Nature Publishing Group Finding Business And Education Success In Second Life

By Joey Seiler On March 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The Nature Publishing Group has been developing in Second Life since 2006. Initially its collection of land, The Elucian Islands, was launched just to see if Second Life was a place the company could attract people to show up for lectures and promote its commuications. In October, after those questions were answered, the islands were relaunched to its present state, where the south side plays home to meetings and conferences for scientists and other other groups and the north hosts an educational game tribute to Darwin.

"The company is always looking for the new technology that will deliver on their corporate objectives, to promote communication among scientists," explained Kristen French, Head of Community Business Development, Nature Publishing Group. "There's been a slight change for science and education in that the island is for both NPG and Macmillan[, which Nature is a division of]. We still stay within those corporate objectives. On the business level we looked for building networks and driving communication and collaboration among scientists, which is what conferences tend to do, and we look at that as a way of building revenue and covering costs. On the education side, [the Darwin-themed] Notes from the Voyage is an interactive game that promotes engagement and knowledge."

The mix of serving the lay audience and scientific community works to support the island as a whole, not just finanically, but through the overall feel the two contribute to. While Second Life is still a new technology for many users, it's becoming increasingly compelling as a way to virtually attend meetings and conferences. Once the users are in, the north side of the island, with its mix of entertainment and education gives them a reason to stay.

Notes from the Voyage only officially launched last week, but Nature has already built up a community through its business. Since the relaunch of the Elucian Islands in October, Nature has seen over 4,000
visitors. It's also hosted more than 25 one-off
events in addition to over 25 weekly Nature podcast get-togethers. The company estimates that about 25 people attend each podcast, but 1500-2000 have attended for separate events, many of which are extensions of meetings going on in the real world.

"They've had the conference in the past. They want people to be able to attend. And there are some lecturers who weren't able to attend the conference itself but were able to go in-world and provide their 1-2 hour presentation. It's really enabling people who would not be able to attend," said French. "If you have a 1-day meeting in London, the topic may be of global interest, but people aren't likely to be able to travel."

The associated costs, depending on requirements, can range from a few hundred dollars for small events over a couple of hours or a few thousand for a full-day event with both service and marketing support from Nature.

That's one benefit Nature has over some other groups hosting meetings in Second Life. While they all offer similar services–venues, avatar creation, training, media, etc.–Nature and Macmillan are building off an existing brand and community for their virtual world events. Event organizers get the virtual experience as well as the traditional support.

It seems to be working as well. French says the project is on track to break even and offset its development costs within the next six months. Past that, the operation can continue to support itself and its outreach efforts for the layperson.

The north side of the island has already brought in a steady stream of users from around the world, and, according to Nature, almost always boasts at least a few other people hanging around.

"One of the things I hear about Second Life generally is that it's empty a lot of the time. Every time I go in-world to the North Island, there are people in there playing the game," said Grace Baynes, Corporate PR Planner, Nature Publishing Group. "Those aren't just scientists, they're not just gamers, but people who are interested in virtual worlds, who are interested in Darwin, maybe interested in education. It's been exciting to see how many people are coming."

Even so, Baynes says the company takes into consideration the fact that Second Life has a higher barrier to entry and smaller reach than something like a podcast, but she says the rich environment and options for creative engagment make up for it.

In the future, Nature plans to add more and more, rotating games every six months on the north side of the island to keep things fresh, bringing in author and poetry nights from the Macmillan side of thing, including live readings and chances for feedback. Some events are starting this month, but Macmillan plans to expand within the island over the coming months. The ultimate goal is to have at least 1,500 unique users that frequent the island and make regular appearances at events.

"The Second Life environment is so rich that if we can offer a compelling reason and environment and event for people to come in, they will," said Baynes. "And if we can bring them in, they'll stay.