Event Planning in Second Life

What does it mean to plan an event in Second Life? Well frankly, it means a lot of work. In the last 3 years I've planned close to 200 events of various sizes and in a multitude of locations- everything from high-level conferences off-site to small roundtable discussions with individual speakers. However, virtual world event are a whole new beast – and here are some reasons why.

1.    Where will you host the event?

·        First you have to decide what you want the space to look like. Will you build something from scratch that is specific to each event? How many expected guests, where the numbers really could be tiny or enormous if the planning and press were targeted enough? Will there be video? Will it be sound? Skype or SL Voice, Text? Who will build this, what is the cost, where will you host it? If it is NOT a new space, will there be a memory in the space that you need to repurpose? What does re-using a space mean?

2.    Who will come to the event?

·         You have to go find the community, and then get notes sent to those communities, post on blogs, reach out to journalists (ok, this is similar to physical events) but you are much less likely to draw people with cues they find in their everyday life (they’d have to actually pass by and see it- but you don’t know where they will actually BE.) You really have to court people to get information out to their networks. And there is no alluring promise of food – which any good event planner will tell you - does help.

3.    Design how people get to the event.

·        In a real life event you plan where someone will walk in a door and every step from there to their exit. Not so in a virtual space, it’s harder to set up a process of movement , nor would I really want to control that flow in a virtual space (it’s all about discovery). But it does make it hard to guarantee a desired experience. Hard to greet all who come, etc.

4.    Anything that can go wrong; may go wrong.

·        This is general to event planning. And I usually l combat this by just OVER planning everything. But when was the last time you had to think about when someone was consistently falling through the floor?

5.    You have to teach many people (at least in the communities I try to engage) how to use the technology to help them have that positive experience.

·        When was the last time an event planner had to show individuals how to WALK around the space or how to turn their ears, eyes, and voice on? Never. You really have to watch for people who are lost and one-to-one buddy up with them to help them have a meaningful experience.

6.    Will you give hand-outs? Refreshements? Artists?

·        Ok, make them or get them on a stream.

7.    Content, content, content.

·        This is a usual issue and needs thoughtful consideration, but furthermore becomes another concern when you have to actually help bring thoughtful voices into the space and help them moderate the space just to get that content into the space.

8.    Making sure the physical technology to produce the event is prepared, tested, and then hold your breath that you stay on-line, have the needed bandwidth, and all participant computers cooperate.

·        Technology can be a barrier to a good physical event, but is rarely the deciding factor of success. I have yet to meet anyone who can control all technology issues. The best bet is to have a plan B, and C. Which means more work.

It all sounds simple enough, but it is a lot of coordinating, managing of different skill sets, and mind-bogglingly detail-oriented. And that’s from an event planner who lives in the details. Now- if you really want to start having fun, plan a physical event that coordinates with a virtual event.

It's all you can handle, baby!