Hi folks, We've just finished a study about the Profile of spanish second life resident. You know... i think this can be an interesting study for some folks, Best, Fernando Garrido ----------------------- Profile of a Spanish Second Life resident <http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?p=578> Profile of a Spanish Second Life resident: Victor Gil from the Cocktail Analysis <http://www.tcanalysis.com>(a Spanish MR house) has kindly given me the findings from a recent market research exercise they carried out. The findings support the ‘Early Adopter’ profile of a typical user across any country. Here are the main findings: *48% of Second Life users in Spain access the virtual world on a daily basis* The cocktail analysis has presented today the results of the first study ever conducted on the visibility and profile of Spanish Second Life users. Second Life (SL) is a virtual world platform that’s already surpassed 6 million residents, 3% of whom are Spanish, according to Linden Labs. The profile of the Second Life user from Spain is a male (65%), avg. 33 years old, with a college degree (54%), and employed (69%) . It’s a user profile markedly different -mostly because of its older age- to the average users of both videogames and other virtual worlds. The study: “Knowledge, valuation and experience of Spanish users in Second Life. Opportunities for Spanish brands” focuses on assessing the current position of this virtual world in Spain through 2 surveys, one directed towards web users and the other towards Spanish users in the largest Spanish community in the virtual world: secondlifespain.com (http://www.secondlifespain.com) The results of the survey manifest a consolidation in the access habits of a considerable number of Spanish SL residents. Almost half of the respondents access Second Life on a daily basis. One out of four (20%) remain connected for more than three hours. Once connected the majority of residents (68%) pays dedicated attention to the experience, which can be now defined as truly “immersive.” Other results from the study: 62% Of the Spanish residents heard of Second Life through mass media. The majority (65%) acknowledges they initially entered SL out of curiosity. Only 22% of respondents created accounts with the explicit intention of meeting other people. Even though 76% of user-residents are satisfied with the experience so far, the volume of the most enthusiastic users –those for whom SL has exceeded their expectations- is very similar to the volume of disappointed users: 22% and 24% respectively. The great majority of users (73%) spend most of their time wondering and exploring different locations of the virtual world. Interaction with other residents is the other main activity for approximately half (55%) of users. The personalization of the avatar -3D representation of the user- is the third activity to which users devote the most time. The study confirms the importance of the social dimension in SL. Interaction with other users is not only one of the most extended practices, but also one of the most demanded when users are questioned about the kind of future evolution they would like to see the virtual world take. Furthermore the study shows that the utilization of Second Life as a space for social interaction becomes more and more important as the user’s “second life” consolidates. Additionally the study spans consumer behavior analysis and the relationship of the residents with brands and advertising in the virtual world. More than half of the respondents (58%) have Linden Dollars, the official currency of Second Life, used for commercial transaction in the platform. However, only 30% have purchased the currency using real money. The great majority have obtained the Linden Dollars through methods internal to the system. Most of the users´ expenses are devoted to improving the appearance of their avatars (62%) through the purchase of clothes, physical attributes, or animations and movements. According to Felipe Romero partner of The Cocktail Analysis and responsible for the study “Beyond the media noise and the expectations created around the Second Life phenomenon our objective was to try to understand what Second Life means and what it represents in the lives of its users. Many Spanish companies are considering entering the platform in order to take advantage of some of the commercial and marketing opportunities that this new environment theoretically offers. We’ve tried to assess whether this opportunities are real at the present time in terms of Spanish consumers and always from the perspective of second Life as an environment with a limited audience and whose future direction has yet to take concrete from.” In order to deepen in the possibilities offered by Second Life to Spanish brands the study has carried out an extensive survey of user’s attitudes about the increasing presence of commercial brands in the platform, as well as the results in terms of exposure that the companies already present are harvesting. The data shows, on one hand, a latent rejection by users of any brand initiatives that don’t contribute with some sort of added value for the residents. On the other hand the study found a high receptivity among residents for brand initiatives based on exchange. For example 68% of respondents were willing to watch advertising from the brands in second Life in exchange for some sort of incentive payment “in kind” as a reciprocal consideration. When asked to explicitly state what types of incentives they would value the most the principal demand was for “entertainment and cultural contents” (theaters, concerts, shows…) Since many of the large Spanish companies that already have a presence in second Life –or are considering one- are searching for data on its impact beyond SL residents, the study has also explored Second Life’s visibility among Spanish Internet Users. At the time of the study 40% of Spanish Internet users had heard of Second Life, however less than half (40%) acknowledged understanding “very well, or well enough” what the virtual world was about. METHODOLOGY The study was comprised of two online surveys: Online survey on Internet Users. Individuals of both sexes, between 18 and 55 years old, representative of Internet Users. Sample size: 1170 individuals. Fieldwork: February 26th and 28th, 2007. Online survey of Second Life residents from Spain. Online survey among SecondLifeSpain.com, the largest Spanish community in Second Life users. Sample size: 651 individuals. Fieldwork: March 28th and April 2nd, 2007. ABOUT THE COCKTAIL ANALYSIS The Cocktail analysis is market research and strategy consulting agency specialized in consumer, communications and new technology trends. For more information contact Felipe Romero / Víctor Gil +34 91 567 06 05 info@tcanalysis.com http://www.tcanalysis.com Second Life Offices: http://slurl.com/secondlife/novatierra/81/26/61/ or the coordinates: Novatierra 81/26/61.