Edit: Headline changed - the viewer changes will be primarily interface but could include “carefully considered” changes to the underlying code base. See M’s comments on the SL forums.

Mark Kingdon announced that an outside design firm is hard at work on a new, user-friendly viewer for Second Life.

The announcement comes in a longer update on his progress since taking the helm 4 months ago, and ironically was posted at the same time as I was sitting on a panel discussion about Philip’s vision for Second Life. And what’s interesting is that while the panelists all seemed to think that Philip has a vision, with Tarah5 Oh (Tish Shute) arguing, for example, that opening the source for the viewer and the subsequent work with OpenSim were gutsy, visionary moves, I’m not sure there’s consensus on whether he articulates that vision well.

I’m of the opinion that there’s a disconnect between Philip’s “dream” - what he thought up so many years ago after reading Snow Crash or whatever, and the Linden Lab vision - what the company’s strategic plans include, how they compare to the current and emerging competition, and what that means for people who want to rally around and build alongside Second Life.

This disconnect, and then the inability to “close the sale” (as I call it) by clearly articulating why Second Life and virtual worlds REALLY matter, instead of going on with terms like “use cases” which are, sorry, geeky, often leads me feeling fuzzy headed, unsure whether he’s talking about today or tomorrow, clients or interfaces, worlds or platforms.

What’s interesting though is that Philip hired M. And he hired Tom Hale. And if the sign of a great leader is that you hire people who AREN’T like you, which I believe to be true, then I think Philip’s on to something. M has been consistent with his message, his focus, and although he obviously takes a lead from Philip and they work together, he’s able to translate the road between here and “there” with some clarity.

M is a bit vague on his particular meaning of “product strategy”, but this new addition to his key messages is, perhaps, one of the most significant shifts since he joined, and gives me some hope that within the product strategy umbrella are developing the tools, outreach and support for all those “use cases” like education and collaboration that are so critical to the future of the Grid.