There is a new interview with Rod out. You’ll find it at BOSL in their latest magazine: June 2013
We learn that Welcome areas will be redone. Alpha and Beta testing will start in the next few weeks.
BoSL Photo of Rodvik Linden
Rod provides a compelling description of what Second Life is. So, if you’re ever at a loss for when someone asks you what SL is, read the article.
Rod also promotes the idea of less centralized control of SL. In a world where more people think they have to have someone (like government) tell them what to do, this is a refreshing change. I think it bodes well for SL.
Rod says while a lot has been done to improve performance, more improvements are coming.
It is a short interview. The questions are good. I wish there was more.
A/B testing is not Alpha and Beta testing. It’s a methodology of using randomized experiments with two or more variants.
Basically they are going to have newbies randomly dropped in (several?)new welcome areas and old ones, and see which work better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A/B_testing
Thank you for the A/B information. I appreciate the correction.
This interview contains kinda gameificated attitudes, or, let me say: many memes of gamers.
Not the SL-Culture I was luckily confronted with when I joined in 2007.
Reading the first pages of the interview even made me feel lost and uncomfortable. The overall “culture” changed dramatically. The “BOSL”-Language here even “feels” IMVUish. Bah!
You should probably listen to Rod’s 2011 SLCC speech and check some of his other speeches too. He is not that much into gamifying as he is into give people the tools to do whatever they want.