How to Make Real Money in Second Life: Boost Your Business, Market Your Services, and Sell Your Products in the World's Hottest Virtual Community

After reading articles on Second Life in the Wall Street Journal and on CFO.com recently, I felt I needed an independently written primer to show me the basics of this intriguing social network. Robert Freedman's book provided me with that, and much more. Unlike some other authors of books on Second Life, Freedman is neither an acolyte nor an attacker--but rather is a dispassionate professional who's seen how this social network has impacted his own industry: real estate. (Freedman is a senior editor at Realtor magazine.) That doesn't prevent him from bringing a strong, valuable point of view to his account, however. The view is that serious corporate readers seeking more than "game-playing" from a social networking site can find real profit or other promotional advantage from Second Life if they act intelligently. In a way, following Freedman is like having the friendly guidance of your kids in some newfangled electronic world--except that he's a trained professional observer who is dedicated only to the reader's wellfare. He accomplishes wonders by starting with the basics--explaining why people, and companies, use Second Life, in a way that the uninitiated, like me, can get quickly and easily. He then gives eight simple, invaluable rules for using Second Life without becoming either sick of it, or a "convert." But the greatest virtue of this book is that it approaches the business reader on his or her own terms, with information about currency, real estate and banking on the site. He then takes the reader through test models for making real money, and exposing a real-world company to profitable opportunities in Second Life. It's nice to have a "guide" who thinks like you do.

Buy this book if you're interested in establishing a presence for your company or organization in Second Life. It provides a series of comprehensive case studies of businesses that have successfully used Second Life to leverage their brand name or expand their customer base. Freedman makes a solid case that establishing a business presence on Second Life is a good long-term investment. He describes several instances in which a business set up a retail location or meeting place (sometimes on their own island) for a fraction of how much it would cost in the real world. The book also highlights some of the problems that are likely to crop up for a business that tries Second Life. What the book doesn't do is explain technical details such as how to move your avatar around or create a bank account. But I'm sure there are plenty of other books about that.

I was impressed with Freedman's take on Second Life ... he seems to have become a disciple of this virtual world by trying it out, and the book has given me the push to see what it's all about myself. The book describes well (for the layman) how the second life world functions, what the main types of transactions are, and some future concerns to watch out for. I think he a great case for real world companies (large and small) to investigate getting into Second Life. However, the book also stresses how there are certainly right and wrong ways to go about creating a presence there.