SecondLife Gets a Dose of Reality

With a 30% expected reduction in staff at LindenLab, and a push toward a browser based integration solution, any betting man (or woman) can see that the powers that be over at SecondLife don't seem to understand the magnitude of what they've taken on.

Simply put, you can't remove the technology evangelists from the equation, toss in some high profile management and a world-class marketing team, and redesign the viewer while expecting the ship to continue to float. At some point, one must realize you've essentially ripped the soul out of the company.

In the world of virtual environments, you need that holistic thinking if you want to succeed.

One of two things is happening at Lindenlab right now:

1. They are hitting dire straights and trying to spin it so it doesn't look as bad as it seems.
2. They are trying to lower operating costs to maximize revenue so they can paint a big red "buy out" target on the company.

I'll let you decide.