Second Life + iPad = Success?

I’ve been wondering about the future of marketing lately–what’s coming next, and what advertisers really have to pay attention to in the near term. Not crazy stuff like brain implants (imagine the malware) or shared consensual realities (though those are coming), but things we can use, like, right now.

One of the things I’ve been dismissing lately are virtual worlds like Second Life. There’s simply not a large enough audience to attract a typical mass marketer, nor is the audience segregated into a convenient industry vertical (like, say, audio enthusiasts, global travelers, or high-net-worth individuals.)

The problem with Second Life is simply that it’s too damn hard to get started–mainly due to the software download and installation process. Second Life doesn’t run in your web browser. It’s not instantly accessible, like, say, Amazon. Although many developers have tried to develop a browser-based version, none have gained much currency.

But–what if Second Life ran on the iPad? Here’s a forward-looking, high-income, self-selected audience that’s totally cool with downloading and installing apps, and waiting for them to launch. The iPad itself could simplify the clunky Second Life interface–touch to look around, swipe to zoom, tilt for motion. And the newer versions of the iPad most certainly have enough power to run Second Life.

I suspect that if Second Life was available for the iPad, we’d be seeing giant new interest from marketers. What other game can they place their own content and ads in, without bowing to iAds or another publisher’s platform? What other game guarantees the high-end audience they’d be getting? And what other game allows you to target the platform specifically with dead-simple Google Adwords? None.

So, Second Life on the iPad is key to marketing nirvana? Well, not so fast. I see two huge problems with this.

First, Apple’s policy on adult content. In Second Life, sure, you can stick to “PG-13″ areas, but there’s nothing to keep you from surfing across into adult areas, or to prevent other avatars from ruining your day. Apple’s legal team would probably have a heart attack just thinking about it. The solution is to create a walled garden within Second Life, but how secure would it be? And, in a world where people can create anything, how are there any real guarantees?

Second, resource use. Second Life is a notorious system pig, requiring serious processing power and graphics. It’s quite possible that it would shrink the iPad battery life from 10 hours to a small percentage of that. If that’s the case, we have a real no-go situation.

Still, it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?

Posted by February 21st, 2012 | by Jason | Permalink