for example, ActiveWorlds works on _any_ computer, allows to use (via web command) web site as updateable textures(you could also switch to navigate mode and actually work with site), and this is works with Flash(=youtube,slideshare.net) too.
Videostreaming support of ActiveWorlds is also not too bad(yes,it requires Windows Media stream, SL requires QuickTime)

Gimmick? perhaps, but with twenty or so regular second lifers on the books so far after advertising in the window a possible paying customer base for the real life business.

The drawback I see are whether second life is ready for such a venture, as we find skills within second life are not always up to par, you only need some idiot to abuse your real life client and you will feel the repercussions in your wallet. And it makes choosing the sim on which you would expose your clients to, a difficult one.

I guess freebies affect the market but I’m not sure whether that’s the same as hurting it. Freebies certainly make the seller concentrate more intensely on their product and work out what the “value added” is. People WILL pay for product as long as it can be differentiated from another, whether that “other” is a freebie or not. Why spend $600 on a shirt from Armidi when there are free ones bundled in crates all over Second Life? Because the quality of the Armidi is better and having a higher quality product is important to me. And by important, I mean makes me feel OK about parting with real money.

Some companies use freebies as “loss leaders” for their paid products. The new default avatars launched last week are basically freebies from a few Second Life companies. The notion is that once you see how good item X is, you then want to get item Y from the manufacturer. The manufacturer has item Y in stock but it is not a freebie. But if you buy it, then the loss leader has done its job.

OK, just a couple of comments.

Siggs I keep learning of you every timeI read you. And you know on the topic of SL business I have my points to make.

First step to fix or face the current Barbie Economy state we are in SL, as I have dubbed it before. It is to face the facts. I completly agree with you that It will be a longer road, it will require experimentation and failures.

It is true, and we have LL to congratulate for that, SL is an open space where we citizens make it work or not.

My major concern is seeing so many ppl go into business and not be aware of the need to sale their products at a proper price.

I think the freebies hurt the economy in a big way.

Anyway thanks for the space for comments… and lets keep it up :)

Eventually someone will figure out how to market effectively in these worlds, so keeping the dialog going on t is fine, but not to the point of limiting ones vision.

If “business” is defined as “commerce,” then anyone in marketing would be hard pressed to make a good case for seeing huge potential in the Second Life arena. With a top usage figure currently around 60,000 users at one time – that’s about the size of one town – that’s a small demographic to sell to. March 2008’s estimate of 6 million accounts is impressive but has been criticized as inlcuding mulitple accounts and “dormant” users. However, if “business” includes meetings, conferences, education and others, then such things already go on. SLentrepreneur has already reported on virtual recruitment conferences and academic conferences, and as PrinterBrian said, iBM is on the bandwagon too.

Of course, in 1994, Jeff Bezos took the first step in changing the book-buying habits of average folks and it took nearly 8 years to post the first profits in the fourth quarter of 2002; one year before Sl was launched.

So reports of the death of business in Second Life may well have been exaggerated. It may take several more years to realize the potential of SL as a marketing medium, which is not uncommon in the growth of any business.

I think there is a lot to be said for SL in business, but there are of course other options and that is always a good thing. Competition drives improvement and innovation.