Hari Sutherland is a longtime SLer and author of the new book, SECOND LIFE: The First, Best Metaverse in Words and Pictures
There’s been a lot of discussion lately on the problem of retention of new users in Second Life. While the focus has largely been on the daunting UI and learning curve, along with common 30-day prohibitions, I think there’s a more salient issue which makes the majority of new signups give up within minutes or hours, never to return.
I believe the fundamental reason Second Life has a historic retention problem is simple: people have no idea what to do once they’re here.
In the course of researching my book, it became clear to me that after an initial period of acclimation and discovery in SL, the majority of residents usually find something to do and keep them engaged — they find, or create, meaning and purpose in their second lives.
This shouldn’t surprise us: after all, isn’t RL like that? Children daydream about what they want to be when they grow up; we have goals, dreams, aspirations. Yet when someone first logs in to SL, they have absolutely no idea what they want to do. You could argue their first task is to learn how to get around, dress, and so on, but this is hardly stuff to grab our interest. And when you consider we’re trying to breathe new life into our world by recruiting Gen Z and younger Gen Yers whose brains are wired for ten- to thirty-second videos, expecting them to take time to read all the 1950s-style educational signage on Welcome Island is kinda unrealistic.
In the course of taking new photographs for my book, I’d enlisted some friends to pose for a pair of interior shots. Anyone who takes photos in SL knows that setting up a shot can be very time-consuming and, one would think, pretty boring for the draftees. Yet when I apologized to my models for what should have been a one-hour session turning into three, they all said they were enjoying it. How, I wondered, could anyone enjoy sitting around and occasionally being asked to trigger an expression or assume a new pose for three hours? I realized people like to do stuff, to be part of something. To belong.
One of the most engaged people I know in SL is my friend Rachel Blat. Here’s what she has to say:
"I have been in Second Life for almost 6 years. During this time I’ve learned many things, some of which keep me very busy. I am a professional surfer for the SLSA, the Second Life Surfing Association, which has two sessions per year. To participate in the competitions, a lot of training and knowledge of the different boards available in Second Life is necessary. I usually start my training with the board chosen by the SLSA on the beach where the competition will take place 15 days in advance, for 1 to 2 hours per day.
“When I’m not surfing, I am a photographic model and also co-owner of a modeling agency and producer of a story magazine. I divide my time photographing models and building scenarios where the stories take place. We have done Wild West, Cleopatra, Star Wars, and several other themes. There are 8 studios measuring 64x64 meters that are constantly being modified. When I have some free time, I usually brave the winds by sailing on the Blake Sea. I am also a mother in SL and my baby needs daily care. All these together make my SL happy and fulfilling.”
This dovetails with my own experience that some of the happiest people in SL are those whose SL is full and busy, whether it’s with DJing, participating in SL sports, fundraising, helping admin a sim, or running their own club, art gallery, cafe, etc. In the process, residents widen their connections and build meaningful relationships, in contrast to the sense of isolation and loneliness one can feel if one just hangs out alone in places where half the avatars are AFK. If you’re already lonely in RL (and so many are), the last thing you need is to reinforce that in SL!
So, imagine this as a new feature to the first-time SL user experience:
Giving First Time Users a Guiding Voice
When a new user first logs into SL, there’s a wakeup effect in which the screen is dark at first, then lightens to a blurry vision which gradually comes into focus; at the same time, a voiceover starts to play. Something along the lines of:
“You awaken to find yourself in a strange new world. There’s birdsong, and the sun is bright against your eyelids and warm against your skin. You open your eyes to find yourself in a beautiful, sunny land, but…how did you get here? Where are you? Who are you? What is your purpose?
“You have no idea, no recollection. You look around for some clue, and at that moment you hear a voice…”
At which point the NPC (before the hate mail begins, let me state this is the only place in SL I ever want to see bots or NPCs, unless it’s to direct me to what I’m looking for in some stupidly enormous and utterly disorienting inworld store) takes over and directly teaches me all the stuff I need to know. And at the same time as it’s leading me through the various “lessons,” (it’s a very chatty bot), it lets me know this is a world full of possibilities.(1)
“The secrets to a happy Second Life are simple: make friends, find your tribe, and discover what makes you happy. You can be anything you want here. What kind of things do you enjoy doing?”
The new user and bot pause before a screen with a series of quick clips showing a succession of SL activities: avatars building, landscaping, DJing, a yacht racer, a photographer taking fashion shots in a studio; a competition surfer, a pole dancer, a bartender shaking cocktails… the list goes on.
Image above: A group of equestrians out for one of their regular rides together photo "Trail Ride" by Nox Crisp, featured in the book SECOND LIFE: The First, Best Metaverse in Words and Pictures.
(1) A human mentor would, whenever possible, be far preferable to a bot, but we have to recognize this may not always be the case. Certainly any mentor NPC should be fine-tuned to a new user’s needs and capable of answering questions as well as offering the suggested guidance
Of course, not everyone will want an occupation, and those who just want to hang out with their partner on their island or skybox, or spend all their time clubbing, will do just that. But if we want to avoid the gamification of SL (we do!), we must open the new user’s eyes to what the possibilities of this amazing metaverse are, and thus give them a compelling reason to stay.
Agree strongly. Purpose anchors people, whether in RL or SL.
Posted by: John | Friday, January 31, 2025 at 05:29 AM
LL has failed us badly over the years with bland and rather predictable marketing of places.After EDU folk largely left SL, I found Pirates Destiny by accident; the naval battles made me stay. I support creators by buying ships.
So, on the splash screen, show some cool sailing with top graphics. Furries and humans having a nerf-ball fight or entering a funhouse? C’mon, LL.
The roleplaying at PD is light, but the fun of sailing enormous. While that experience is gamelike, LL, do not turn the grid into a game. But hire some marketing folk who know your world as residents.
Posted by: Iggy 1.0 | Friday, January 31, 2025 at 02:18 PM
Iggy, I think showing some cool sailing is a great idea -- I love sailing too, and there's a real active sailing community (I need to visit Pirates's Destiny!). I think the splash screen needs to rotate way more often, at least once a week. And definitely, at least have a focus group of residents to critique marketing ideas...the gravelly, action-movie voiceover on the recent effort is so off target it's laughable, unless LL is really targeting adolescent males... ;-)
--Hari
Posted by: Haridsam | Friday, January 31, 2025 at 05:36 PM
I am friends with a very successful Realtor who owns a sizeable real estate office with many Realtors. Her life in her mid-50s is very busy with her company and her family. But on weekends, she has been a DJ at two of SL's oldest and most popular clubs for two hours on Saturday and two hours on Sunday for over a decade. She loves it; it engages her in SL, and she has always been scheduled US time early morning, around 5 AM PST, and never misses. It certainly is not about the Linden tips; it's about the escape and enjoyment of chatting with dancers and playing music. Besides this DJ time, even though she had the same house in SL on the mainland for a decade, she's never in SL.
Posted by: Luther Weymann | Friday, January 31, 2025 at 10:53 PM
SL needs to hit new users with a dopamine hit within 5 minutes of their 1st logging in to retain them!
Posted by: HectorC2 | Monday, February 03, 2025 at 12:28 PM