Lab+5+Response

=Do you see that conventional means of mass media advertising can translate into Second Life? Provide reasons why or why not? = In the article 'Second Life,' after the backlash’, Caroline McCarthy discusses the "integration of mass media advertising in one of the most proliferate virtual 3D communities in the internet" (McCarthy 2007, 1). Second Life has been commissioned by companies such as NBC Universal and Coca-Cola to advertise their products within the game (1). Although people are exposed to various logos or brand names if companies advertise in this virtual world, they will not be affected in the same way as they would be in reality. For example, a virtual avatar may purchase and drink a can of Coca-Cola, but the person behind the computer screen is not experiencing the actual product in reality. A person may buy into a product online, but it does not guarantee that they will buy into a product in real life. Second, if people are spending money in reality to buy virtual products online, they will be less likely to spend additional money on the real product in daily (real) life. Companies should also think about targeting online consumers; if their focus is placed largely on online demographics, they will miss out on many groups of people who either do not have access to the Internet, or don't use games such as Second Life.