ROI in SL
Virtual reality connects directly with the human mind, he added. “There is something very human about visual interfaces. I almost think of text-based interfaces, including browsers, as ‘narrowband’ into our brains, whereas visual interfaces are ‘broadband’ into our brains.”
The above quote from Irving Wladawsky-Berger’s CNET interview with Stephen Shankland in SL yesterday registered. As Irving outlined plans for 2007 it became very apparent that IBM are very much in tune with the third wave and the opportunities the Living Web holds in store.
IBM are currently in the minority as many organizations SL projects start and end within the marketing department failing to make a case for ROI. Bret Treasure and Ilya Vedrashko have started conversations worth tuning into on that old chestnut.
As Sun CGO Chris Melissinos rightly states at the outset of his interview with Erin Biba the benefits are going to be different for every business. Events such as SLDEVU, iVillage Girls Night Out and MarketingProfs tour all play their part in helping people tune into SL.
With time organizations will awaken to the fact that understanding Virtual Worlds are a strategic imperative and not merely a tactical consideration. Until then those open to learning in real time by experimentation will continue to steal a march on their competitors.
UPDATE : Daniel Terdiman and Jack Uldrich join the conversation