Philip Rosedale of LoveMachine Digs that Digg Digs LoveMachine of Philip Rosedale

I was curious to know if Philip Rosedale, founder of Linden Lab, had shared any public thoughts about the epic 30% layoffs which hit that company last week, even obliquely, so checked his Twitter feed. Nothing there about Second Life (least not yet), but I did notice that LoveMachine, the software created by his new company of the same name (which he developed as an employee rating tool at Linden Lab with Cory Ondrejka), is now being used by Digg. Video embedded after the break; it's kind of poignant to hear Digg's Kevin Rose casually mention Philip's "no longer at Second Life", then keep right on going.

Speaking of layoffs at Linden Lab, it's worth remembering that Philip made some massive layoffs of his own. In 2003 (as I mention in the book), shortly after Second Life launched commercially, Philip and his management staff decided their revenue model (monthly subscriptions at first) wasn't gaining traction, and wouldn't cover their burn rate. So they laid off around 30% of Linden Lab's staff (about ten people, I think), which gave them enough time to remake Second Life's revenue model, and base it on virtual land and currency sales. The result? Within three years, after explosive growth and media coverage, Second Life was the toast of Silicon Valley. What do you suppose this new round of layoffs will bring?

LoveMachine stuff starts around 18 minutes in (but then you wouldn't want to miss 17 minutes of Kevin Rose would you?):

Comments

[Melponeme_k]

I don't get the obsession the tech world has with Kevin Rose.

In regards to Rosedale, I'm glad that he is pioneering more ways to isolate employees and create more internecine warfare amongst departments. Not to mention empowering office bullies.

We all know it went like gangbusters over at Second Life.

Now I'm waiting to see how long this nasty piece of work causes a class action lawsuit.

[Trinity Dejavu]

Why do we even have to read about what the now long gone founder of SL is up to, do we even care.

[Johnny]

Ah yes, LoveMachine. A tool that allows a company to maximise its bottom line by efficiently farming out work to whichever contractor is desperate enough to put in the lowest piece-rate bid. A real contribution to the sum of human happiness.

[Little Lost Linden]

Perhaps Philip could start working on Viewer 3.0 and sell it to the lab.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

"What do you suppose this new round of layoffs will bring?"

If they're scaling back the already anemic Customer Service? The End.

[Adric Antfarm]

Look, if you cannot get Reddit love, don't bother.

Were it not for Diggnation (and that is the simply the joy of watching two men drink and slowly become more interesting), Digg could fall off the face of the earth and only their 10 power users would care.

[unemployed]

Love Machine is nothing more than a popularity indicator on the receiving end and ass kisser indicator on the sending end (at the data edges) when a company exceeds 100 people.

[Developer]

I have to agree with Melponeme_k, except about Kevin Rose. But everything else.

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

Whatever the merits or demerits of LoveMachine the product, Rosedale likes memorable but unfortunate names for his brain children.

The name Second Life is, well, tragically "creepy" to my students and colleagues. It's beyond saving.

"LoveMachine," at first blush, sounds like the Orgasmatron from Sleeper. Yet of the two names, LoveMachine is tongue-in-cheek enough to work.

But I'm just a pin-head in academe. Inside the Ivory Tower we all figured that eBay, amazon, and Skype were really, really dumb names too and unlikely to attract enough "serious" customers.

Don't forget that Miracles' song, ya'll: "I'm just a love machine...woo woo yeah!

Maybe it will work? "And I won't work for nobody but you! woo woo yeah!"

[Galatea Gynoid]

@Trinity: "Why do we even have to read about what the now long gone founder of SL is up to, do we even care."

When you go to a buffet, and there's an item on the buffet you don't like, do you take it anyway, and then complain to management about being forced to eat food you don't care for?

Might I suggest the radical strategy of simply not reading the articles that don't interest you...

[Adric Antfarm]

While Galatea is wrong about buffets (the idea is to pile that stuff on your plate and work it out back at the table), I'm not ashamed to throw that silly name I use for the man around...

He is and will always be Papa Phil to me. He's given me a world and that is not something I hand over to M. Never.

So yes, I care what is up with him and I always will I suspect.

[Melponeme_k]

Adric,

What Papa Phil deeply wants is to watch you to fight it out with another resident or even a fellow employee at your company in bloody single combat. And his love machine will keep score of the heads taken at each round.

While he waits for the love crowds to thumbs up or down who gets to live or die.

Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant!

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

@Melponeme...brilliant.

I'm going to roll out HateMachine tomorrow.

Sorta like a two-player Wii, but you and the other player get clubs with the basic version. Add-ons to include a Roman Gladius, net and trident, and more.

Have at it!

[Emerald Wynn]

We actually have a similar program - almost identical, actually - at my company, called Hi5. In our case, however, you can read the Hi5s on a designated page on the company intranet, not a big screen. At the end of each month, the people with the most Hi5s receive monetary bonuses or prizes.

It has turned our office into a sea of ass-kissers in a giant popularity contest.

It's not a revolutionary idea - we've been doing it for almost two years. It started as a good thing, but eventually the same people started winning every month and it just became so hugely annoying that no one wanted to participate anymore.

Lame comment. Ugh - I can't write this morning. Need coffee.