{"id":1808,"date":"2012-02-09T22:40:18","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T22:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2012-02-09T22:45:19","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T22:45:19","slug":"ll-receive-short-shrift-from-bloggers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=1808","title":{"rendered":"LL Receive Short Shrift From Bloggers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Linden Lab’s call for bloggers has received short shrift from quite a few bloggers, although I’m sure there will be some who will play ball. There have been negative posts from Inara Pey<\/a>, Hamlet Au<\/a>, Chestnut Rau<\/a>, Crap Mariner<\/a> (very humourosuly too) and another humourous take from Botgirl Questi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the official blog post <\/a>there are also negative reactions, even Marianne McCann pours scorn on the deal, when Mari thinks something is a bad idea you really need to stop and think. Whomever came up with this idea must feel a bit like Andrew Lansley trying to get his wretched NHS bill through the house of commons, however to be fair, Linden Lab’s plan is nowhere near as evil as Andrew Lansley’s NHS bill!<\/p>\n

I still think the idea has some merit, it’s not something I would personally participate in but there’s merit to the suggestion. Highlighting other bloggers and their views can help with reach, introduce people to new aspects of Second Life and demonstrate that there’s more to Second Life than a 3D chatroom, of course us Second Life regulars know there’s more to it than that but for someone investigating Second Life, the main website is a good starting point and should be full of the diversity of Second Life.<\/p>\n

However, as with a lot of things Linden Lab have done over the years, it ain’t what they do, it’s the way that they do it.<\/p>\n

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Part of the problem with Linden Lab has always been communication, this isn’t always Linden Lab’s fault, they hold user group meetings, which used to be office hours, they converse in the forums, they converse in the Jira and on mailing lists, but the blog is a very sorry sight these days, so Linden Lab want to beef it up. Inara Pey has an excellent post about LL’s communication issues<\/a>. I always rhyme Inara Pey with Enola Gay and start singing the OMD song of that name …. but I digress.<\/p>\n

The problem with the latest initiative is that to many, it reads like a job advert, indeed it reads like a job advert for a position that in my mind they should be advertising for anyway, a community blogger paid a salary would be a good idea. However if they want submissions from bloggers on a no fee basis, they should heed the feedback.<\/p>\n

Bloggers have commented that they aren’t happy about exclusivity, losing editorial control and basically being made to feel like they are writing for Linden Lab rather than themself, some find the whole idea insulting. There is a value exchange in terms of reach, to a degree, but a lot of that is negated by losing editorial control and the content being made exclusive.<\/p>\n

LL should waive the exclusivity clause, agree that nothing will be published without agreement of both parties and then get on with it. Plenty of people won’t be interested, for a variety of reasons but getting the wheels rolling could change people’s minds. There are also going to be other issues regarding self promotion, if someone is wrting for you, of course they are going to want to self promote, that’s part of the value exchange, it’s why celebrities appear on chat shows, there must be plenty of self promotion allowed, it should also be made clear in the bio of the author who they are so people know there may be self promotion involved.<\/p>\n

This isn’t the worst idea Linden Lab have came up with, but it needs tweaking, unlike Andrew Lansley’s NHS bill, which should be consigned to the dustbin of history, Linden Lab have the seeds of a good idea, if it’s going to blossom they need to listen to the feedback.<\/p>\n

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