A Second Life Consultant Makes Himself His Own Project

As Nobody Fugazi, I've handled a projects in Second Life as a Second Life Consultant and have decided to get a tad bit more serious about work within Second Life. There are a lot of Second Life consultants out there that have projects behind them as well - some I would recommend, and some I would not. The key is not popularity and media exposure in any business.

The key is maintaining a good reputation, being consistent, producing good work and not leading people by their wallets. The quick buck is easy, but erodes reputation. Every dead simulator in Second Life had lots of money wasted on it. And some Second Life consultants and developers seem intent on making money that way.

Not this penguin.

The Office

It struck me that I didn't yet have a 'serious office', so I decided to experiment. I took a look around and ended up at Etopia Prime (141,60,32) since, overall, it seems to be a decent area with a flavor that is appealing. It is a bummer that there are no direct teleports, and I must admit that the build itself drives me a tad bit crazy - prim overlaps and texture ratio mismatches - but I made my office as representative of my work as possible. I'll have a formal opening probably on next week Monday. As it is, I do have some potential contracts coming up - but all the same, it doesn't hurt to have an actual office. A place, as you can see, for the penguin to put up his feet.

But what does it stand for? Suddenly, the Second Life Consultant had his own project. Himself. And since consulting for me includes building, scripting and connecting Second Life to the Internet - there is a lot of stuff that has to be explained. Nevermind that I do ICT consulting as well, I do programming, writing (published author on Second Life) and a bunch of other things. I have even been known to do the dishes now and then.

Then the estate owner and manager ask me the first day what I will be doing in the area. What will I be selling? "Myself". What do you do? "A lot of things."

Of course, this impressed the need to focus some things. It also made me wonder why I was being grilled. This was the first time this penguin had encountered this sort of suspicion.

So I just started tossing stuff out. Uploading textures, linking to website(s), showing previous works, linking my real world avatar (me) to Nobody Fugazi and giving him some of my reputation through my real world accomplishments - down to the object linked to my LinkedIn profile on the desk.

Suddenly the office was a bit more representative of what I bring to the table as a Consultant. I'm someone that solves problems. I build. I script. I made the first baby seals in Second Life that I know of. People who have listened to me have done well with their events and presences. Combining diversity of my backgroundlots of experience across the spectrum does allow for more options, and my honesty tends to be more of an asset.

Is That All?

But is an office all? No. And at the end of the day, it is somewhat silly to have an office in Second Life. Further, being a penguin does tend to make it all a bit unsettling for people new to Second Life. I do switch to human now and then... but once you have a tiny avatar in a serious build environment, you never want to switch back.

Some people like going with the corporate attired 'just like real life' look, but in Second Life that is of dubious value. When you really look around Second Life, the diversity of appearances can be broad - and also can be deceiving. Penguins don't have to roll up their sleeves. They don't have any.

The truth of the matter is that all the contracts I have gotten so far have had nothing to do with the Linden Lab run list of consultants. In fact, I've only run into one person that actually used that. And the hype and cranks out there pretending to be experts actually do a lot more harm than good most of the time - building unrealistic expectations, be they positive or negative. Some things can be done, some cannot - and it takes a certain amount of creativity, technological experience and honesty with a client to solve problems. You see, that is what a Consultant does. A Consultant helps solve problems.

No, how you really get business is by reputation and through people knowing you - or at least knowing you're not going to lead them to bankrupting their budget.

So why did I need an office? Because people expect Consultants to have offices. Even penguins. Maybe I should make a tie for the penguin...

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