Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

The last year has been a roller coaster ride for me professionally, and I'm just getting a chance to catch my breath. First and foremost, I suppose I should formally mention my new employment with Siemens Corporate Research. Secondly, I'd like to chat a bit about what I've been up to beyond what I've already blogged about in the last year.

On April 1, 2010, I started working in the Knowledge Management team at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, New Jersey. I'm a contractor for now, and I am doing what I love - virtual world and social media work. I work with some really smart people, and can happily say that from the start when I interviewed with Siemens, it became clear that they had a solid grasp of the power of virtual worlds and to what sorts of experiences and environments they were useful. I'm not going to say more about my new job, since I'm not a public voice for the company, and I'd like to make clear that this blog will continue as an independent outlet that is neither funded by nor representing anyone but myself.

Sure, it means I'm limited by what I can say, but I was always limited, depending on what projects with which I was involved.

Last Year I Contracted with Linden Lab

Oh, yeah, there's that. I held my tongue for nearly all last year on a variety of items, including the SL Viewer 2.0, the new Orientation experiences, and some other things which, well, are still in the works. So, in a way, I probably am more free to talk this year than last, since the first two major items are out. It's not like I had a lack of topics with which to write last year, anyway.

The major highlight was working with Linden Lab on the new user experiences - the new orientation island. Early in 2009 a RFP went out to various solution providers. Involve won the bid. We consulted about curriculum, layout, functionality of different stages, web-flow prior to logging in, presentation of materials, themes, and continuing education past initial orientation. Ultimately, the recently released orientation project was constructed by another talented company, The Ill Clan. I was pleased upon touring the new orientation island that many of our recommendations had been adopted.

How To Win Contracts

Our secret to winning contracts, by the way? Clients - in general - have little imagination. There are exceptions to the rule, and they wind up being very good clients, but I won't say which ones. :) Our amazing Creative Director Ian Tepoot guided our proposals' art direction in a way that blossomed the imagination in some clients, and tickled the imagination of ones who already had one. Our proposals for clients always included maps, concept sketches, and thorough descriptions of possible attractions and functional elements, and machinima. Feedback from our clients has always been that we've done far more thorough and well-illustrated proposals.

Bad Luck Strikes On Top Of Bad Economy

A bad economy was difficult enough to deal with. Many developers had already fled Second Life by 2009, and certainly the phone wasn't ringing at Involve HQ as much as it did in 2007. With a good momentum into Q3, we were faced with two partners with extended family emergencies. Such is the nature of small business. It was tremendously sad having to start looking for a new steady gig, as I both enjoyed the flexibility of working as an entrepreneur, as well as the high-quality fun work at Involve.

Interim Work

I found myself, early 2010, back as an independent contractor. I had both good and mediocre experiences, but managed to avoid the bad this time around. I learned a variety of things while working independent:
1. The Second Life developer community is barely a shadow of what it used to be. Studios are now 1 to 3 people, the rare one being 4 or 5. Almost every one of them is a couple of co-owners and then contracted out. So if you're a client shopping for a solution provider - there are no more "Big" development companies. There are a couple still pretending to be big, but unless they have a portfolio of 20 to 30 projects in the past year, they're a small shop.
2. Second Life development companies have abandoned marketing altogether. The money's in education, simulation, and business collaboration.
3. Quality of work in Second Life still isn't high-end. There's a very good reason for that, and that's the money is still not there yet. Companies treat Second Life as if it's a web site being developed, not a movie production or video game, which is a much more realistic analogy.

I also have been working on an iPhone project. Which I can't talk about yet. (naturally)

The Trend - Companies are Doing It In-House

The trend which is dominating is that companies and universities are doing Second Life - for that matter, almost all virtual world work - in-house. Economic budgetary constraints are preventing them from investing in serious development. To add to the slow growth, Second Life and other virtual worlds have a slow learning curve. It takes years for companies to gain enough expertise to do seriously complex projects by themselves.

So I am not at all surprised that I am now working at a large corporation doing virtual world work in-house. I see it as a very positive sign that the industry is moving forward in a way that we did *not* see happen with virtual environments in the 1990s. Companies have long since starting seeing the value of having web developers in-house, and are fairly well sold on having social media specialists in-house. Now they are seeing the value in having virtual world experts in-house, as well. I believe this trend will continue, and there will be a lot of us developers who have been working continuously with virtual worlds that will find themselves helping to guide large companies on policies and direction for how to utilize virtual worlds. What was once the sherpa guiding of the 3rd party virtual world developer is becoming the in-house specialist.