Gibson Guitars Launches Gibson

In a very mixed-message article (probably reflecting both real and virtual realities pretty accurately) my local Tennessean.com today posted online an article called "Free Gibson guitar is a virtual perk," by Wendy Lee. The article appeared on the front page of the Business section in the print newspaper this very morning as well, with some additional comments, such as "Why Go Virtual? In real life, Gibson's LP-295 Goldtop retails for $4,399. In Second Life, you can own one for free."

This is all well and good, and I hope it helps raise some awareness about Second Life. However, I'm also quite sure its ambivalence with regard to sales, and in particular this quote-- "The hype that surrounds Second Life is quite a bit ahead of reality as a place that sells goods," said Rob Enderle, a principal analyst at Enderle Group, a San Jose-based technology products consulting and advisory service. "In terms of sustained sales, it's not that good..." --potentially does more to stir up the already murky waters of public opinion than to settle them.

I dropped into Gibson Guitar Island yesterday to catch the end of Cylindrian Rutabaga's (Grace Buford, irl) set and the beginning of marvelous Argentinan guitarist Joaquin Gustav's. There's more about the event at Gibson's own Gibson Island announcement. I highly encourage you to go visit!