Author: Inara Pey

This is followed by a short summary of the question (and their answers) likely to be of interest to readers. These are supported by the links under General Audience Questions section of the table of contents, right. For all of the questions asked in the session, please refer to the official video, embedded at the end of this article.

The Moles

Who or What are the Moles?

• Officially called the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW)
• They are residents from all over the world hired by Linden Lab as independent contractors to undertake specific tasks.
• The core element of work they undertake is specifically geared towards enhancing the Mainland, as noted in the official LDPW wiki page, although they actually do a lot more than this.
• The LDPW initially formed in 2008, and so is now in its twelfth year. They are managed by Derrick Linden, the Product Operations Manager for Second Life, together with a team of Linden Lab staffers including Guy Linden, Madori Linden and Kona Linden.
• 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 (including all topography, flora, infrastructure and housing).
  • The facilities for events like Shop & Hop, SL16B and SL17B, ton hall events, the turn-key regions available for businesses, starter avatars, etc.
  • The Lab provided games such as Linden Realms, Paleoquest, Horizons and the grid-wide Tyrah and the Curse of the Magical Glytches – all accessible via the Portal Parks.
• They also provide support / input for / to technical projects (e.g. Project Bento and the avatar skeleton extension), and work with marketing, QA and other LL teams.
• 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.
• As well as being paid for the work they do, Moles also receive and allowance from the Lab, which is primarily intended to go towards the cost of uploads (texture, animations, mesh objects, etc)., but which can also be put towards developing their individual looks.
• [Video: 29:58-33:54] Current project focus comprises:
  • Bellisseria / Linden Homes – including four more Homes themes, and next two of which will be “a bit of a departure” from what has so far been seen.
  • SL17B / LL-led events for 2020.
  • A Halloween refresh.
  • End-of-year events.
  • A number of “big media events”.
• [Video: 39:49-40:52] Due to the Linden Homes work, the LDPW has expanded from 20 to 30.

How to Become a Mole

• Positions in the LDPW are open to application by residents who believe they are qualified to work in the team, and the team may also approach specific residents and ask if they would consider joining them.
• Applications are made by dropping a résumé (note card or email) of qualifications / experience (including links SLurls, Flickr, You Tube, etc.) to Derrick Linden (derrick.linden-at-lindenlab.com) or to Patch Linden (patch.linden-at-lindenlab.com).
• Applicants have to go through a former interview process.
• Successful applicants get to pretty much choose their hours of work – providing agreed tasks are completed on time.
• As they are from around the world, this can allow some projects to move forward on almost a round-the-clock basis.
• Those who are more fully-rounded in skill sets  – content creation, scripting, etc., – are encouraged to apply, but LL will also take on specialists.
• Motivated, outgoing, communicative people with a passion for SL and willing to self-teach themselves new skill sets are particularly considered.

Selected Questions and Answers

Please use the links to the video in the table of contents to hear full responses to them.

• Will the SSPE areas around the Log Homes ever be completed?  – Already working on it.
• Will water regions connect all the continents? – Not all, but where in makes sense, hopefully.
• Will the Bellisseria railway extend into the “older” region in the continent? – No. the tracks need to be part of the infrastructure built into region, they are not suited to being retro-fitted.
• Could the trees in Bellisseria be swapped for trees with lower LI, and the LI given to residents? – No, because a) the content the Moles build is in accordance with best practices for things like LOD, etc., and b) Land Impact really doesn’t work is a way that the question implies.
• Will there be commercial areas in Bellisseria? – It had been intended too release Victorian Commercial as well as the Victorian themed homes (e.g. Millbank, intended to be an open market space), but this was de-prioritised in favour of more homes.
• Why not convert abandoned Mainland for use with Linden Homes? – The way the Linden Homes regions are set-up doesn’t easily lend itself to use on the Mainland.
• What about an underground Bellisseria theme? – has been considered along with other ideas. However, there are technical complexities to this – creating the terrain, dealing with the physics, etc., – which are considered to be currently prohibitive.
• Will there be Trailers and Campers on 1024 sq m parcels, as once stated? Unlikely. The 512m parcels for Trailers and Campers were selected to give Premium members who had already used some of their free tier on a Mainland parcel the option of also trying a Linden Home. Also, the Campers and Trailers don’t scale well on 1024 sq m.

Catch the rest of the session in the video below.

Notes:

• Due to the random approach taken in presenting subjects, this summary attempts to offer a logical flow to information by topic, and so does not follow the chronology of the session video.
• Audio extracts, where included, have been cleaned-up and balanced to remove pauses, repetitions, etc.
• Audience questions were taken at the end of the session (from the 52:00 mark in the video). However:
  • As some were related to the core discussion topics, responses to them have been given under the appropriate topic heading below, with a time stamp to where they were asked in the video.
  • Others – such as land fees, educational use of SL, etc. – were more thoroughly answered in the sessions with Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg, summarised here, and / or with Patch Linden, summarised here. I therefore refer readers to those summaries.
• In places, information that is supplementary to the team’s comments is provided in square braces (i.e. [ and ]) are used in the body text below to indicate where this is the case.
• For more information on the Marketing Second of Life, please also refer to the following:
  • The Heart & Science of Second Life Marketing – Brett Linden, March 2020.
  • Marketing Second Life: Brett Linden’s insights – this blog

About The Marketing Team

[Video: 1:28-10:00]

• Brett: joined Linden Lab in 2007, and is a former music journalist who has interviewed David Bowie, Bjork, 2Pac, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder and more.
• Darcy Linden – Senior Marketing Manager – joined the Lab in 2018.
• Maveric Linden –  Marketing Analyst – joined linden Lab in 2014, refers to himself as “the data guy”.
• Tara Linden – Marketing Content Specialist – joined Linden Lab in 2019.
• Strawberry Linden  – Marketing Content Specialist – joined Linden Lab in 2019 (formerly resident Strawberry Singh).

• Primary focus is the acquisition of new users and retention of existing users in SL.
• Also work closely with other teams within LL such as Product and Engineering, and may be consulted about various SL features – Name Changes, user on-boarding processes, avatar customisation, etc., but the team is not necessarily the decision makers on such aspects of the platform.
• User acquisition takes a number of forms such as both paid and unpaid advertising campaigns using both traditional and digital media outlets.
• The team’s experience is broad-ranging: web analytics, advertising, public relations, journalism, e-commerce, editorial, search engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) – both of which (and their differences) are explained here -, social media marketing (SMM) and social media community management.
• More information on the team’s individual backgrounds and roles can be heard between 3:53-8:21.

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What Impact has the Pandemic Had?

[Video: 10:10-12:13]

• Brett: on a human level, there have been a variety of reactions throughout LL.
• In terms of SL, there has been something of a resurgence of interest in the platform as a result of people having to maintain physical / social distancing / being in isolation.
• Whilst many are discovering / returning to the platform have done so because it offers a safe haven for social interaction and fun, some have been drawn to the platform due to its utility.
• The upturn in interest is being reflected in the media.
• Makes for an awkward dichotomy: on the one hand the world is caught within the throes of the pandemic, but professionally, the Lab and SL are benefiting.

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Active User Numbers

[Video: 12:14-13:57]

• Brett: In April 2020 – regarded as the “peak” of the resurgence at the time of the event – the monthly active user count was “just shy” of 900,000.
  • [Note a You Tube comment from @Secondlife Official indicates for June, the figure appears to be around the “lower mid-800,000s”.]
• This increase has been both new users and returning users who have not logged-in for some time.
• Darcy: Second life has actually been “growing steadily” in user numbers for the last few years, even with surge resulting from the pandemic, so the focus is on maintaining that broader growth trend.

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Marketing and Second Life

What Are the Challenges Marketing Faces With Returning Users / New Users?

[Video: 14:19-17:48]

• Darcy: Residents tend to come in three “buckets”: new users; returning with little prior engagement; returning with significant prior engagement.
• Overall the issues new / returning users who have been absent a long time are facing are not any different during the pandemic as prior to it. They are generally all issues of which LL has been aware of and is trying to address.
• Part of the approach to issues is a case of “learn by doing” as much as anything else (just how hard is it to create and dress a new avatar?).
• However, as with much else with SL, until the Uplift project has been completed, there are unlikely to be significant changes that will further assist the new user experience / growing the number of retained users.
• Steeltoe Linden [referred to as being “back” on SL, so potentially a returnee from Sansar?] has a lot of ideas for improving the viewer UI in this regard.
• Strawberry Linden: the official Second Life You Tube channel includes a playlist of “official” tutorials  and a playlist of community tutorials that can help new / returning users.
• [1:01:02-1:03:53] Darcy: tests have been going on directly and with community gateways (notably Firestorm) for the on-boards “first hour”. As a result of this, additional back-end technology that will be used on the learning islands to better monitor approaches to how new users learn and engage – what helps move them towards sticking, etc.

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Diversity and Representation in Second Life Marketing

[Video: 22:13-23:32]

• Tara: LL has always believed that inclusiveness is an important element of Second Life, as is the freedom for people to positively express themselves.
• Events such as Black Lives Matter have helped underline the need to further emphasise this in marketing the platform.
• Representation is not just a matter of presenting images featuring a diverse array of avatars but also in normalising identities that exist outside of the “accepted” [e.g. straight, white, able-bodied] and accepting and presenting the outlook of minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, disabled people, etc., is a valid position / proposition.
• Doing so helps those who identify recognise SL is a safe place for people to be where they are welcome to express themselves.

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Continue reading “SL17B Meet the Marketing Lindens – a summary” →