Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
is not only in total control but is defining their influence through qualitatives
rather than quantitatives. The effectiveness of the marketing approach will
then depend on dynamic measures like client recommendations rather than
brand recognition or brand recall. The place of luxury on the social web will
also eventually become more apparent as luxury brands realize that it is not
about the information from the brand to the clients but about the dialogue
among the clients independent of the brands. The luxury brands will also
understand by this time that they ought to influence (not control or manipu-
late) these dialogues if they want to remain in favor with the participants.
Virtual immersive worlds
In January 2008, the company behind the 3-D virtual world Second Life,
announced that its registered residents had exceeded 10 million globally.
These users are not only a part of simple statistics but are considered to be
active members because, to be a user of Second Life, you have to create an
avatar, buy a resident space and develop it by building a house with furnish-
ings and equipping it with what your avatar needs to live. You also need to
have some form of activity to make yourself more interesting to people and
increase your chance of making friends and connecting with others. Some
residents own stores, hotels, gyms, garages, PR agencies and several other
forms of commerce and activities. To do this, the user must have a high
level of commitment and invest substantial time to their “life” in this virtual
space. It is not a question of scanning a blog posting or social network forum
for five minutes, posting a comment and disappearing for months. Each visit
to virtual worlds requires several hours of full immersion and participation.
This makes a difference between this “world” and other social networks that
exist online.
Virtual immersive worlds like Second Life and World of Witchcraft
allow people to have a 360º existence by enabling them to engage in
activities that they are accustomed to in real life or the activities they dream
of or fantasize about. Virtual worlds have been described as fantasylands
where dreams come true but they are more than that. They enable people to
stretch their imaginations, foster creativity and provide a level of empower-
ment surpassing that obtained from blogs and online communities. Virtual
worlds are fully immersive and require a high level of time and resource
commitment for the full potential of the platform to be enjoyed. The par-
ticipants of virtual worlds are seeking more fulfillment than connecting with
others and sharing opinions. Their primary goal is self-expression through
their avatar characters, which could be replicas of their real selves or crea-
tions that represent their ideal and desired selves. They are also curious, bold,
skilled, smart, independent, active and increasingly multiple. Contrary to the
initial pre-conceptions of virtual immersive worlds which people believed to
