H&R Block
The wood floors at H&R Block Island (search for "HR Block" on Second Life) are a subtle reminder: This is a top-tier financial consulting portal, modelled after the 12,000 office locations worldwide.
Despite the stuffy decor, there is an interesting point-of-sale angle. For $100 Linden (the currency in Second Life, which is about £35), you can buy the new Tango online tax preparation software. No discount, though - that was the same price offered on the H&R Block site until a "limited-time offer" was instituted.
The bundle includes access to virtual scooters, dance shoes, a T-shirt and other paraphernalia. Of course, the real transaction takes place on the web, where you type in an access code.
Unlike Dell Island, where you can build a virtual PC and then buy it online, H&R Block seems to want to conduct real business in Second Life, perhaps as a proof-of-concept. Now that's an innovative spirit!
Best Buy Geek Squad
Geeks unite! At Geek Squad Island, the most impressive offering - apart from the bumper car ride that's modelled after the original Geek Squad vehicles - is deep technical advice.
Real-world employees keep regular hours from 6pm to 3am and will chat about any topic. I asked about video card support for DX10 games and which USB keydrives work for ReadyBoost, and an agent knew the answers immediately.
According to Diana Garrett, a Geek Squad spokeswoman (and my tour guide), employees will consult for free until a customer needs to buy a product - for that, they have to call or email.
There are no giveaways, though, and the place is dead during non-working hours.
John Brandon is a freelance writer and book author who worked as an IT manager for 10 years.
Comments
bret treasure said: A shallow article with factual errors Exchange rate wrong 35 pence not 35 pounds Reuters have only one journalist in Second Life Title is misleading virtual businesses is a term used to describe businesses which operate exclusively in second life The article describes real life businesses only Tone is very gee-whizz It says in this article that I can see what a Dell computer looks like on an office desk WOWAgree with Booperkits comment These are just the top RL companies in Second Life Not what your headline saysSecond Life is a complicated environment Get someone to write about it who has spent a decent amount of time in there and has an understanding of it Not some poor journo with a deadline that prohibits any insightful analysis
Booperkit said: You could have sold this advertisement of an article to us in a different wayThe top 8 Real Life companies that have entered SL although Im not sure what defines topor you could have spent more than 5 minutes looking at articles that have already been written and rehashing them and earned your place to write this article by finding out about the real developments in technology and business that exist in virtual worldsIm a bit harsh I know but damn I am so sick of all the articles being this rehashed unimaginative tripe
Booperkit said: You could have sold this advertisement of an article to us in a different wayThe top 8 Real Life companies that have entered SL although Im not sure what defines topor you could have spent more than 5 minutes looking at articles that have already been written and rehashing them and earned your place to write this article by finding out about the real developments in technology and business that exist in virtual worldsIm a bit harsh I know but damn I am so sick of all the articles being this rehashed unimaginative tripe
Booperkit said: The top 8 Second Life virtual businessesI have just read this and wondered what exactly you consider to be a business These are all basically 3D websites that you have listed A business has many definitions - a fairly standard one isAn organization operated with the objective of making a profit from the sale of goods or servicesWhich of these companies are making a profit in SL - do you know how much they pay to get their presence How bizarre that not only do you list non-profitable token presences as businesses rather than the thousands of very profitable in terms or time and money input businesses that existHow unimaginative that you yet again spout off all these companies instead of the vibrant range that exist in SL