Tateru's Mixed Reality Directory

Nerine Kasei and Tat explore Metabirds

Tateru Nino's weekly look at recent real world incursions into Second Life

Major real world organizations keep bringing official sites and branded locations into SL; this week, we check out five of them, so you can figure out which are worth your attention-- and how they're trying to attract it.  Coming up: Bershka, markets teen fashions to the adult grid, Metabirds kicks ass the way only the Japanese can, Showtime's "The L Word" builds a strong community, while T Online pays money in hopes that you'll notice them, and Unitrin Direct delivers all the excitement you'd expect from automotive insurance.

Tat and Patchouli Woolhaara look askance at Bershka

Company: Bershka Category: Replica Store Social Venue Location(s): Bershka Island Activities: Marketing and Promotional Relaxation space Commercial Vendors (teen clothing) Static Audio Streams Activity level: Unstaffed Unaltered Event status unknown Negligible traffic Rating: If you're a tween or teen or tween/teen avatar, this may be the very thing for you. Won't hold interest for others.
Notes: This would be great - on the teen grid. It's a colorful hippie-60's sort of build serving up 60's chic teen-wear. That said, there's nothing to do here other than chill or buy clothes or listen to the music. Beware - not all the vendors work. Some, take your money and deliver no product.

 

Company: Metabirds Category: Company Continent Location(s): Metabirds Ginza Bizisland Metaegg Shimokitazawa Koenji Central Station Start here at Metabirds Activities: Web links Marketing and promotional Non-Interactive Kiosks Interactive Kiosks Commercial Vendors Non-Commercial Vendors Events Activity level: Regularly staffed  Irregular events Recently updated Considerable Traffic Rating: Japanese/Japanophiles will probably keep coming back here. If you like: good urban planning, kawaii/chibi stuff, minimalist architecture, exotic languages you can't understand... and stuff you can't find thumbing through a SL shopping site then this is worth visiting, and worth coming back to as it keeps expanding and updating. Thumbs up! Sugoi desu.

Notes: Metabirds is corporate continent owned and operated by Japanese metaverse developer Metabirds supporting a variety of their own ventures, partner ventures and customer ventures. It is unreservedly a commercial district with shops, offices and meeting spaces, but also with themed artistic displays. There's also a regularly staffed Japanese language orientation area.

 

Company: Showtime / The L Word Category: Theme Park Social Venue Location(s): The L Word island Activities: Interactive Kiosks Non-Interactive Kiosks Marketing and Promotional Themed Environment Staff  Web Links Scheduled Video Streams Rentals Activity level: Frequently staffed Daily events  Recently updated Considerable traffic Rating: If you love the show, you stand a good chance of liking the place. If you like to talk and spend time with fellow fans, enjoy games and contests - you'll probably love it and keep coming back. If the series doesn't interest you, this is probably not going to engage you.

Notes: Fans of Showtime's popular L-Word series will find a lot to interest them here. There are events, contests, themed builds and setpieces from the television series and more. Plus an opportunity to interact with other fans of the series and join the growing community. There's a new user orientation, but it's formulaic and simplistic. If you want to live the life, three surrounding islands are being rented out to the community.

 

Company: T Online Category: Office/Info Center Camping Site Location(s): T Online Island T Online Beach   Activities: Marketing and Promotional Non-interactive Kiosks Static Video Limited Freebies Scenic Areas Dancing/Camping Activity level: Regularly staffed (0900-1800 GMT+1) Rarely updated Infrequent events Daunting traffic Rating: Want to camp for cash? T Online's got tons of it apparently (though some camping chairs are defective). Want to know more about T Online's services and products? This is the place! Anyone else? Steer well clear.

Notes: Featured on New World Notes (follow the link for images). The corporate offices and overall scenery are well put together and really quite nice. Two sims make up the whole site; The west side is the corporate offices, and the east is the beach. The beach is crammed with campers occupying scripted mats for money. The corporate offices generally have people wandering around looking for camping spots. Either way, it presents a laggy and unwelcoming environment, and detracts from the beauty of the place. The staff themselves are friendly and informative about T Online and the services provided by the company.

 

Company: Unitrin Direct Category: Replica Office Location(s): Location in Burns Activities: Interactive Kiosks Static Environment Marketing and Promotional Activity level: Unstaffed Unaltered Negligible traffic Rating: Visiting the website is faster, and more satisfying. Don't bother.
Notes: If you're in the USA, you can get a car insurance quote through one of the two Unitrin kiosks in this simple office space. Or you can get a copy of the kiosk to put somewhere on your own land. That's it, I'm afraid. There's some furniture to sit on. If you aren't already familiar with Unitrin, this site does nothing to enlighten you. Not even a web-link to the company website.

Tateru Nino is an SL consultant and widely-read blogger. E-mail her at [email protected], and visit her personal blog, Dwell On It.