Talking since the stone age

Linden Lab’s most recent blog post – and the comments that follow it – combine to be something of a corker.

15 BILLION voice minutes served since Voice was introduced in 2007? Given that means users have effectively clocked up 28.57 THOUSAND years of conversations (with thanks to Chakalak Skall for this tidbit) – one cannot help but think Linden Lab are playing around with figures to try and prove a point…

But that aside, there can be no denying that Voice, used in context, can be very handy. The real question surrounding it is – what is the context, and what does that tell us about the future?

Well, the fact is, even a casual read-through of the full post and the the comments that follow it reveal that there is a growing divide within the Second Life community: those who see SL as more of an “entertainment” medium effectively “versus” those who see it more of a business / communications “platform” (among them Linden Lab themselves).

The pros (and cons) to Voice are clear and the arguments for and against it well-defined. Whether one understands all the technical issues surrounding Voice as it stands (and there are many), one cannot deny it does have uses as flawed as they are; as such, it is hardly fair for non-Voice users (largely from the “entertainment” group) to scream about its “non-applicability”.

As someone who is in SL to enjoy myself for the most part (even though I have become increasiningly passionate about many elements of SL outside of my immediate enjoyment), I sit in the middle. I am here to enjoy myself for the most part, and actually have no strong view for or against Voice. True, I choose not to use it, but this is for three simple reasons rather than me being in any way “anti-Voice”:

1. My early experiments with it were not a great success. No technical problems per se – just simply the fact that I found virtually none of the people I interact with use Voice
2. When away from my usual haunts, I found Voice to be a) carrying the most banial communications going b) highly intrusive in terms of unwanted communications (“Wow, BABE! What an ASS… WIGGLE IT FER ME!” through to someone singing (at least I assume to this day they were singing and not having a tooth pulled without the aid of a local anesthetic)).
3. As someone largely engaged in roleplay, I have a mental image of the people I interact with based upon their avatar – and I really don’t want that to be shattered by finding either their voice doesn’t match the mental image or that they engage in habits I find off-putting (for example, I’m vehemently anti-smoking, and a snob with it; were I to hear the flick of a lighter or the rasp of a match while engaging in play, that would be IT, mood ruined as my head gets full of thoughts of “kissing” a smoker or inhaling their breath…sorry, but there it is – a vivid imagination can be a curse as well as a blessing).

That last point aside, it’s fair to say that in one-on-one interactions between consenting adults, Voice *could* actually enhance a D/s mood & play, rather than being the ugly duckling many roleplayers are keen to portray it as being.

Within the business / educational environment, however, Voice has very definite benefits and applications, and given Linden Lab, must, at the end of the day, generate revenue, the expansion of Voice products to help leverage these environments – whether we like it or not – makes sense.

Providing it is done wisely.

And for the life of me, I cannot see precisely HOW some of the “new” Voice features actually achieve that.

Users will be able to receive voice call in-world from outside numbers? Sorry, don’t see the strategic benefit here. If I’m a corporate bod out in the field and I want to call someone at the office about something, I’m either going to call them direct on what’s called their “office phone” or their “cellphone”, and speak to them directly. If they don’t pick up, I’ll leave a message.

I’m really not going to fart around dialling their avatar in the hope they are in-world and in the hope my message will be converted to an IM and then e-mailed out to them if they are not…

Not after the first-time novelty has worn off, anyway.

Similarly, if I have a colleague in the field who is in-world, and I’m elsewhere, I’m not going to faff around calling their avatar. If they are in-world, then it’s a no-brainer that they’ll be within cellphone coverage, so I’ll call them direct.

And please don’t give me any of the “Ah, but what if you don’t have their number?” rubbish. If I don’t have their number a) It’s even less likely that I’ll have the contact details of their avatar either; b) I’ll doubtless know someone who DOES have their number and get it that way.

Similarly, can you really see avatars who meet in-world on business ONLY passing on their in-world contact details? No. They’ll be handing one another their office / cellphone contact info, again negate the “benefit” of this service.

The in-world chat / conference transfer to SMS recording is marginally more beneficial, but one still has to ask whether the whole “SL-as-a-corporate meeting tool” really stacks up against far more established means of video and teleconferencing tools most companies have already invested in.

Of course, the cynic in me realises there is an additional angle in trying to hype these things with users, and that’s its potential use as a revenue-earner. To quote Catherine Linden: “Regarding cost, we do not have pricing for AvaLine or the other voice features yet but will announce as we get closer to leaving Beta.” That is to say, if you want to use the tools, you’re going to have to pay for them. And a strategy like that where home / leisure users are concerned will be really good business – for Skype!

Will the business side of this strategy work? Time will tell…but I have a nagging doubt it won’t. To me, time would be better spent improving the Voice tools that are available now.

All these great new things may sound like ways of “enhancing” SL to the corporate buyer, but in bolting them onto the core product left-right and centre, Linden Lab are simply in danger of trying to become the Everyman of the corporate communications world.

And as as the saying goes, he who seeks to become a jack of all trades ends up mastering none of them, boondoggled by those who offer far more focused, targeted solutions.