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Brett Linden

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Posts posted by Brett Linden

    LINDEN RESEARCH, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Rathgrith027 said:

    I swear you know the right time to come in for everything, Brett. Also, I posited this to Ebbe on Twitter, but wanted to bring it up here - would it possible to have a 'meet the investors' Q&A thing of sorts on Youtube or something to learn more about the acquisition and other questions people might have? Would really help calm the tides as it were.

    Edit:
    You literally answered the question I asked. I need to read through a thread before responding - I'm looking forward to meeting them, then!

    That's a great idea. I can't promise anything on timing as there is still a long regulatory review process that is underway, but we will discuss internally as this seems like a "no-brainer" and I think most of the community will like what they have to say. I would imagine we'll have one or both investors on "Lab Gab" or some other form of town hall.

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    LINDEN RESEARCH, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Nethya Emor said:

    When will we get more information about any changes of direction, or have the new owners (?) addressing the community? People are wondering what they actually plan on changing, adjusting, and such, in the long term.

    Great question! We look forward to being able to share more as soon as we can and I know that Brad is eager to meet the community as we get closer to the closing/approval date. 

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    LINDEN RESEARCH, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Good day, all!

    Just jumping in to respond to a few of the comments...

    A few folks are speculating that this is the end of SL and nothing could be further from the truth. Any talk of dismantling or radically changing the fundamentals of SL that we know and love is inaccurate. While we can't get into specific details about the deal itself, I want to emphasize the fact that this keeps Linden Lab as an independent venture led by two investors who have a great deal of awareness about what SL is and isn't. They are excited to join and help us grow both SL and Tilia while also respecting and recognizing the needs and sensitivities of the existing culture and community. 

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    18 hours ago, Brett Linden said:

    Just a heads up that we have a very special guest on Friday's "Lab Gab" - someone active in these community threads...to be announced tomorrow!

    I'm pleased to announce that Luca (who originally started this thread) will be the guest on this Friday's "Lab Gab".  Luca will share thoughts about machinima as a platform for marketing and spreading the word about SL, as well as other observations. The livestream will be available on our various social channels at 10 a.m. (SLT).

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Just a heads up that we have a very special guest on Friday's "Lab Gab" - someone active in these community threads...to be announced tomorrow!

    Also, we're still reading all feedback in this thread as our team continues to evolve our marketing focus for the coming year. One clarification: Some of the feedback in this thread speaks to product development and features (which I'm passing on to the Product and Product Operations teams). Those decisions are outside my pay grade! ;)

    I see mobile mentioned a few times - I'm hoping that we can have a dedicated "Lab Gab" community chat about mobile in the near future once we have more to publicly say about our in-development mobile client...

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    11 hours ago, lucagrabacr said:

    Indeed, I'm certainly not against the general jack-of-all-trades kind of ads that LL have been making for SL, especially when they're done right, one of my points is how LL's more niche-specific ads tend to seem as if they don't intricately understand or are out of touch from what these specific communities want to project or how they want to be perceived inside and outside of SL (their outward niche appeal especially), which in my opinion probably has to do with time constraint on LL's part or maybe because their overall marketing strategy (which @Brett Linden kindly laid out for us, and more is coming on the next Lab Gab) might not put too much emphasis on these things because they do have to put more priority on their proven data-driven approach to maintain SL's relative resilience, hence why I suggested they form a low-cost side marketing project which aim to address the perceived issues I mentioned above, sort of one where they don't have to make too many of them, but make sure they take their time and nail them, and these can be used to penetrate their particular niches much deeper than their more blanketing materials in the long term without taking too much away from their current endeavors

    Hi, Luca.

    I just want to acknowledge that we've read and are discussing your detailed feedback here. I am so impressed with the infographic and other details that you've provided. We're looking at all of it and discussing internally as we continue to iterate our video and campaign strategies for the coming year. 

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Rathgrith027 said:

    I'm going to go ahead and out myself as one of the people in Luca's series of Testimonies (The one who said "SL's ad campaign was a freaking mess"). My friend Sarah had explained three ads for SL she had seen in one day, as a user of SL for 10+ years:
     

    So, it was YOU! :) LOL -- thanks for being honest and open with your feedback - we're taking it all in!

    Our marketing team and video production partner are reviewing all feedback on this thread and in our social comments. We have plans to continue doing video this year so this is helpful info to get "outside our bubble" a bit more. We've gone from one video ad a year to dozens last year so admittedly we've focused heavily on quantity and diversity to quickly get a large number of different theme-specific campaigns underway. I agree that the communities mentioned (Furries, Roleplay, Cyberpunk, Fashion, Anime, Exploration, etc.) are worth focusing more on - and we definitely have these communities in our segmentation roadmap for current and/or future campaigns that span display, search and video (as mentioned on "Lab Gab" and our blog post). 

    You mentioned seeing a "bang the hottest 3D babes" ad - I don't think that is one of our own as we don't have anything like that in our current paid ad mix -- but if you see again then please screen capture and we'll look into it to see if it is originating from one of our affiliate partners. 

    I also want to acknowledge your other comments and feedback about SL in general. While I only work specifically on the marketing side of things, this feedback is also being seen by those who work directly with the product and its infrastructure. 

     

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Beth Macbain said:

    @Brett Linden - Nice job to all on today's Lab Gab. The fact that it easily went the full hour and could have gone longer shows just how much interest there is in your little team! 

    I think there may be some confusion when I say I believe SL should be marketing the adult content side. I'm not suggesting for half a nano-second that LL create sexually explicit ads. That would be gross and tacky. Sexually provocative is entirely different, though, and I'm more concerned with what sites the ads are being displayed on and the keywords used. 

    For the love of all that is holy, no, please do not create ads showing close-ups of avatars actively engaged in the poseball shuffle. 

    Seductive, sensual possibilities. NOT vulgar, gonzo porn. Hints and promises, not hardcore and explicit. Mature adults enjoying, say, a bubble bath. No naughty bits shown. A bed with the sheets all tangled with two gorgeous avatars entwined and obviously happy - again, no naughty bits. Beaches with beautiful couples, obviously nude but again, you don't have to show the goods. 

    That's the kind of thing I'd like to see.  

    Thank you for the clarification, Beth.

    To your point: I think it is much more likely you'd see us experiment more with suggestive ads vs. anything explicit. I'll talk to Darcy about your feedback - but it is just a matter of what imagery we'd use, where it would run...and whether it fits into the overall mix of messaging so that there remains a good balance of themes across our campaigns.

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    In advance of our "Lab Gab" chat on Friday about SL Marketing, we've just published a new blog post "The Heart & Science of Second Life Marketing" with some info on current initiatives. 

    We're also collecting questions for Friday at this form, too: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfoP1oDEhfRV4ksqs…/viewform

    While not addressed specifically in the blog post, I want to acknowledge that we're internally reviewing and discussing some of the ideas, questions and feedback shared in this thread (such as TinyLand idea, Luca's fantastic insights, debate on the advertising of adult content, etc.). We'll speak to some of these directly on "Lab Gab" this Friday...

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    My analysis on how LL's marketing of SL can be even better while simultaneously increasing its cultural relevance

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Lots of great ideas and feedback here! 

    The entire Marketing team is reading this thread and we will be posting a blog post this week with highlights of our current and future marketing strategy and efforts. This will also include some examples of display and video campaigns that are already underway.

    We're also appearing on this Friday's "Lab Gab"  to answer community questions, too. My colleague Strawberry will be posting a blog announcement about it with a question submission form in the next day or two.

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    A Conversation with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    I'd like to also call attention to this great blog post/recap and transcript of the Town Hall sessions from Inara Pey:

    https://modemworld.me/april-20th-2018-town-hall-with-ebbe-altberg-transcript-with-audio/

    Inara has written a fantastic summary of both Town Hall events and assembled together a text summary of highlights and noteworthy comments including some audio at the above link.

    Thank you, Inara!

    • Like 3
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    A Conversation with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 4/13/2018 at 6:54 PM, CoffeeDujour said:

    Going forward what are Linden Lab's plans to bring new users into the fold and to reincentivize past users to return ?

    Keeping in mind that user evangelism drove a lot of SL's growth, what would you like the community to do in this regard, or to put it another way; How can we help ? 

    How do you address the perception that Second Life is just for 'weird pixel sex' ?

     

    Hi, CoffeeDujour.

    To reach potential new SL Residents, we're doing lots of paid search and display ads (see previous response to Tricky above). However, there are also plans to do a new round of PR this year to celebrate the milestone of our 15th anniversary. For returning SL Residents, we are doing some unique "win back" efforts that aim to re-engage lapsed SL community members with emails and other campaigns that mention recent and future SL improvements and Mainland price drops (among other incentives). 

    Word-of-mouth and the community have always been critical in driving growth and healthy culture in Second Life. I'm amazed at the sheer number of original community content that is found online including videos , photos , blogs and even e-magazines that are devoted to SL culture and creations. For those SL Residents who are active on social media, it is always helpful to share and show off your own creativity and/or the work of others you admire. These types of social shares also help to dispel stereotypes about SL so that the world has a fuller picture of the diverse and creative community in SL. If you have your own space in Second Life, you might also want to consider creating a Place Page to show off your destination. 

    Thanks for the questions!

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    A Conversation with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    On 4/15/2018 at 5:10 AM, Tricky Fairey said:

    I have been a resident for 10 years, I would love to be a resident for another 10.

    While I do understand that this world is really up to the residents to shape and evolve, I do feel like Linden Labs takes far too much of a passive approach in this.

    1) Why doesn't LL advertise more? Are there plans to? With the popularity of Ready Player One, this is prime time to try and capitalize off that popularity and bring in more residents!!

    1

    Thanks for the question, Tricky.

    We are always looking for more effective and visible ways to spread the word about Second Life. We do still advertise! Until recently, many of our paid acquisition efforts have focused on search ads that are triggered by specific keyword searches. For example, someone searching for "virtual pets" might get a pets-themed "landing page" that contains imagery and text that reinforces the interest expressed in the original inquiry. These efforts include several popular Second Life themes, including romance , vampire roleplay, music , fashion, 3D content creation ...and even zombies !  You mentioned "Ready Player One," which also is something that we're trying to embrace via a new dedicated sci-fi campaign.

    ...but I agree that there is more work to do. In 2018, we'll be expanding our paid and organic campaigns to include even more themes that we've perhaps overlooked or failed to target. For example, we're about to test some new ads and a landing page that targets people who want to deejay in a social online environment.  We'll be doing a new dedicated LGBTQ campaign to celebrate Pride over the summer, too. There are numerous other experiments we'll be conducting -- with the intent of learning what types of content and themes most resonate with potential SL Residents.

    In addition, we're looking at new acquisition efforts that go beyond paid advertising. There's more work to be done on improving the new user experience, which includes an ongoing experiment we call Themed Learning Islands that matches the ad or landing page theme with the type of experience someone has when they first arrive in Second Life. We also want to better leverage the passion and creativity of the community on our social media channels including amplifying and sharing some of the best videos, photos and other content. We'll debut our first official presence on Instagram shortly, too.

    So, there is lots underway...but lots more to do in 2018. Thanks for your question!!

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    A Conversation with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Thanks to everyone for your questions and product suggestions!

    For those who missed one or both of the April 20th Town Hall sessions, we've edited them both together into a single video (with minor edits to remove some voice/technical issues). During the session, Ebbe had a chance to answer many of the questions in this thread. Keep watching this thread for additional responses from other Linden Lab staffers, who will answer some of the questions that did not get addressed at the Town Hall.

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    Ebbe & Bret VWBPE Interview

    in Second Life Education and Nonprofits

    Posted

    Thank you for posting this, Nalates!

    I've followed up with our webdev team and they have confirmed that there is not a "do not index" flag that would prevent Place Pages from being indexed. Since we are in beta and these have not yet been used or promoted widely, it may take some time for Place Pages to build relevancy for prominent indexing in the various search engine algorithms. However, that should change as these are more widely used. We'll also continue to look at ways to ensure that these pages are optimized for search engine discovery. One important thing that Place Page creators need to do is set their parcel to "visible" in search so that the page is eligible to be visible. 

    I am also planning to do some updates to the SL Education Resources wiki soon. I did a minor update recently, but there are more improvements needed! Any input or feedback from the education community is helpful so that we can make it better.

    ...and my Linden avatar definitely needs a makeover! I'm too comfortable in my own (virtual) skin, I guess... LOL

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    issues with Destination guide

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Hi Liviiia,

    I'm sorry to hear that you had some issues with the Destination Guide suggestion submission form. As others on this thread have pointed out, the form is very specific re: the dimensions of the web-hosted photo and it will reject anything that does not match the correct (657 x 394) format (URL path should end in .jpg).

    For the image, it is also true that one of our criteria is that the image should be an inworld snapshot of the actual location.

    If the form becomes too problematic, then please feel free to email the editors directly so that we can help process your submission suggestion manually. Our email is editor -at- lindenlab.com...and we'll be happy to help! :)

    Best,

    Brett

    Need help (Destination guide suggestion)

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Hi Voodoo,

    Sorry to hear you are having some issues with the parcel selection on the Destination Guide submission suggestion form. If you can't get it to display your preferred SLurl landing point, then please just email the editors directly at editor -at- lindenlab.com and we'll review your suggested description, image and SLurl manually. Or, if you prefer, you can also add the correct SLurl in the open-ended Editor Notes field of the form and we'll take a look. 

    Best,

    Brett

    Destination Guide Maintenance and Rules

    in Favorite Destinations

    Posted

    Hi everyone :)

    I'm one of the editors at Linden Lab that works on the Destination Guide. To answer a few questions:

     

    • We do a manual link integrity check about once a month of each listed location in the Destination Guide. It has been about five weeks since the last sweep and we are about 70% done with the current audit (which will be done tomorrow). Someone mentioned that about 50% of links are broken, but I only counted 17 in total so far ;)
    • I've found that many times venues go offline, but they also will move locations...so our audit will often include an updating of the SLurl link to the new, correct location. 
    • I'd agree that the manual integrity check is not the most efficient process and, as an editor, I've made a request internally at Linden Lab for development resources to better alert editors when a sim or parcel goes down. It would be great to be automatically notified or, better yet, have the venue automatically unpublish if it goes down so that there is never a time when a broken or misleading link is displayed to the public.
    • We do respond to any notifications about bad links fairly quickly by email (editor-at-lindenlab.com), so please shoot us a note if there are any known issues so we can follow up. There's also a "Report conent" link on the detail page for each venue's entry on the web version of the Destination Guide.
      report-link.jpg

    • The upside of clicking and teleporting to 1,683 different locations in two days is that I get to see lots of cool places and I often discover new people and builds.
    • The downside is that my fingers are quite sore from all the clicking. ;)
    • @WADE1 - You probably did spot one of our editors on the case. (Well, there are really only a couple of us... LOL). Or, maybe we were just checking out your cool pets :)
    • @Ann and Argus - Your comments are definitely noted re: the Basic mode and the Destination Guide. I agree and hope to see some improvements on this soon so that those venues listed in Basic mode make better sense in the context of the Basic mode experience.
    • @Phoebe - I just checked your venue on two different viewers and confirmed that the link is working. Not sure why you are getting an error - can you email me brett-at-lindenlab.com so that I can work with you directly to troubleshoot.
    • If anyone wants to chat about any of the above or just to offer their ideas and feedback, I encourage you to attend the upcoming Events User Group meeting, held next Thursday (5/5) at 2 p.m. (Pacific). I've attended the last two User Group meetings and the Destination Guide is often one of the hot topics. The meeting is at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hanley/159/209/27 and there is a wiki page where anyone can add items to the agenda at: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Events_User_Group. 

     

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