Twitter Rumor - image by klaireebearr@flickr
By now you have probably heard the rumor that Microsoft made an offer to buy Linden Lab and thus supposedly Second Life. However, this could just be an offer to buy some of SL’s technology. Or it could all be a griefer’s spoof. The source of the rumor tracks back to a banned player and a group known to grief. The complication comes in that both have been involved in revealing ‘real’ secrets in the past.
There is no way to confirm or deny the rumor until either Linden Lab or Microsoft make a statement. Even then many will speculate the official spokes-holes are spinning to control PR. In the political season here in the States that makes perfect sense to many. There is just no way to know who is spoofing, spinning, or in the know. But, the story has legs because it is a credible idea that Microsoft might actually want Linden Lab. As more and more blogs pick it up, more real news sources pick it up and the story spreads. Many will use the number of sources as a measure of truth, which is a really poor way to decide.
For now there is nothing to indicate whether this rumor is real or not. Over time the truth will come out. Then we can look back and see who did their research and reported facts and who just speculated to have a story.
See Alphaville Herald: Tizzers Trolls Twitter: Microsoft
See New World Notes: How Internet Rumors Are Like the Dreams in Inception
ZDNet: Might Microsoft break its acquisition drought with a social gaming company?
There is no doubt it is a possibility and could make sense, but that doesn’t tell us whether it is true.