Recent SL concurrency stats via Tyche Shepherd's Grid Survey
It's been over a month since YouTube gaming celebrity Carmen King started streaming hilariously raunchy Second Life videos on her channel — September 3, to be exact — but has that led to growth in Second Life use by her nearly 1 million subscribers? Based on data shared to me by Tyche Shepherd of Grid Survey, it sure seems that way.
"There has been a rise since September (though there are signs this is falling in October) but not anything as dramatic as we saw in March/April," as Tyche tells me. March and April is when Second Life saw a spike in usage due to, well, the COVID-19 pandemic and a global quarantine. "See [chart] attached which shows the underlying trend in median daily concurrency after controlling for weekly seasonality."
See above, click to embiggenate. Before Carmen's videos, median daily concurrency for SL was declining to around 38,000. That's since grown to roughly 41,000 at peak. To be sure, her videos aren't the only factor at work (Tyche tells me the upward trend started in mid-August), but seeing as her SL videos have amassed over half a million views so far, they're almost certainly a major factor.
They've definitely been a major factor on Carmen King's inbox:
"All of my direct messages are filled with people asking me to help," she tells me laughing.
Despite this sudden surge, she tells me Linden Lab has hardly connected with her — but as a longtime social game doyenne, she does have advice for the company:
"They have not," she says, when I asked if the company has reached out. Then amends: "They invited me to an event actually! Just remembered. It was about a month ago."
As for how Linden Lab might do a better job connecting with new users like her fans:
"I’d say showing off more of the fun and social elements of SL and maybe an updated welcome guide."
Then there's the problem with the Second Life user experience:
"Honestly the whole getting started process was the hardest thing for me and most new players," as Carmen puts it to me. "I tried multiple times but never understood until someone showed me everything for a few hours. That could be a huge improvement if the UI and inventory was explained a bit more simply!"
She also recommends adding an "character needs" type of interface, similar to The Sims.
Hopefully Linden Lab is listening now, because while Carmen King is encouraging thousands of people to try out SL, or return after an absence, there's a darker side to the data. But more on that tomorrow (hopefully).
Wagner James Au / New World Notes 
Leave a comment