It’s great getting some qualified feedback on this subject, so I’m really pleased about you taking the time.

I expect I’ll be returning to your ‘blog at some point…

Although you may have no direct experience of SL and VWs in general, I think you’ve got the measure pretty well. I would say, though, that the so-called Exodus from Second Life is somewhat misleading. It is my observation that more companies, from more countries, are entering SL than are leaving it - but Linden Lab have been too modest to mention it.

Many of us in SL view it as a precursor (or, to some, the foundation) of the next generation of the internet: web3D if you will. In terms of capability & maturity, it is like the internet of 10 years ago. Over-setting expectations will lead to problems, as the infrastructure is unable to meet them; no-one knows exactly how to use this new medium effectively. The days of using SL as a quick attention-grabber are already in the past. But it is still “pioneering days”, with most companies now treating SL as a petri dish, to see what works and what doesn’t.

Strangely enough, although we live in a 3D world, our experiences do not cross over directly to virtual worlds. What works in one, can fail miserably in the other. It makes for a fascinating challenge for marketing folk. You have a shrewd notion of the demographic in SL - but actually engaging with them is entirely another matter!

If you want a marketeer’s viewpoint of Second Life, do chase down the excellent KZero blog.