how did u hear about SL?

[brie90212]

I would like to start a conversation...  I'm truly wondering how individuals heard about SL.  Because I do really like SL.  And I would like more people to hear about it.  I've been asked more times than I can count how I found out about SL.

I myself found out about SL through a FACEBOOK ad.  The FACEBOOK ad was under games along with 'candy crush,' etc.  

How do you feel SL could have more reach to new people?

[ThorinII]

I stumbled over a "diary" series about SL back then in March '08.

"Sponto" (the persona used [derived from SPON = Spiegel Online], I don't remember if it was the actual avatar name) reported rather irregularly about their adventures in-world in a humorous manner, so I became curious and googled Second Life. I read here, and over at SLinfo.de and SLuniverse (now VirtualVerse.One) about this virtual world, and soon created my first account.

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by ThorinII

[Mousy Littlepaws]

I wanted a game like The Sims ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Syo Emerald]

I remember first seeing SL mentioned in a PC magazin, that had it main article about virtual worlds/mmos and how different it feels playing online with so many people (it was 2006). I didn't join back then, but did so out of a whim around 4 years later.

[cheesecurd]

It came on a secondhand PC I bought circa 2009ish. Didn’t know what it was, made an account, used that stock plane avatar to fly around the place as a plane which was pretty cool. Then didn’t touch it again until 2015ish, once again got bored and then made this account in... 2017 or 2018 I think? I honestly can’t remember, I’m far from some kind of oldschool user even though I technically first played in 2009. 

[brie90212]

I have continuously seen SL in FACEBOOK ads to this day.  I also watch youtube videos about SL because I'm interested in shopping/ building/ BOM updates and on occasion I'll seek out twitter/ reddit posts.  But, I'm only finding these types of things online because I seek them out.  In general I don't know how SL is reaching newcomers to date beyond FACEBOOK.

[Beth Macbain]

I was a member of Red Light District and a friend from there convinced me to try SL. I enjoyed the variety available and stayed.

[FairreLilette]

I saw it on television on the late night news.  It showed SL as a virtual world.  I can't remember what was talked about but I remember it looked amazing...and I planned to check it out in the morning.  

I have never seen SL advertised anywhere else.  People mentioned FB...I've never seen an AD there but then I only connect with family and a handful of friends on FB perhaps once a week or so.  

Edit to add:  Wait, I do remember one thing that intrigued me other than the virtual world itself...was that it had it's own currency exchange.  I thought that was very interesting although I've never gotten into that aspect of SL....but as far as SL's currency exchange...I can never say never.  I may some day get involved in it.  

Edited November 24, 2019 by FairreLilette

[LittleMe Jewell]

I saw it advertised in a magazine, though I don't recall which one.  That was back in March 2007.  

[Conall DeCuir]

13 years ago some virtual magazine showed on TV (germany) the world of SL. I was bored at home, ill and probably a bit drunken and logged in. It was the only time that i saw anything about SL being advertised anywhere.

[asteriddle]

Originally because I was (still am) a huge sims fan back in like 2011. Years later I forgot my account details so I remade after watching Polygon's monster factory episodes on SL.

[Bree Giffen]

I think there were ads for SL but I ignored them because it didn't interest me. After having some experience with player-housing in MMO games, I started looking for a place where I could create things and found that SL fit the bill. I've talked to new players who have heard about SL on the radio, read about it in the newspaper or were told to go into SL by their college class. I think SL still has some appeal. There is really nothing offering the same thing. 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

41 minutes ago, Conall DeCuir said:

13 years ago some virtual magazine showed on TV (germany) the world of SL. [...] It was the only time that i saw anything about SL being advertised anywhere.

Errr, yeah. That  pretty much sums up my motivation as well. I dragged a good friend along, since we were looking for new RP opportunities and it's been an on and off ever since.

[Rolig Loon]

I've still never seen an ad for SL to this day, but then I haven't been looking either.  I came here 13 years ago on a dare.  A colleague told me that SL was going to be the next big thing for on-line education.  I doubted it, and he dared me to take a look.  I was right, but I stayed anyway.  

[Layla Claven]

One of my RL friends told me about SL (actually she badgered me endlessly until I gave in and went in myself). She seemed to get bored of it after about 4 months and I just stuck around.

[Charles Blackwood]

I am a huge fan of Captain Dan (Forrest Gump). I was watching CSI New York because I loved the cast. There was an episode about SL on it. I got really curious and googled it. Couldn't believe that it was a real thing and joined. Didn't last long but a few days. Came back a few years later...and I am slowly putting down roots.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

I found out from a Linden staff person who used to come into our former RL night club when we lived in the San Francisco area. He and my man was talking about computer stuff and he mentioned "I work for this neat company that does a virtual world thing, you guys should check it out." And the rest is history.

[Nastasha Szaberwick]

I think one of the most powerful tools has typically been "word of mouth", and that's how I heard of it.

Probably around 2004, through a friend. They frequented SL with someone else they knew, back then. Eventually, they just stopped bothering. If I recall, back then, it cost to teleport from Telehub to Telehub, and that was one of a few things they found to be off-putting. I didn't have an internet connection at the time. Time jump to around mid 2007, I was in an LDR, and used to play Guild Wars--wasn't particularly my thing, but it was something that "we" could do at the time. After awhile, and a bit of brainstorming to bridge things a bit better, I remembered SL. So this avi was born on January 31st 2008. There was a hiatus between 2014-2017, for one or two reasons.

Barely see ads for SL these days. I've seen Sansar get pushed a lot on FB, various other sites--and of course, anything related to Star Trek. It seems, since its launch, there's a Sansar booth every year at Star Trek Las Vegas (not that I've ever been able to attend).  

[BelindaN]

Bored with You Tube and surfing aimlessly, so one day googled something (maybe VR or avatar, or dressing up), and SL was one of the hits

That was spring of 2018. Never seen an advert and didn't know it existed until then. But I'm not big on IT anyway. And my FB account was frozen after a few weeks because I wouldn't supply personal details. So there!

[Adam Spark]

A news clip from Reuters News Agency about their location in Second Life in 2006

[Lindal Kidd]

I heard about it from a colleague at work.  I tried it, and didn't like it at first...I didn't even get off Orientation Island (the old one, with the four different quadrants) before someone propositioned me.  I tried it again a few months later, and this time I got to an Infohub.  Some kind soul there took me to The Free Dove and showed me how to buy and unpack things, and I was hooked.  Twelve and a half years later, and I still am.

[Maitimo]

Like most here, it was word of mouth for me, one of my RL friends showed it to me. I probably wouldn't have stuck around without someone showing me how it worked in the early days.

[Claireschen Hesten]

I first started seeing SL on the news and it wasn't very favourable it was all about paedophiles and virtual playgrounds with kid av's. Then stories started popping up on magazine programs and other day time TV about people that met in SL married in RL. Then i saw a true life story in a magazine about a couple that met and married through SL and that was what prompted me to give it a try. I don't know where i first landed in SL it never rezzed properly but a kind person gave a couple of LM's for Freebie Dungeon and another freebie place which i promptly went to

[Sommerland Starostin]

I was in a bookstore back in 2007 and saw a book about it. Since I had played the Sims and Sims Online I was interested and bought it.  Once I started reading, I was like this sounds good to me and joined. Can't remember the name of the book, it's in the house somewhere lol. Even though our avi's didn't look like much back then, it was more fun, like a wild frontier. 

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

   Wired magazine, early 2006. That was when I first read about it. I didn't actually create an account for more than a year.