Why Second Life Users & Linden Lab Need to Honestly & Openly Address SL's "Weird Sex" Branding Problem

Above is the top upvoted comment on that Reddit "Today I Learned" topic about Second Life I mentioned yesterday. It's yet another illustration of why I don't think it's realistic for either Second Life users or Linden Lab to pretend like SL doesn't have a "weird sex" branding problem. Reddit's /TodayILearned group has nearly 9 million subscribers, and a good percent of them (perhaps 10-20%) are reading this comment. And so, if those millions aren't already like this Redditor "kidamy", and they don't remember notorious, widely-covered "weird sex" incidents from Second Life's 12 year history, comments like his will be their first impression of Second Life. (But really, thanks to countless "weird sex in Second Life" memes like this one, any extremely active Internet user is going to have that brand association already.)

Which brings us to a very important realization about product branding:

Once a brand is associated with a divisive or deeply negative connotation, it's nearly impossible to remove that association from the general public perception.

Note that I say "divisive or deeply negative". Because many Second Life users will think, "But there's nothing wrong with weird virtual sex, you're just a prude if you think otherwise!" Even if that were true, however, the fact remains that many or most of the public does indeed believe weird virtual sex to be strange/offensive/etc., and that assumption isn't about to be changed any time soon.

In fact, there's generally just three ways to remove a bad branding association:

• Sufficient time with counter-examples, plus no recurrence of the original problem.
• A defensible counter-narrative and counter-examples.
• Market embrace of the brand despite the past brand associations.

And the last point is why it's counter-productive to ignore that this is Second Life's in-grained branding problem: Unless Second Life gains millions of new users not joining for weird sex content, the "weird sex" brand won't go away. (And at the same time, it's almost impossible to gain those millions, in great part because of that branding problem -- you know, one of those vicious circle dealies.)

To take a dumb but well-known counter-example: For a time, Kim Kardashian's public brand was deeply tarnished with a sex tape that went public. But that was many years ago, and since then, no other public sex tape has emerged, while she's become a successful businesswoman with a top mobile game, a bestselling book, and many other projects and public appearances which have nothing to do that tape. And now that tape is hardly mentioned in association with her at all.

And this is why I've suggested that Linden Lab and Second Life users who genuinely care about Second Life say something like this, when speaking and writing about SL to non-users:

"Yes, there's a lot of weird sex in Second Life, and new users need to be aware of that, and know how to avoid it. But there's a lot of awesome content in SL that has nothing to do with weird sex, such as [ADD COUNTLESS COUNTER-EXAMPLES HERE]."

By being first to honestly and openly address the negative brand association, you tend to disarm the listener/reader, and prepare them for the possibility that there's more to Second Life than what they only vaguely know or assume. That's a defensible counter-narrative with counter-examples. But the first step is admitting there's a problem upfront. Or no one will really listen to what you say afterward.

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Comments

[Laetizia Coronet]

I think the most negative brand association in and around Second Life is that of NWN with "keeps nagging about 2006 era sex stories." Which makes you fail on point one of your counter-measures.

There are loads of blogs and Flickr pages out there without "weird sex" or in fact *any* sex. They promote a rich Second Life of creativity and entertainment.

The only blog consistently hammering home this rusty old point is yours. Practice what you preach, Au.

[Nebulosus Severine]

Let's be fair, Reddit users are enthusiastic consumers of "weird" sexual content, so who the hell are they to judge? I could say that about internet users at large. Most folks would deny that (and maybe a few would be telling the truth), but that sort of denial is also found among people who won't admit that they masturbate.

[Canary Beck]

Here is the counter-point.

http://canarybeck.com/2015/07/01/should-we-worry-that-second-life-is-associated-with-adult-content-google-says-no/

In a nutshell:

"The truth is, there is no evidence to suggest that the public at large associates Second Life with adult content beyond hearsay and isolated personal experience. At least, I can’t find it, and I would welcome anyone to show me a brand perception, consumer awareness study or any piece of research that shows that it is. If I see it, then I might believe it. In the meantime, I will doubt it."

I'll let readers decide for themselves. Weigh evidence for and against, and arrive at your own conclusions.

[Cubey Terra]

Are we flogging this dead horse again? If SL is awash in overt sex, why is it my SL experience is 99% G-rated? That's pretty extraordinary when you consider how much of the web is devoted to unavoidable adult content.

If you try really hard to perpetuate a mistaken impression, you might succeed. Let's give it a rest and focus on actual truthful reporting. Please avoid clickbait misrepresentation.

[TribeGadgets]

that "genuinely care about Second Life" was a bit below the belt wasn't it? Would think that Ser Ebbe would "genuinely care" and from Becks' piece there he doesn't seem all that put out - apart from in a general sense of negative 'press'.
( Would have added a Kim who but whats the point =^^= plus I wrote 'press' rather than what I really refer to them as )
deSantis

[Ciaran Laval]

You're taking a quote from a platform with the reputation of Reddit to talk about Second Life's reputation?

Reddit is one of the best examples of how having a bloody awful reputation is far from fatal.

[Evangela]

I'm sorry but did you go to a beach and see people doing "weird sex"? Or go to a night club and see people doing "weird sex"? Or go to a clothings store and see people doing "weird sex"? Or... Go sailing and see people doing "weird sex"? No, you don't. I am one of them who like to explore my adult fantasy in sl so? You won't see it if you don't go to the place though. So if someone searching for "something" in adult section, trying random popular place and be judgemental like... "wow these people are weirdos for doing their stuff", it's LL fault ? It's my fault? Or the communities like me? It's nothing to do with branding or anything. It's just someone being judgemental about other people liking

[Tyr]

Nwn, for when you have run out of absolutely anything better to read. Do you ever get tired of rehashing the same crap?

[sweet valentine]

its just like the internet ...which has WAY more weird sexual content than SL will ever have..people just have to learn how to filter the stuff they do not want to see out of the experience...exactly the same way they do when they use google or any internet site...self censor...the viewer gives you the tools ...any body with common sense and a bit of brains can figure that out i hope...SL has way more creative content ,music,art,culture than it does sex... you only find the sex if that is what your looking for ...we all have a mute and block button.... we all have ability to TP away if its something we do not want to see or be involved in...people just love to find the bad in everything....me, i choose to see the awesomeness that SL is and always has been

[DBDigital Epsilon]

I for one am tired of the same old stories on this blog. You are like a harp with 4 strings. It is either about sims disappearing/SL dying, bitcoin, sex and everyone sees SL as a Sex Land, or how VR is not what it is cracked up to be/won't work unless they do this or that. I can almost predict what every post you write is going to be about and it's exact content.

Keeping in mind that you often report about sims disappearing, yet you never even mentioned the SS Galaxy the 3 sim cruise ship that had been in SL for 8 years when it closed May 3rd. What community is in SL for 8 years? Not many, yet you didn't even say one word (or at least not that I saw) and it was covered on several blogs/news feeds. I think you have lost touch with your subject in many respects.

However I do thank you for posting this article it has finally pushed/convinced me to unsubscribe.

[Issa Heckroth]

Hammy, we need to talk about this whole "weird sex angle" thing you got going.

Me thinks the gentleman doth protest too much. Do you need someone to dress you in a diaper and whip you? Maybe just some bondage? Just say the word!! ;)

[A.J.]

Most of the public picks Walmart, McDonald's, Taylor Swift, NFL Sunday Night Football, Fox News, Kohl's, and Kroger.

Most of the public will never spend a dime in SL and most of the public is as creative as Ritz Crackers.

If you want to forget your friends and throw a party for most of the public... nobody will show up.

[Cicadetta Stillwater]

Most of my SL is pretty, uh, safe for work. If I mention SL to a friend who is not an SLer, I talk about what I *do* in SL (which is not sex-oriented) and I talk about the platform itself. There is no reason whatsoever to bring up the "weird sex" angle. If someone is good enough to tackle the SL learning curve, they are probably good enough to avoid the fetish content, just as they do on the web at large.

My SL? Today, I sorted through random inventory things, played at being a dinosaur, flew around with a new friend, and went to a furry nightclub. That last one? It was an adult club. It had stripper poles, but more clothes than you'd expect, and… well, I didn't see any sex going on when I was there. Weird or otherwise.

It's the sort of thing you really do have to seek out if you want to find it, I think.

[sams son]

Did you know there are perverts and weirdos on Facebook? We should be sure to mention it every time we talk about Facebook.

Give it a rest.

[zz bottom]

So true Sams.

[Metacam OH]

I think Nebulosus hit the nail on the head. Everyone is doing something dirty on the internet. For anyone to point to SL and pretend like its any different then the regular web is delusional to the people who do it. The guy on redit talking about weird people having sex in SL is probably watching the raunchiest porn in another web browser tab.

[Ryou Yiyuan]

Well SL is like Internet. In Internet you have weird sex too and where the problem ? People found sex because they searched it. You don't found things that you don't want to see.If people don't want to see it they just can search PG rated sims.

[Shockwave Yareach]

Let's say you are talking to a reporter. And you say exactly that. After the edit, what the public will see and hear is "yes there's lots of weird sex in Second Life." And nothing more.