moment” (ALM=Advanced Lighting Model) where peopl didn’t use the renderer because of the way it changed the appearance of scenes. However, the changing of APIs / providing different rendering APIs shouldn’t be such as issue, as scenes should look pretty much the same either way.
Other Items
The question of gathering region data for the purposes of producing things like 3D terrain maps was again raised. This has been passed around the majority of User Group meetings in a attempt to understand any limitations on the use of bots for this purpose. Ideally, the data would come directly from LL; however Geenz noted that LL cannot provide the data in its raw form, but it might be possible to get height / elevation data into the Map service.
On Thursday, June 25th 2026, Linden Lab held the fourth of the SL23B Meet the Lindens events, featuring Brett Linden, Vice President of Marketing Second Life and Fausto Linden, Senior Growth Marketing Manager, discussing Second Life marketing & growth. The session was live and featured a mix of pre-submitted questions, and those asked during the session.
Notes:
This is a summary (not a full transcript) of the majority of topics discussed at the session, and the official video of the session is embedded at the end of this article, not a full transcript.
Timestamps are provided to the relative points within the video where specific topics are discussed, allowing readers who prefer to listen to the comments directly to be able to do so.
SL23B Meet the Lindens: Marketing and Growth – Fausto Linden and Brett Linden
Second Life Audience
[7:31-11:59] Who is Second Life for? What is SL’s audience and identity? Is the goal to primarily serve existing residents, attract younger users, grow the creator economy, position Second Life as a social platform, or something else that we haven’t even thought of?
Brett Linden:
Doesn’t think there is a single audience that defines Second Life and in some ways hopes there never is. It is diverse, encompassing creators, role players, musicians, educators, and so on, all of whom reinforce each other. Creators do need customers, customers need places to explore, communities need creators that build experiences.
LL certainly sees opportunities to grow and to win back lapsed users. The goal is not to replace one audience with another but grow the ecosystem to make it easier for people to discover whatever it is in Second Life that’s meaningful to them because it is different person to person in many ways.
This means LL will continue to invest in the residents who built this world, such as leaning in to creators for partnerships and that sort of thing.
Bringing in new audiences is also important, whether via Mobile, whether it’s more creators, etc. One thing research has consistently shown is that the long-term success isn’t just about fitting into one very tightly defined demographic; it’s about helping find people to connect to those communities, those social experiences, and or creative opportunities that give them a reason to come back.
Fausto Linden:
Second Life is for any adult seeking deeper social connection, creativity, and self-expression. It provides a persistent virtual world where people can build communities, create identities, and participate in thriving economies, and live in immersive experience alongside others.
Growth has to be about nurturing existing users and do outreach to people who are looking for deeper social connection, creativity, and self-expression.
To answer the question “Who is Second Life for?” I think it’s for everybody. Second Life offers something for everyone.
[13:21-15:36] How do envision SL being of value to everybody? Do you think it could ever be something like the Internet that that everybody could find a use for a given time, like 5 or 10 years from now? Could we ever get to what Philip had originally envisioned for a virtual world?
Brett Linden:
Philip has a very specific perspective as the founder of Second Life, as was heard at his Meet the Lindens event.
Having been involved in SL for over 20 years, 19 of them as a Linden agrees that it is true that Second Life is for everybody, but would add nuance to that:
There is a specific kind of person that really resonates and connects with Second Life, who finds a utility in Second Life, a meaningful way of engaging that is not just entertainment.
Some people do use SL in passing, but the majority see it as an extension of their identity; it is something where people have their tribe, their community, their family. Those are deep and meaningful things for people.
SL also fulfils a purpose for those who have something which limits their physical world life, where cultural issues or limitations prevent them from expressing their true identity in the physical form. So it is really important for LL to really make sure that the platform does right by people that have not yet discovered SL and who benefit from it.
[17:06-20:02] When the marketing team develops campaigns and advertising, who are the primary audiences you’re trying to reach today? Have those target audiences changed over the last few years? What is the primary audience that you’re trying to reach out to?
Fausto Linden:
So, the primary audience in terms of demographics is adults 25 to 55 plus who value things like community, identity expression, creativity, role play, social connection, and digital lifestyles.
Targeting these people is often based on the creative remake: expressing the wonderful communities and groups that exist in Second Life. This includes using videos showing the multiple ways people can express their truest self.
There are also market segments being looked into to see if SL can acquire users that’ll stick based on some of those niche experiences.
So it’s a case of reaching out to people where they are; highlighting content creation to creators, music for those looking to socialise, and segments like anime, fantasy, furry, gore, Goth, sci-fi, as there are so many of these communities thriving SL that just need to be discovered by people with like-minded interests.
[20:18-22:33] If the primary audience being focused on is 25 to 55 plus, how are you thinking about introducing SL to younger generations, those who spend time on like Roblox and 5M, VR Chat, IMVU, Discord based communities? Do you think there’s a chance for us to introduce them to SL without changing / losing what makes it unique?
Fausto Linden:
LL does see competitors as huge opportunities because those users are already into some type of 3D world, some type of avatar lifestyle.
LL has tested campaigns targeting users from VR chat, IMVU, and The Sims with encouraging results. These positioned SL as the 3D world with the best avatars.
Believes there is a huge opportunity with Roblox, and potentially creating campaigns targeting ex-Roblox users to graduate from that platform to SL as an almost natural next step.
Younger audiences can be tough due to shorter attention spans, but opportunities are there and will continue to be investigated. However, the primary target demographic for now is 25 and up.
Growth, Strategy, User Acquisition and Retention
Growth and Strategy
[22:58-27:40] How does LL envision growing Second Life? What are seen as the greatest opportunities – former residents returning or entirely new users discovering Second Life for the first time? Creator-driven growth, Mobile users, international markets, or a combination?
Fausto Linden:
Growth will be a combination of new user outreach, existing user engagement, and winning back of lapsed users with almost equal importance.
For the foreseeable future, will be focused on driving a percentage of new users, bringing back users that have left for whatever reason and making things more accessible for the for the existing users to be able to encourage potential new users to engage with them.
The only way to gain wins is to work on all three areas.
Brett Linden:
Adds that the question is complex because there are many dependencies on what needs to be done, not just on marketing. Even in the local chat people are acknowledging product issues with SL as it currently stands, good and bad.
The reality is that there needs to be some changes with Second Life itself in order to break through the current stagnant growth. People like Fausto and Jerome Linden (Senior VP of Engineering) bring experience that can help with this. Making sure the product is where it needs to be is really important.
Bringing former residents back is a huge opportunity because millions of people who’ve experienced Second Life over the years; some stayed, others just popped in and popped out real quickly, and would like to see them to come back
Mobile is definitely an important opportunity. There is still work to be done, it doesn’t replace the Desktop experience but it certainly has the opportunity to expand the audience of Second Life if done correctly.
SL’s creator community is always really important for helping to drive growth and finding ways to partner with them. There been a lot of things done in this last year that are new in terms of partnerships with the community. Check the Second Life You Tube channel, you’ll see the sheer volume of content created by the community.
So rather than just pick one lane, it’s thinking about the entire life cycle, the dependencies with the product and engineering things that need to be done together to attract new people and get these returning users back as well.
[28:05-29:11] Are there plans to invest more heavily in international marketing efforts including countries like the United Kingdom and other regions outside of North America?
Fausto Linden:
In terms of global markets, these take two forms: what the Marketing Teams calls Tier One English markets – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These have provided good data and users from those countries retain and stay for a long time, so these are the primary English countries.
In terms of non-English countries, the focus for the foreseeable future is going to be Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico.
[29:13-33:22] Some residents that feel recent advertising campaigns are targeting a relatively narrow audience. How do you balance appealing to Second Life’s existing community while also reaching entirely new audiences who have never heard of virtual worlds before?
Fausto Linden:
Keep the two somewhat separate; new users require on-boarding, support, encouragement, etc., which is different to the needs of existing users. It’s also not possible to speak to all users with a single ad.
So different ads speak to different people: friendship and belonging videos for users seeking connection; ads that highlight creativity and expression for people searching for creativity and expression; role-play ads for users that are looking for role play. So those are all form attracting new users.
For existing users, the plan is to make things just more accessible: how do we surface groups other users are seeking; how do we connect uh users with similar kind of interests? How do we connect users to the products they’re looking for? That is the direction taken.
Brett Linden:
People probably have strong opinions about the good, the bad, and the ugly of what’s been done in marketing and ads. Historically, LL hasn’t done a lot of paid ads; it’s usually been organic and word-of-mouth where a lot of the growth and ads come from.
There has been a lot of feedback on past ads, some suggesting we should turn more to the community for certain ads, other expressing support, others expressing dislike. This is all good, as not very ad is going to hit the right note, and feedback has enabled collaboration.
LL will continue to look at the data on which ones that successfully bring in and keeping new users. Some will perform better than others, but lessons are being learned and the Team is moving quickly.
There have been times when it has taken a long time to put together campaigns , now the Team can iterate quickly and it’s great to see the wallet or purse opening again to actually start experimenting and testing. And Fausto has rich experience in that space.
Brett’s team does a lot of the communication to existing community, maintaining a thriving posting cadence with a lot of good features and announcements. These generate a comments and suggestions and ideas and what the community feels.
Brett Linden:
It’s great to get feedback, obviously, good or bad. What is in action is when people respond with ideas, do step up and show us, because right now, many of the current ads were through resident involvement.
So that’s something for people to think about; if you’ve got a connection to that part of the community or you are a machinima artist, there might be an opportunity for you to kind of participate.
So you’re very open to machinima makers and photographers, etc., volunteering to help?
Brett Linden:
If people have ideas or want to show us their work, reach out through editor@lindenlab.com.
Use of AI in Advertising
[38:15-42:45] Are you planning to use AI in advertising? Some say that it is ruining art and it’s ruining the creator community and the more it’s allowed to take a foothold in SL the more it risks people turning away from the platform. What are your thoughts about using AI within marketing?
Fausto Linden:
The ads we use must be created in-world and with no AI visuals or smoothers being used.
One creator did use an AI smoother to make the motions look more natural, which was not well received by the community, so no AI smoothers was added as a requirement.
There is an exception for AI voice-overs because some creators either do not speak English or do not want to have their voice recognised. In a future time we hope to hire someone talent to provide voice-overs, but not at this time.
Brett Linden:
It is a hot topic, and there is understandable frustration / hostility given this is a user-generated world and community.
LL is showcasing the real Second Life in terms of the video footage that’s captured in world that focuses on resident created content not AI generated imagery for those videos.
Broadly recognise that creators have strong feelings when it comes to things like generative AI, because Second Life exists because of human creativity, and resident creators are the reason the platform has endured for two decades.
Would view himself as neutral to the topic, as there are some uses where it can be very efficient – but not in ads and for Second Life specifically, where it is important to celebrate the human-created component of SL, which is quite special.
If something does slip by within creator-made videos and LL is alerted, as Fausto noted, action will be taken.
Referral Programmes and Rewards
[43:25-47:21] Platforms like Fortnite and Roblox use creator referral programs to incentivize creators, streamers, and influencers to bring in new users. Has LL explored similar programmes to reward creators and community leaders in helping grow Second Life?
Fausto Linden:
LL recently surveyed subscribers asking if they would recommend SL on a rating from 1 to 10 (extremely likely to recommend). 75% of the respondents gave 6 or above.
As a result, LL is investigating the idea of a referral programme to reward both the referrer and referee – although this is still in its early days.
Brett Linden:
Is excited to see where the idea might go, and believes existing users are great ambassadors for SL
Personally stayed with SL as a user because someone else befriended and mentored him.
Does believe it is more than just a sign-up referral, however; it’s about those in the community creating destinations for users, those who volunteer as mentors, etc., all of whom help with bringing new users into SL. Believes it is true that people will stick with SL a lot more when they quickly find and connect to a community or experience that resonates with them.
Everyone can play a role in both attracting new users and helping to make them feel they have a place in SL. There are been situations where incoming users have been met with welcoming energy and other times when the reception has been hostile
There is a role for LL to play in preventing the latter – but the community also plays a role. Just being kinder to a new user can help them feel settled.
Lab-Developed On-Boarding Experiences and Activities
Partnerships with creators have helped with the creation on user on-boarding experiences
[47:25-50:16] A lot of residents remember a more structured on-boarding experience. Um are there plans to provide more Linden Lab created activities, guided experiences, or community programs that help new residents discover what makes Second Life special?
Brett Linden:
This has been a major focus over this past year. Rather than trying to redesign the New User Experience internally, LL partnered directly with multiple Second Life creator communities to create the New User Experience Working Group.
This sit in addition to the on-going Community Gateway Programme, and is a collaboration with some of the top creators across SL meeting with the SL Studios team weekly over months to build and test new user experiences for both Mobile and desktop.
Testing included sharing raw data on what was being seen. Sometimes the data was surprising: what was thought to be a slam dunk success wasn’t reflected in the data. So this equal level of working will continue to be an experiment.
Going forward there will likely be more working hand-in-hand with those in the community who know Second Life very, very well. So it’s not some new user experience that’s just done and finished. Partnerships will be iterated upon.
The goal is not just to teach someone how to use the viewer, it’s more nuanced; it’s about getting people connected and understanding why Second Life is meaningful for them and making them feel welcomed and why SL is worth coming back to.
The Role of Creators in Growing SL
[1:01:26-1:03:34] How important are creators to Linden Lab’s overall growth strategy, and what role do you see creators playing in attracting and retaining future generations of residents?
Brett Linden:
Creators are at the heart of everything, including things that are important for showcasing what’s great about Second Life and the growth strategy – destinations, communities, experiences, events – all give an opportunity to put the spotlight on what’s really happening in Second Life.
99% of the time, while SL Studios put together good stuff, the majority of SL comes organically from the community. So LL’s job is to help more people discover what’s already being built out there in the community.
In terms of attracting the next generation of residents, it is how does LL help more people discover the incredible creativity that the community has put out there; that’s where creators play such an important role.
Fausto Linden:
Creators are the backbone of Second Life’s growth strategy. LL works with creators to test on-boarding destinations, test new user avatar customisation, etc. Creators as ambassadors of Second Life, and LL will continue collaborating with them to make Second Life more accessible to new users.
In-world Discoverability, and Social Interaction & Community Building
In-World Discoverability
[50:20-54:21] One common challenge is that there are a lot of interesting locations to explore in-world but they struggle to attract visitors and then disappear. Are there plans to improve the discovery tools um or provide better promotional opportunities for destinations and communities so that you can connect new users and older residents with places that are worth visiting?
Fausto Linden:
One idea being investigated is that of a recommendation engine that would help pair users to groups, destinations, products, and other users. It’s in the very early stages of thinking, but the idea it is to connect new users to the things that they want to do, and the places that they want to see.
Brett Linden:
Believes this is one of the biggest opportunities we have, and there are internal conversations happening on what this “personalisation engine” will look like.
Notes that from his experience at Amazon, personalisation was game-changer in terms of e-commerce; having large data sets where patterns of what is liked or not can be very effective.
With SL, there is a special responsibility in Second Life that this is done correctly, taking into consideration people’s desire for privacy, etc. So if implemented, it will be done with care.
However, the idea is an interesting opportunity to do better at serving people recommendations that are context-appropriate and sensitive to their interests. The Destination Guide has thousands of [semi-]curated entries which could be leverged.
[54:24-58:22] Some residents feel that social interaction and community building have also become more difficult over time. Are there initiatives being explored to encourage stronger community engagement, meaningful connections, and positive resident experience?
Fausto Linden:
LL is again in the planning stages of ways to better surface SL communities as a part of the “personalisation engine”; using it to help facilitate people find the right groups.
Brett Linden:
One of the biggest priorities is working with the community, not just building for the community. There’s kind of a fine, you know, line between, you know, where it’s appropriate for one or the other.
In the year since it was initiated, over 700 proposals have been submitted, signifying there is a desire for people wanting to help and work with LL in terms of working with the community.
Obviously, LL cannot partner with everybody, so some proposals / ideas do not get taken up, but some fantastic collaborations have emerged, and more are expected.
Does think it’s important to strengthen how LL works with the community with is not top-down, but in partnership.
As a tease: as well as the “personalisation engine”, LL is also looking at putting together something along the lines of a “community priorities programme” (not the official name) to help LL work closely with the community and give the community a stronger voice in weighing in on where they want attention focused – such as improvements and preservation efforts and infrastructure projects and community spaces – anything that makes Second Life better.
Really wants to make sure that there’s a voice and a process for that voice to be heard so that LL can hear that and take action, and there will be more on this programme as it develops.
Supporting Resident-Led Marketing of Communities and Events
[59:01-1:00:47] Many creators, venue owners, and community organizers struggle to promote projects and events. What opportunities do you see for Linden Lab to better support resident-led marketing and promotion?
Fausto Linden:
Believes LL could be open to co-promoting items on social media.
Brett Linden:
There is also the Destination Guide which is open submission and fuels a lot of things like social posts and the e-mails that go out.
There is an Events e-mail that goes out to users who have opted-in, which go out on Fridays. There is also What’s Hot in Second Life.
If people have a specific pitch, there is the creator partnership uh programme form already mentioned.
Miscellaneous Questions on Marketing and Growth
Premium Rewards and Retention
[1:03:56-1:07:01] Some residents really appreciate the various Premium rewards and gifts but they feel they could be more meaningful or aspirational. How does the team evaluate premium exclusive promotions, gifts, events when designing retention programs?
Brett Linden:
There is a lot of different interests in Second Life, so what one person sees and values might be different from the next; so there is no single aspect of the subscription tiers that’s going to appeal to everybody. But that said, there is obviously a unifying interest in subscriptions.
Would clarify that subscription rewards enjoyed by members over the years in terms of the gifts specifically; rather they have been expanded through the use of gifts.
Gifts have been offered in the past through the work of the Moles / the in-house Second Life Studios team. What is different now is that LL has started to partner to augment and supplement those with additional gifts just as an add-on extra.
These additional gifts cycle in and cycle out. Seraphim supplied some, right now it is both Essential Inventory and the Collide Circle.
With that volume of gifts, some are going to resonate with people and some won’t, and this will be tested and changes will be cycled on based on this.
Will also continue to iterate on the subscription plans where again people like different things – Linden Home or increased Group limits, fee savings on uploads. There is a suite of perks to
Feedback is listened to, and there will be changes in time as what works and what does not work is better understood. But the goal isn’t to create one single aspect of the perk that it that everyone loves; it is designed to be a membership programme where the overall value continues to grow with benefits offering broad appeal.
In term of resident feedback and the influence it has on marketing decisions, are there some examples of where resident feedback has directly influenced campaigns, messages, or growth initiatives?
Fausto Linden:
On joining LL, oversaw the production of videos focusing on friendship and connection, which lead to suggestions of other topics to cover – creativity, the economy. Content creation – these formed a list for a series of videos.
Also focused on role-play, and the feedback has been requests for SLurls to the places shown – so that is now happening.
Recalling Torley Linden
[1:10:34-1:13:47] Torley Linden is well remembered by long-time residents who for his contributions to community communications and tutorials. Looking back, what role do personalities like Torley play in helping residents connect with Linden Lab and the broader community?
Brett Linden:
Torley is missed personally. He was very visible in Second Life, did amazing job on many tutorials and did great on behalf of Second Life. There’s just never going to be another Torley. He had a really unique and great ability to educate, inspire, and connect with community. And he was authentic; he was saying it from his heart. And that passion and that authenticity just came through.
Moving forward, would love to see a situation where there is no one public face representing LL, but there are a lot of different viewpoints of people coming from Linden Lab and sharing and interacting with the community and frankly, educating people about what’s going on at the Lab. There’s just a lot of great people engineering, product support across the board. And so there’s more than just one person that can really tell that story.
The Meeting the Lindens Engineering Team session did that – 10 people on stage including Jerome, the new Senior VP of Engineering; you don’t see that many Lindens in a Town Hall style event. It gave diverse viewpoints and a from the trenches perspective of what’s going on at Linden Lab.
Wants to see more opportunities for these Q&A style events, space for authentic conversations .Is appreciative of Fausto’s energy and positivity in his responses, his excitement at the chance to bring change to SL and make a difference. Hopes there will be more Linden voices interacting with the community.
The many faces of Torley Linden
Achieving and Measuring Success
[1:14:29-1:16:10] Imagine it is a year hence, it’s SL24B. What growth metrics or community milestones would make both of you feel that Second Life is heading in the right direction?
Fausto Linden:
Short and sweet: because focus is on growth and performance marketing: success would be to see the count of active daily users increase by 10%.
That means acquiring new users and retaining them, acquiring lapsed users and retaining them, and engaging with current users and getting them to be in-world more often.
Brett Linden:
Supports Faust and likes that he gave a figure to attain. Everyone loves SL, but it is also a business and needs to grow. And people get frustrated if they perceive this is not the case, so it’s good to have a hard number to try to achieve.
[1:16:28-1:18:59] Is there something that users can do that would help grow Second Life? Promoting the community is something the Lab is very eager to do. But is there anything users can do to help make Second Life successful?
Fausto Linden:
A striking thing is when visiting the Welcome Areas, they can be a little empty. So going to a Welcome Area and befriending people that are new is something people could do. Like a buddy system type of thing.
Brett Linden:
LL bears a lot of responsibility for user safety, but as a community, everyone has a duty of care to be kind and good to people.
The current age makes it hard to get a place to escape where there’s nice, kind people, good conversation, fun, crazy – but coming in-world and somebody throws hate or negativity or clicky energy at you, that’s not going to be very welcoming.
So, while acknowledging the Lab has a lot of responsibility for creating a safe environment, the community putting its Kind Hat on would help when it comes to welcoming new people.
[1:19:52-1:22:30] After more than two decades what gives the marketing and growth team the most confidence that Second Life can continue attracting new residents and thriving into the future?
Brett Linden:
The confidence that I have comes from the community itself. Has been here for 20 years, has seen the great and not so great things done on LL’s side. So thinks the steady force has been the community that has kind of held things together and made SL able to survive where so many others have failed.
Notes there are some competitors that are actually giving SL a good run for the money and offer lessons to be learned. But that said, has confidence in the fact that the community continues to surprise and evolve and do really great things with this platform well above anything LL might do.
Fausto Linden:
Agree that the community provides a lot of confidence for the future, as does the data.
This data focuses on behavioural patterns that guide decision making. There is a sophisticated data science team to help validate some assumptions and put a numbers against tests.
Audience Question
[1:23:0-1:24:25]Has the Marketing Team ever considered Discord Orbs for advertising SL, given that platform is popular with SL residents?
Fausto Linden:
A survey showed that around 40% or so of those SL users asked are on Discord, and there were around 26% on Reddit. So both platforms are being considered for SL advertising.
[Note: there was a final question on whether LL “is looking for people who can create art with AI?”, but it was considered too vague to be able to formulate an answer.]
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 