Thank you for all your feedback over the last week. I’ve read your comments, seen your blog posts, gotten lots of emails and hear your frustration with the new trademark policy. I know many of you feel it’s confusing and I’d like to spend some time talking about the policy and why it matters to both Linden Lab and to you.

So, why are trademarks important?
When Linden Lab puts the Second Life or Linden Lab name on a product, we are standing behind it. Our reputation rides on that product. We want you to use “SL” and “inSL” and to wave your affiliation proudly, but we need to make sure the context is clear that you’re not Linden Lab.

Why did Linden Lab decide to update the trademark policy now?
We were getting lots of questions from Residents about use of our trademarks and we realized it was time to do a better job of communicating. In the new policy, we’re much more specific about the ways to show your affiliation, and we hope that helps answer the questions we’ve received.

Does the policy affect copyrights in the content I create?
No, you still retain copyrights in the content you create. That hasn’t changed. The trademark policy isn’t about that. For the difference between copyrighs and trademarks, see the explanation here and here. And, if you’re a content creator, stay tuned. We’re taking steps to improve our copyright claim process and will saying more about that soon.
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Today we invite you to check out the new Second Life Brand Center. The Brand Center explains how Residents can promote their own brands, products and activities in the Second Life world and use appropriate logos to enhance their message.

With the Brand Center, we’re also launching the inSL Logo Program, which provides a new community logo for Second Life Residents. Display the inSL logo to show you and your brands are a part of the Second Life community. This logo may be used on your website, business card, promotional materials, product packaging, and in many other places where you may wish to promote your contributions to the Second Life world. When using the logo, be sure to follow the Guidelines for Using the inSL Logo.

(the all new inSL logo!)

The Brand Center also features our Guidelines for Using Linden Lab’s Trademarks, including our brand name “Second Life” and our logo with the eye-in-hand design. Proper use of our trademarks is important to help you and others outside the Second Life community know which products and services Linden Lab stands behind. The Trademark Guidelines explain the uses of our trademarks we allow, those uses which require our written permission, and the proper method to refer to our products and services in text.

If, after reading the Trademark Guidelines, you realize you’re using a Linden Lab trademark incorrectly, please use the next 90 days to change your use to comply with the Guidelines. For more information, see our FAQ. Signing up for the inSL Logo program is fast and simple.

Please visit the Brand Center today to learn more about how you can start using the inSL logos. Thanks, and happy brand building!

Apologies for taking so long to get this up. We’re looking into more efficient ways to get transcripts produced.

Download the transcript here or view the entire podcast transcript after the jump.

Miss the podcast? Read more (and download it) here.

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“Those who are unknown will have the chance to be known!”

Calling all builders, businesspeople and budding fashionistas. Attention you educators, entertainers, environmentalists and evangelists. And let’s not forget the artists and architects; the philanthropists and politicians; the sculptors, singers and just general shining stars of Second Life. You’ve got great stories and we want’ em.

As you know, publicizing the great work of our Residents is one of our favorite pastimes at Linden Lab. We get a staggering number of requests from media to share new and innovative uses of Second Life for education, entertainment, art, culture, business and fill-in-the-blank. So, as a general reminder, we’re always on the lookout for great builds, innovative designs, the weird, the wacky and the wonderful uses of Second Life.

 If you’re amenable to / interested in speaking with press about what you’re doing in Second Life please let us know. We’ll have our people contact your people and we’ll take it from there. We get the most requests for education, business and entertainment stories so are particularly interested in those, but look forward to hearing from everyone. Who knows, maybe your story is the story…

 To submit your information for possible press inclusion, please send an email to Linden Lab’s public relations agency Lewis PR at ResidentStories@lewispr.com with the following information:

  (*Note: We must, must, must have real-world names and contact info, so please consider that mandatory. As far as the rest, the more info you can provide the better / more usable you’re overall story will be. However, we appreciate you taking the time to contact us, so please just provide as much info as you can and / or feel comfortable with. We’

ll be in touch with any further questions we might have.)

 Real-world name:

 Contact info:

 Avatar name:

 SLurl (if applicable):

 What are you doing in Second Life?

 How long have you been in Second Life?

 How did you find out about Second Life?

 What were your original goals when you became a part of Second Life? Have

 they changed?

 Was there anything in-world that surprised you, something that you may not

 have expected?

 What do you hope to achieve in-world?

 What is your motivation?

 How many Residents frequent your island/business? Daily? Monthly?

 How do you measure your success in-world? Is it by money or another means?

 What are some of your favorite places in-world?

 What do you think makes Second Life interesting?

 What are the pros and cons of doing business in Second Life?

 What do you see in the future for Second Life?

Today, Linden Lab launched the SecondLifeGrid.net website, a resource for businesses, organizations and educators for creating a successful virtual presence on the Second Life Grid platform. Since the launch of Second Life, Linden Lab has been working to further open and expand the virtual world. The SecondLifeGrid.net website recognizes the opportunities virtual worlds provide to organizations,

To date ‘the Grid’ has been used synonymously with Second Life. However, with launch of SecondLifeGrid.net, Linden Lab is separating Second Life the virtual world (the product) from the Second Life Grid (the technology platform).

Second Life is and will remain focused on Residents, but virtual world technology also has a lot to offer to organizations – educators, enterprises, brands, nonprofits, and others – and the Second Life Grid will enable these organizations to understand and create meaningful 3D immersive experiences. Through new programs like the Community Gateway Program and the Global Provider Program, Linden Lab will provide guidance and support for local and international organizations interested in maximizing their participation in the virtual world of Second Life.

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Have you got the downtime blues? View the latest installment of Second Opinion, the Second Life newsletter, on our website and coming soon, grab a newly updated copy from one of our in-world locations. (Don’t forget to sign up for automatic in-world delivery of upcoming issues!) This month in Second Opinion, find out what Sabin Linden says about Het-Grid, get information on SLCC, learn about AjaxLife in our interview with Katharine Berry, read up on Stephany Linden’s voice tips and tricks, check out our view on the new features vs. bug fixes debate … and more!

Also, as a reminder, we are no longer emailing the newsletter, but will instead continue to improve the online and in-world versions for everyone to enjoy. For example, you can now get the RSS feed directly delivered to your RSS reader du jour. Have any suggestions on how to make the newsletter better? Email them to the editor.

[UPDATE] Thank you for your comments. We greatly appreciate your continued patience during downtime. Please note that in the near future, and thanks to Het-Grid, downtime will occur less frequently. Don’t know about Het-Grid? Check out Breaking News in this month’s newsletter.

View the latest installment of Second Opinion, the Second Life newsletter, on our website and coming soon, grab a newly updated copy from one of our in-world locations. (Don’t forget to sign up for automatic in-world delivery of upcoming issues!) This month in Second Opinion, find out about the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society’s first fundraiser in Second Life, discover JIRA tips and tricks, read our view on voice in As We See It … and more!

Also, as a reminder, we are no longer emailing the newsletter, but will instead continue to improve the online and in-world versions for everyone to enjoy. For example, you can now get the RSS feed directly delivered to your RSS reader du jour. Have any suggestions on how to make the newsletter better? Email them to the editor.

Summary
In June, 2007, a survey was sent to the 190 companies and individuals currently listed in the Developer Directory. Fifty five of (29%) Developers completed the survey (32 of 90, or 36%, responded in February). Since we don’t track any identifying information, comparison with prior surveys may not be comparing the same set of developers. Question wording has also changed, so the responses are not always exactly comparable.

While not requested in the survey, based on location information in the Directory, distribution of Developers is as follows:
47% of Developers are in the US. 14% are in the UK, 7% are in Germany, 6% in the Netherlands, 5% in Canada and >2% each in Australia, Spain, Italy and France. By region, 54% are in North America, 1% in South America, 41% in Europe and 5% in Asia.

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In Ferbruary 2007, a survey was sent to developers listed in the Developer Directory. The Directory lists 90 developers comprised of 50 full-service and 40 consultants and listings have doubled in the last 3 months. This developer community provides employment opportunities for Residents who have building, scripting and other Second Life skills and has almost tripled in employees and income related to Second Life during the last 3 months. Most of these new employees are Second Life Residents.

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Watching the story that is Second Life mature over the last 3 years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I’m amazed by the rich, innovative, vibrant interactions being pioneered by residents on a daily basis, throughout the world. That said, I still believe there’s a long way to go in terms of cultivating these stories within the mainstream media, and 2007 finds us all working hard towards this goal.

One issue PR has received growing interest in is that of religion and spirituality in-world. Is there a spiritual element inherent in the virtual experience, or are the two things mutually exclusive? Should there exist a parallel between RL religious beliefs and SL conduct? What intangible, metaphysical qualities do virtual worlds hold? Are you using Second Life as a way to explore and express your spirituality with other like-minded residents? What are the greater philosophical implications associated with all this?

We’d love to hear from residents actively negotiating these issues; folks who are using Second Life in the pursuit of religious or spiritual ends and would like to speak to the press about it.

If you think you have some insight to share on these, and other related issues please get in touch by emailing me directly at catherine@lindenlab.com. I’m turning off comments because I won’t be able to respond to them individually.