We are often asked if Second Life is THE Virtual World platform. This latest report indicates the leading virtual world platform continues to be strong.
Linden Lab released encouraging statistics this past week on their Second Life blog from their CFO and frequent guest presenter on CPA Island, John Zdanowski aka Zee Linden (pictured at right on podium) in-world. This is great news for educational institutions and training organizations as the platform continues to grow and mature.
"Linden Lab is pleased to announce results for Q4 and 2008. User hours increased by 61% over 2007, highlighting the tremendous growth rate in user engagement that Second Life maintained throughout 2008. User hours increased steadily each quarter, culminating in a record-setting 112 million user hours in Q4. In addition:
• Peak concurrent users were up 31% over 2007
• Land owned by Residents increased 82% over 2007
• Exchange Volume increased 33% over 2007
• User-to-user transactions in Q4 increased 54% over Q4 of 2007.
Financially 2008 was an outstanding year for the company from a profitability and cash flow perspective. We are in a strong position to weather the economic downturn while continuing to invest in the Second Life platform." - Zee Linden, CFO of Linden Lab
The other thing I noticed, is that Second Life seems to be maturing and finding its niche - meetings and training. Considering that everyone is looking to cut costs and improve efficiency, I am bullish on the potential of Second Life to do real training, meetings, and business. As Zee Linden said during last year's "mixed reality" session at the MDBIZEXPO, "Second Life is more compelling than a conference call, less intimidating than a video conference, and a hell of a lot better than business travel."
We held
See our prior posts on Virtual Worlds & Training:
CPAS in Second Life blog post A Second Life for training
CPA Success blog post Four tips to help you cross the digital divide
CPA Success blog post Here's a look at Second LIfe's business potential
Accounting Education & Second Life:
CPA Success blog post Accounting for Second Life
Journal of Accountancy article (June, 2008) Accounting for Second Life
CPAs in Second Life post about Accounting Education