Linden Lab Moves: Company Closing Avatars United Social Network; Marketing Director Catherine Smith Leaves

Linden Lab is closing Avatars United, the MMO-centric social network it purchased earlier this year. In another company move, longtime Marketing & Communications Director Catherine Smith just announced on her Facebook profile that she's left Linden. Without commenting on the business aspects of that move (because you know I can't), Catherine's departure has personal meaning for me. I've known Catherine since she joined the Lindens in 2003, and we've been friends ever since. (Until moving to run Linden's office in Amsterdam, she lived on the same street in San Francisco, a few blocks down from my apartment.) Smart and vivacious (I miss her laugh), she'll be stellar wherever she goes next. And with her gone, I'm amazed to realize that pretty much the only person at Linden Lab I personally know who was also at the company when I was a Linden (from 2003-06), is Philip Rosedale himself.

Hat tip: Ms. Ziki Questi.

Comments

[Renmiri]

Mmm.. A lot of disquieting news about LL. They are still making money though so I guess shareholders are happy.

[Wizard Gynoid]

ha. what makes you think the shareholders are happy? ^^

[bamika easterman]

Remember when the 25 group limit was a problem? There aren't 25 active groups left in second life that I want to be a member of. LL is fix

ing the silly authoriatarian surname "problem" of their own creation three or four years too late. Sell SL as a social networking platform? Ha! Good luck!

Welcome to the Hotel California. We are all just prisoners here of our own device. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave...

[rikomatic]

I've had nothing but great interactions with Catherine and thought the expansion to Amsterdam was a clever move. Wishing her all the best in whatever her next thing is!

[Ciaran Laval]

What a great shame that Catherine has left, I hope she goes on to good things.

[brinda allen]

And then there was one.

[Hamlet Au]

Actually, I just checked, Andrew Meadows, employee #2 who started in 1999, still seems to be there. He and Philip met in college and they were all of Linden Lab for quite some time.

[Dale Innis]

LL is not a publicly-held company; there are no shareholders. (There are investors, but they are not shareholders.)

Given that acquiring AU seemed daft to me at the time, their getting it off their plate isn't at all disquieting to me. Less distraction from the stuff that matters...

(The URL here is a bit amusing. "Linden loses Au", eh? :) )

[Troy McConaghy]

I wonder if the shutting-down of Avatars United will make any of the non-SL folks angry at Linden Lab.

Or were those folks even using Avatars United? (I suspect most of those other MMOs have their own social networks besides Avatars United.)

[Skylar Smythe]

Avatars United was an epic fail. Choppy and poorly organized site in general. It wasn't fun to use so people didn't use it.

I'm encouraged when I see them doing stuff like this because reorganization can create room for good things.

As I understand it they are going to build in some kind of chat network or forum into the viewer? That would be far more effective in getting the word out for event notices and the like.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Skylar

[GoSpeed Racer]

I just hate how one company will buy out a smaller one, then abuse it, gut it and finally flush it down the toilet. I was a member of AU before the acquisition and found it to be just OK but superfluous for me as I Plurked, Twittered, Flickered and blogged. I still resent what happened when MySpace bought out Imeem just to acquire the music assets (files). All the files I uploaded are gone and all those neat features and functions that Imeem had were tossed out.

[Rin Tae]

It is sad to see Avatars United go. It had some potential but LL has never invested into it or developed it to the point of where it would become really useful for the general residents. I guess many never even heard of it what is also not surprising since LL has stopped talking about it shortly after they got it.

So it is not a surprising move to see it gone. I don't think they ever got to the point of really thinking some plan out about what to do with it and now lack the people to do it anyways. Maybe they also lack the money since I must confess that the more I watch what is going on the more I have the feeling that the 'still making money' claim of LL is getting smaller and smaller. It might be just a feeling borm out of reading to much about employees leaving, services being cut down and decissions turning from one side to another in something what looks like the inconsitant struggle to find some foothold back, but it is still a feeling I admit to have when it comes to LL. I do hope I am wrong however.

[Keiko]

I had lunch with Catherine and Cylindrian after the last SLCC. I'll miss her, too, but I know she'll be stellar at whatever she decides to do next. :)

[Salazar Jack]

Jeff Linden friended my great grandma when she first arrived at Orientation Island back in 2004. Is he still around or has he gone back to the future?