The online virtual world of Second Life has had some bad publicity this year and I should know: I wrote a lot of it. From an FBI investigation and subsequent shutdown of virtual casinos, to bizarre virtual sex acts by "furries" the perception of Second Life hasn't been all positive. Commercially Second Life has already experience a boom and busy cycle that started with a rush of offline companies establishing virtual outposts, to only later discover that building presence doesn't mean that people will automatically come.

Things are changing though. Companies such as IBM, Cisco and Amazon are continuing to build their virtual presence and are using Second Life as a corporate meetspace. We've even seen IBM's Italian employees go on strike in Second Life!

Second Life is not unlike the web in 2002-2003, the initial boom and bust cycle has given way to something with more substance, something that like Web 2.0 looks likely to grow into something much better.

I'm regularly asked on ways companies can use Second Life to market their brand and products; here's some ways you can use Second Life for yours.

1. Virtual Conference/ Meeting Space

Voice was introduced to Second Life this year and despite not making a lot of headlines, it has radically changed the usability of Second Life. I'm now fairly regularly attending scheduled and unscheduled meetings and meetups in Second Life. Metaversed runs a conference series in Second Life and are worth visiting for examples of how Second Life can be a formal meeting tool, but on the informal side I've just appeared with some friends from Twitter and ended up having 3 hour conversations on virtual worlds, politics and even the state of the planet.

From a marketing perspective Second Life can be used as a virtual presentation place for your product. For example if you were selling a product you could do a full presentation with questions for up to 60 people at a time in Second Life. This can include visuals (powerpoint slides or even video) and voice, where attendees can interact and discuss the product as well. Think hiring a meeting room for a presentation, but cheaper and with a global audience.

For content companies it could be used in place of a chat room; scheduled special guests could speak and encourage discussion within your particular niche, further asserting your strength and expertise in that particular area.

I'd note that Skype also does voice conferencing, but as a long term Skype users I've always found Skype useless when more than 4 or 5 people are on a call; Second Life doesn't miss a beat at 20, 30 or more people.

2. Branding

Whilst the build it and they will come corporate attempts over the last 2 years have mostly been a failure, there is still plenty of scope in using Second Life as a branding exercise. The cost of doing your own build can be expensive: $2,000- $20,000 upfront with ongoing fees after that, but there are many smaller scale opportunities that don't cost a lot at all. If you're interested in branding/ marketing opportunities in Second Life drop me a line: I'm currently discussing with a number of potential partners a small scale Second Life focused business venture that will provide Second Life brand awareness campaigns at very low costs.

3. Presence

Sometimes just being on Second Life can make a difference. There are plenty of events to choose from in Second Life, and if there isn't an event to suit your business you can always start one. Parties, group discussions, classes, even virtual sporting events are all going on today in Second Life. Be seen and network; the days of hiding your real identity in Second Life have passed and you can make an impression on others that reflects the real you and your company.