Frustrated virtual agencies are not that frustrated after all!

According a post of Reuters, virtual companies like the Electric Sheep company, are loosing interest in Second Life®, as "...new virtual world platforms coming online and Second Life® noticeably lacking in buzz for consumer-facing brands in the real world, some of the most well-known MDCs are publicly criticizing Linden Lab for shortcomings in technology and usability."

The Electric Sheep company has produced one of the most visible projects, as the CSI:NY-project.
According Reuters, the company encountered some difficulties due to a lack of native programming support, which made it difficult to bring new avatars into Second Life® already wearing themed clothes, nor was it possible to auto-enroll viewers in a CSI-themed group without special assistance from Linden Lab not generally available to developers.

“Second Life is just not at production level,” Giff Constable, the chief operating officer of Electric Sheep, would have said to Reuters. “You want to things to be bulletproof when you’re working with a global brand … I don’t know if we’d do it in Second Life the next time.”

On the contrary, Millions of Us, stated that they wouldn't hesitate to go into Second Life® again, despite its much publicized travails, but has his very loyal users, said Mat Small, who worked on Second Life® projects with Toyota, Intel and Cisco. But the growth right now is more youth-centric, like Habbo Hotel and Gaia.

In a reaction to this article in Reuters, Giff Constable said that they had indeed some difficulties with the CSI project, but that the numbers were good, and they still get 4,000 visitors a week coming to the experience even months after the October episode. Linden Lab® worked hard with the Electric Sheep company to make that launch as successful as it could be, and they appreciate that effort.

Although Constable did say that Second Life® still has a ways to go in terms of usability, accessibility, stability and performance, they have planned at least one project this year, but they are also focussing on Web-based technologies while Second Life® continues to make progress.

So, after all, not all the virtual agencies, are not that dissatisfied about Second Life® after all, but are not blind for the competition who makes their progress too.

It can only be a clear signal to Linden Lab®, that they know what their challenges are, if they were not already aware of that.