In cyberspace, anything's possible. Dave Richardson explores how the travel industry and their avatars are doing business online
Not being into social networking sites, I didn't become aware of Second Life until a few months ago, when I read about a couple from Cornwall. I confess to having laughed out loud ...
Second Life is the leading 'virtual world', using 3D technology and available on any web-enabled computer. When you sign up you create an avatar - a virtual alter-ego or representation of yourself that can hop, skip, jump and talk around cyberspace, meeting other avatars.
So what's this got to do with business travel, you ask? The Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM) is holding its first Second Life Forum on September 23, and you can either turn up in person or participate by staying at your desk. The concept has the potential to replace a lot of business travel by reducing the need to attend meetings and events, so everyone had better start paying attention.
But back to the couple in Cornwall. They became media celebrities when the man had sex with other women in Second Life, leading to his wife, who was also his virtual partner, divorcing him in the real world. People's avatars - in this case taking on the identities of a club owner called Dave Barmy and a DJ called Laura Skye - tend to look slimmer and sexier than the real thing. The woman was quoted as saying: "I was so hurt. I just couldn't believe what he'd done. It's cheating as far as I'm concerned."
Many people feel virtual worlds have a negative image because of their 'adult' content, but Second Life's American creator, Linden Labs, has teamed up with a British company, Rivers Run Red, to develop a model strictly for business. Most of the 17 million-plus registered users of Second Life worldwide use it for social networking, but the investors behind Linden Labs, who include the founders of Amazon and eBay, can see a bigger picture.
All will be revealed at the ITM event at the NEC in Birmingham, being staged as part of National Meetings Week. ITM chief executive Paul Tilstone will be sending his avatar, as will Linden Labs European marketing director Clare Rees.
"We are organising this forum because it is our job to understand potential changes in the market for corporate travel and meetings organisers," explains Tilstone. "Second Life is becoming another option, alongside video and audio conferencing, and webinars.
"Forward thinking meetings buyers, and travel buyers with meetings responsibility, need to understand this new technology. People are becoming aware of it, but put off by the poor press over people who use it for dating. But now there are business applications, and businesses must consider the corporate responsibility issues. Virtual conferences can be attended by anyone, including those with disabilities."
The ITM forum is being organised by New Business Horizons, whose director, Alan Haymes, is a refreshingly down-to-earth character who isn't predicting that this technology will change the world. He has already spoken at ITM events, including this year's conference in Liverpool.
"We are walking a fine line between telling business about the savings to be made through this new technology, and scaring the industry to death," he says. "People used to be afraid that computers would create redundancies, but they help people do their job more efficiently. This could lead to fewer air seats and hotel rooms being booked, but that is going to happen anyway."
Rivers Run Red has developed a business application for Second Life, called Immersive Workspaces 2.0, which will be demonstrated at the forum. This provides a very high level of security that has passed due diligence by major banking organisations, and the next phase will be for companies to adopt it. This is due to happen towards the end of 2009.
Rivers Run Red says the technology could significantly reduce a corporate's carbon footprint by curtailing air travel. As the work/ life balance comes more into play, it also allows workers, particularly parents of young children, to reduce or eliminate commuting.
Rivers Run Red CEO Justin Bovington says: "We're moving rapidly towards a technology driven meetings culture, but this should not be seen as a threat to traditional meeting services. If anything, this is another facet and should be used when and where appropriate.
"We do, however, have to face some very harsh facts, as reduced travel budgets and the need to cut CO2 emissions have created a culture of change. Virtual worlds give people a greater level of immersion, meaning it's more like 'being there'. This is in contrast to the disconnected feeling of audio conference calls, and the slightly awkward and stilted sensation one gets with video-conferencing.
"We're in an era of non-linear communication, and you just have to look at the success of on-demand TV to see how people want content on their own terms. The great thing about this is that there is always a room available - it's never block booked. This is not just a meeting space, it's a virtual extension of a company's physical location."
Not surprisingly, the companies that have already held virtual meetings tend to be from the hi-tech sector. Rivers Run Red has published a case study on computer processor manufacturer Intel, which cancelled a conference in Monte Carlo this year on cost grounds. By staging a virtual conference instead, it saved US$265,000 of the US$300,000 budget, even before travel expenses were calculated. The move to a virtual conference increased registrations from the 120 originally due to attend to nearly 150.
The technology doesn't always work but surprisingly, perhaps, participants enjoyed it. Intel events manager Elaine Cook says: "Despite the keynotes being very patchy and jumpy, and network connectivity issues, many people commented on how they would like to see more conferences happening this way in future."
IBM, which spent US$80,000 on its Academy of Technology conference last year instead of US$250,000 on a 'real world' event, is also positive. "Attendees raved about the conference and thoroughly enjoyed the experience," says IBM. "At the end of each day, participants were found gathering in various places - a favourite hangout being the picnic area - for conversations over virtual cocktails. Members gathered around drinking virtual beers and chatting, while others took virtual hang gliding or jet skiing lessons. It was the perfect finale for a phenomenal conference, and the cost savings couldn't have been more real."
The technology is in its infancy, but developing rapidly. According to Alan Haymes, a helmet is being developed that gives superb stereo sound and high definition images, and can recreate smells, temperature and even tastes.
Will we have to go anywhere in future? According to Gartner, a new-technology research company, virtual world conferences have the potential to eliminate over two million flight bookings by 2012. This technology can be applied to trade fairs, too, with predictions that 25 per cent of such events will be virtual by 2015.
Many people will dismiss Second Life as little more than science fiction, but remember what people used to say about the limitations of the internet and mobile phones. Sign up for the ITM forum and make your own mind up.