A tip of the hat to Virtualis, the convention and learning center in the virtual world of Second Life, on being designated as one of 31 international firms earning the "Gold Solutions Provider" designation in Second Life by Linden Labs (which created and runs the virtual world).
What that means, according to a press release, is that Virtualis has the stamp of approval as a go-to partner for organizations that are new to Second Life. Even though we haven't been hearing a lot about Second Life lately, the place has been hopping, according to Dan Parks, President and Creative Director of Corporate Planners Unlimited, Inc., and one of the creative forces behind Virtualis. Especially for meetings. When we spoke a while back, he told me the facility has doubled in size due to demand from both corporate and association clients, and can now accommodate 360 virtual attendees in its arena. While people's avatars may look strange, the convention center itself has all the usual amenities (registration area, lobby, prefunction and ballroom space, breakout rooms). It also includes the Eisenstodt Learning Center, which has all kinds of interesting meeting space that has to be experienced to be believed.
I haven't been there in a while, but it's good to know things are cooking in that virtual world. It's funny how the media attention comes and goes--a couple of years ago, SL was the media darling (and yes, we wrote about it too). Now it seems to be Twitter's turn. But the Virtualis press release reminds me that work, and meetings, keep happening in alternative spaces, even when the spotlight has moved on.