Linden Lab is ending discounted rates for not-for-profits and educational institutions, according to an announcement today on their blog:
“All education and non-profit private regions of any type, purchased after Dec. 31, 2010, will be invoiced at standard (i.e. non-discounted) pricing. All currently discounted renewals which occur after Dec. 31, 2010, will be adjusted to the new price at that time. To continue to provide entry-level, private spaces to educators just launching their programs, we will be providing Homestead and Open Space regions to qualifying organizations without their meeting the retail full-region criterion. Customer Support will be available to answer any questions that you may have about these changes.”
I’m not really up on the education market or what non-profits pay for things like Web hosting, text books, event space or other products, but my guess is that with the global economy sputtering along that increasing prices in these sectors isn’t particularly commonplace.
Instituting a 200% price increase, as Linden Lab has done today, seems to me more akin to what a company would try to do if they were looking to exit a particular market and does nothing to change the narrative that the company is ripe for a sale, takeover or meltdown.
We do limited work in cause marketing and education. But without any reason given I’m left to guess what’s motivating the Lab, and I can’t for the life of me think of anything other than falling profits, a wish to be a pure consumer company, or some sort of insight into the appetite for higher costs from these communities that I don’t have (a latent desire to, um, spend more?)
Regardless of which of these reasons it might be (or is there some reason I’m not able to guess at?) the move by Linden Lab represents nothing short of a blow to their credibility and judgement, and while I’ve long been a supporter of the community and possibilities of the virtual world, it’s clearly time to start dusting off the blog posts looking at the alternatives.
While a move in the education market might not seem to have implications for enterprise, my feeling is that this move erodes trust in the viability of the Lab’s strategies and indicates they are taking a lowest common denominator view of who they think their target Second Life user should be.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mal Burns, joshua fouts, Dusan Writer, Dusan Writer, Doubledown Tandino and others. Doubledown Tandino said: via @DusanWriter Linden Lab Raises Prices for Non-Profits and Schools http://bit.ly/cvaWK6 [...]
Many of the other moves could be seen as increasing focus and, while unpleasant, were potentially beneficial in the long-term. One had hoped that, while no longer a focus, edu and non-profits were at least seen as neutral. That is clearly no longer the case and the diaspora will quicken as a consequence.
I really do not understand what the intended goal is here. They have just announced useful changes to age limits which would attract educational users, but that wasn’t long ago enough to bring about any great level of increased general use which would mean that .edu customers would feel that they have to have an SL presence despite the cost. Waiting for several months before announcing this, yes, I could see that might be effective, but at this point it just seems as if it is aimed at reducing any potential increase in .edu subscriptions. (Those damned users – they just get in the way.)
SL regions really _are_ expensive at full price, and anyone dealing with the educational sector will know that there are increasing budgetary restrictions.
The “lowest common denominator view” began last year (if not earlier) with the attempted Facebooking of SL. Whether that was Mark Kingdon’s initiative, or a directive from higher up, it apparently was not abandoned when Kingdon was.
Linden Lab is certainly one of the most inscrutable high-profile organizations I’ve ever encountered. There’s got to be some logical intent behind the move, which probably isn’t the incremental short-term increase in revenue from the .edu customers. Seems like this is going to run even more educational and non-profits to OpenSim grids which will offset any gains. Also likely to take some more wind out of Philip’s short-lived honeymoon with the community.
Beats me. Interesting times.
My take on it is that LL has no real plan and they’re making it up as they go along. I really sincerely do believe that the window of opportunity for SL to go mainstream is well past, and it’s never going to return. LL should accept it and do their best to keep the people who do think SL is something worth spending time on instead of thrashing around like a dying man trying to alienate all his remaining family.
I can usually trick myself into believing that there is a method to the madness, but this is just scary and sad.
Shrinking the education sector will be very bad for art in Sl. Many education groups, like the University of Western Australia, have major commitments to hosting art. SL as an education- and art-free zone would have a limited future. There seems to be no plan beyond driving the price for server space as high as it will go.
then they came for the furry’s..and then they came for me.
yiff yiff.
dont feel bad, dust to dust, and a new group of meta’s will emerge again to pioneer virtual worlds media every 5 years.
It is interesting this move, it has kind of sealed Linden Lab’s fate with me. I have started the process of disowning, leaving, and plain outright denying I was ever with several groups that are to the benefit of Linden Lab, and Second Life Corporate. I am so mad at this i actually sent a private note to one of the people involved in this decision, and de-friended them.
Sorry I don’t take kindly, at all, the threat of loosing valuable educational institutions and resources due to someones greed. Just my personal opinion, but shouldn’t the worlds educational systems be given the biggest break of all, considering it’s the future we are sowing the seeds of there? “Sorry all, due to someones greed, we can’t educate you fully to the best of our abilities now.” yeah that sparks up a child’s or young adults confidence about the world.
I’ll still be around to help, but Linden Lab, their own their own.
ta ta for now
Nigma Sterling
“my feeling is that this move erodes trust in the viability of the Lab’s strategies”
You’re assuming that there’s any trust left, but we’ll see what position the Lab backpedals to.
I expect the usual OOPS on the blogs, Jack or Philip to post “We heard you, thinking it over”, then some brownbag sessions, and finally a smaller price hike with grandfathering perpetually offered (but not xferable.)
That strategy is becoming more and more tiresome as Philip signals it to Jack on the field, and the clock is ticking.
While the Lab waits to announce their review of the play, the educators and nonprofits are already leaving the stands. Why? Because the Lab may have destroyed their community gateway and mentors program, but they have inspired a new ones… on every grid out there to help people escape LL & SL and these Crazy Ivan maneuvers at the helm.
Oh well. First they came for…
-ls/cm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743247442/reyadel-20/
its not like any of this is secret….lol
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