After Long Absence, Original "Your World. Your Imagination" Second Life Slogan Returned to SL Homepage, Trailer!

"Your World. Your Imagination" is once again the slogan on Second Life's homepage, as you can see from the screengrab above. Those words publicly defined SL for the first few years of its existence, and are still cherished by many SL veterans. In recent years, however, Linden Lab has shunted that saying aside. (Perhaps due to legal fears stemming from lawsuits like Bragg versus Linden, in which litigants took the "Your world" clause literally.) Looking through old NWN blog posts, it's been absent at least since November 2009, but probably for much longer.

"Our thinking was just that the tag-line fits Second Life," Linden spokesman Peter Gray tells me, "so we decided to bring it back to use in that video and on the current homepage as well." It's a subtle move, but for established SLers, probably a potent one, emphasizing the original vision of SL as a fanciful, freeform play space. You can see that in the homepage above, with a focus on games (including the new Linden Realms space), roleplaying, shopping, and live music.

And the video Pete mentioned? That's the new SL trailer, which went live last week. Again the emphasis is on fun -- and also, the strong suggestion that there are real, basically normal folks behind all these exotic avatars. Watch after the break:

Comments

[Jjccc]

I dont get it, the majority of people in second life are adults why are they using imagery that may interest a 5 year old to sign up.

I bet using this sign up page numbers for a sign up will rapidly reduce the numbers and it will be replaced with some thing that relates to the actual people who use Second Life.

This image dose not make me want to create an account in second life, in fact it makes me want to find an alternative that is more intersting.

But I suppose the image is aimed at the gay community because they have more free cash avalable

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

I don't know, Jjccc. On a weird night, those squiggly monsters in the ad do look like my dream-worlds:

"Monsters! Monsters from the Id!"

Whatever the personal connection, I'm darned pleased to see the old SL motto return.

BTW, what's with your your brain-frozen remark about gays? I'm straight, but I don't care for a cheap shot by a guy who cannot distinguish "does" from "dose."

Doc Iggy's Prescription for you: A good DOSE of the Milk of Human Kindness. And put on a shirt. You'll catch your death, boyo.

[foneco zuzu]

Is one thing All of Us need to give credits for, is that Second Life opened a much more acceptable view about gender identity and relationship.
If Sl should just end right now, at least for that it would already left a mark, regarding tolerance and i even dare to say acceptance about the simple, but yet so tabu in rl, fact that sexual orientation is a matter of anyone choice and only that!
Like eating, and there is no deviations, one can eat meat, others only fish, but we all have to eat, and we accept that fact as natural!

[foneco zuzu]

And btw, I really love the fact that they bring back the old Motto, cause it is in the end what second life means in fact!
Just hope LL still bleaves in that.

[Ann Otoole InSL]

If it wasn't real people behind the avatars then what would it be? space aliens?

[onewhoknows]

jj is a troll who frequents violet infohub. enough said.

[Adeon Writer]

As adults, we should be forbidden to enjoy anything bright, colorful, cute, or cartoony. We are adults, and we are only allowed to indulge in realistic non-whimsical sex-laden depictions made of darb muted colors. If it's clean, cute, innocent, and fun, it must be for kids.

[Henri Beauchamp]

It looks like Linden Lab is finally starting to listen to old farts like me, after all (see my comment in http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2011/12/second-life-concurrency-2011-70k.html?cid=6a00d8341bf74053ef015437c92cec970c#comment-6a00d8341bf74053ef015437c92cec970c ).

Well, that's a Good Move(TM) !

[sirhc desantis]

Dang, Henri beat me to the TM :) It is good to see it back. Felt something was lost when the powers that be removed it.

[Dizzy Banjo]

i think this is great, makes me feel good :)

[Rin Tae]

When I have seen the return of the old motto on the SL website I instantly thought that this is one of the best ideas LL had in a long while.

There is after all no other slogan that would be better to describe SL.

As for the video then I liked it, but mostly because I enjoy RP and have spend a lot of time in such sims and some elements of the video might be considered to have been made with the RP community in mind (and mixed in the combat community maybe). I hope they will make more videos like this with more images and more examples of places and communities in SL.

And some that show the creative possibilites too.

That would be nice.

[Flo2]

Jj can be a troll, but on the other hand he's right, this new Linden Realms frontpage design really looks like Sunshine Barbie meets Happy Ponies.
Also ironical, that the slogan says "your imagination", but at the same time advertising a world (Linden Realms) that is invented, built and designed by the LL, not the residents.

[Pussycat Catnap]

Very good to see that slogan, even if it went away before I returned to SL, and I was not here long enough in 2006 to even notice it. :)

Its just the right message.

As for the trailer, I like that it features a non-human avatar at one point. But I am very bothered by the RL-photos in it.

[Pussycat Catnap]

I also -LIKE- the new visuals on the homepage. The new image is one I find a lot more welcoming, though I'd pas on using a blond personally. :)

I do -NOT- think SL's impact on gender identity has had any impact beyond SL, so if it were to close today, all of those impacts would go with it. It just hasn't reached out to the mainstream non-SL world. Even in SL its a topic of regular flame wars and bashing, witness the first comment to this blog with its gay-bashing remark...

[shockwave yareach]

While I'm crossing my fingers and praying that this heralds LL's accepting its mistakes and correcting them, and doing the necessary things to shore up growth again, the years and years of betrayal make me simply wonder when the other shoe is going to drop. What horrible world-changing disaster are they about to inflict upon us now that they've given us something we actually wanted for a change (and not screwing it up royally)?

[Hamlet Au]

The visuals on the homepage are not intended for established users, but new would-be users more familiar with 3D games like Free Realms and IMVU.

[samlowry hawks]

Really happy to see the come back of the first slogan:)
And most of all really really proud to see my dear partner Joy Fellini on this movie :)

[Ann Otoole InSL]

What Linden Realms image on the main front page of Secondlife.com. I see VAMPIRES! :P

[EhrmanDigfoot]

Well I love the new graphic design on the site and in the individual advertisements. The Linden Realms ad looks polished, and though I find the typography in the title a bit cheesy I can identify it immediately with the sort that appeals to fantasy rpg gamers.

This video on the other hand is completely embarrassing. I appreciate that they were able to enlist the help of real SL celebs like Renn Yifu, but that segway-looking hovercraft looks awful. What is worse, they chose some of the most annoying music.

I would never share, post or even like this video on any social network. A proper ad should include catchy music that people would actually want to listen to, that prevents them from ending a video prematurely, not bottom of the barrel public domain stuff.

[Pussycat Catnap]

The music is annoying, but its also what you'll hear in about 40% of the clubs in SL.

SL seems to have two major music genres: 80s/classic rock and 'techno/alternative'. Sinatra-style Jazz maybe is #3. After that, you get some places here and there.

They might as well use music that appeals to the largest segments they can, and its probably a lot harder to get a license to use some 80s-hair-band or Rick Astley, than say, your typical small indie band looking for exposure. :)

(Who is that music anyway. Watch it actually be somebody rather big name and famous, thereby revealing my ignorance in that genre of music... :) )

[Valentina Kendal]

oh, so glad to see it back too - warm fuzzies

but I have to agree that static ad is kind of blah. All anyone at LL has to do is frequent some of the Flickr or Koinup groups devoted to photographing people and places in SL, and they will see lots of things they should be showing off (off course LL didn't make most of them)

[Orca Flotta]

Flo2 wrote:

Also ironical, that the slogan says "your imagination", but at the same time advertising a world (Linden Realms) that is invented, built and designed by the LL, not the residents.
---------------------------------------

Careful here. When I commented on exactly that paradoxon on the SL forums I was grilled rather swift and badly.
Seems to be so that the prefab game of Linden Realms is supposed to inspire you to build something like it. There you have the imagination part of the slogan reinstalled.
But still somehow flabbergusting to see something that was sposed to be just a testing ground for LL's new creation tools to be used as a noob magnet and the next big marketing hype now.

[Toady Nakamura]

I think this is wonderful!!

This particular YouTube might not appeal to all, but it is a major step for the lab to reinstate the old slogan and release a new advertising campaign using it.

Linden Realms are a testing region. The tools you see there will be changed and refined and released to be used throughout the world. There won't be Force HUDS, though, you'll have to give permission with a yes/no box.

I think it will be awesome to use those new tools to make more games for our customers. Right now we have a huge maze with 53 prizes in it... people are loving it. I can't wait til I can put chase monsters in tunnels to protect the goodies!!

Last names are coming back, too !! Rodvik's profile wall has details.

Long Live King Rodvik the nOOb. He's 1 year old on 11 January, maybe we should declare the day a holiday and celebrate ??

[elizabeth (16)]

"If it wasn't real people behind the avatars then what would it be? space aliens?"

o.m.g. !!! outed

jejejejjejejeje (:

[Ezra]

Your World, Your Imagination. Now here's Linden Realms, our world, our imagination, instead of something like a MadPea game.

[Scree Raymaker]

Disappointed in the video. No love for those of us who use non-humanoid avatars it seems.

[Hitomi Tiponi]

We were talking about the slogans return 5 days ago on SLU. Most seem to think it is a good thing.

And it looks like the logo change is official now - the white eye in hand with a swirl replaces the static teal version.

[Shockwave Yareach]

@Ezra: What's Madpea?

[foneco zuzu]

I went to Linden realms last night (kudos to Phoenix mesh viewer) and loved the place!
No lag, lovely environment to take snapshots, didn't even bother to understood the game, just loved to wander around!
Then i went to a live concert, and it took me forever to rezz, crashed twice in meanwhile and found out that if a newbie can really enjoy coming for the 1st time and land on Linden realms, will have a hard time after getting out of it and start exploring!
So the lab needs to assure, before even trying to get more users in, that the ones already there can use it!
And that i hope it will be assured sooner, cause if not Sl faces the risk of becoming only Linden realms!
About the video, it would be nice to have promoted between the so many amazing and talented musics or movie directors, a contest and then use it as well to promote Sl!

[Dale Innis]

Yay on the motto! Also slightly uneasy about the sort of doofy-looking pictures from Linden Realms to go with it, but that's probably why I'm not in Marketing... :)

[Ezra]

@Shockwave

MadPea are game creators in Second Life that me and my friends found via Linden Lab promoting them in the Destination Guide. Specifically this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf-rNaB4XWs

I just found it ironic they'd slap "Your World, Your Imagination" on their own game-type product when certainly MadPea or a similar group would've been an actual example of "Your World, Your Imagination" rather than blatant contradiction.