Web analytics, web metrics, and how to use them to track and improve conversions

I was kinda surprised, the other day, to see the Macarthur Foundation as one of the organizations that has made the move into Second Life.  The Macarthur Foundation is the super exclusive grant foundation with the ultimate grant that you can't directly apply for ... you have to recommended ... and those grants are large, like 250,000 - 500,000 USD, given to pursue some kind of artistic, social or political work that benefits humanity (in the view of the Trustees).

And apparently .... The Macarthur Foundation opened their doors  to be contacted, and to interact, in Second Life according to UgoTrade (I believe I saw Tish Shute at Colombia last week at the Second Life Conference live broadcast there ...but there was too many things going on to say hello - we've met twice before at Second Life and Mobile Marketing events here in NYC).

"...The MacArthur Foundation, a leader in building the field of digital media and learning, is exploring how to be helpful in advancing the use of virtual worlds for social benefit.  To that end, MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton today hosted a virtual discussion with Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life.  The conversation was the first in a series of events that MacArthur is planning. "

Just as blogging is now becoming mainstream, but was ahead of the curve three or four years ago (and several Bloggers, are now seen as influencials (and members of the Press (sorta) - if they have a wide enough audience).  

I predict the same fate for Second Life and other 3D-Virtual Words - although the time frame is closer to 5 or 6 years from now (and I think it was Gartner who said that by 2010 or 2011 pretty much everyone is going to have a "Second Life" in a 3D Virtual World -I wrote about it in More people leading 3D virtual lives online) due to hardware and platform restrictions that prevent a wider adoption now.

I noticed that Macarthur Foundation is not limiting themselves to Second Life - but also are exploring There.com.  I saw There.com at Virtual Worlds 2007 but did not focus as much on them, being more interested in just covering the whole event and making contacts, which are already proving to be very useful and helpful to me.

But it's clear to me the lines have been drawn, even at unlikely places like Search Engine Strategies (I wrote about my first hand impressions at the last SES in NYC  in Search Marketers and Second Life don't seem to mix) - as many in the Search Engine market have traditionally seen themselves as the innovators - when in reality they have now become mainstream and tomorrow, some of them will be forgotten unless they, as group, move forward - to innovate and see what's happening now.

That's always the challenge ... to move forward...you have to give up something.

Looking  at the Macarthur Foundation - they're helping to fund a new school in New York City to open in the Fall of 2009".  Here's the Press Release. The new school is is co-founded by the Institute of Play and the New Visions for Public Schools group, both are New York City based non for profit organizations that works in partnership with the New York Public School system - the grant for the New School was for 1.1 million dollars (for development).

"...a prototype “future of the school” building for interactive testing and feedback.  Also, teachers in an after-school program invite inner city youth to build three-dimensional sculptures and create activities in Second Life that demonstrate their passion for a civic issue."

"...This project will re-imagine the traditional school from top to bottom, based on research on how students today learn best—and will create a new learning environment that will prepare them for success in college and the 21^{st century workforce," said Robert Hughes, president of New Visions for Public Schools. "}

When I took my Paris Trip this month I shared a room with Thomas (he appears in the second video down from the top of the post), a bright 19 year old who was a serious gamer.

I noted that he said his generation was the quickest, most wired, in history......and the generation with the shortest attention span.  

The implications for this are profound.  It means, if we don't improve  marketing and messaging to appeal immediately, and learning too... learning needs to be immediately appealing and fun....the newer generation - and children now, including my own son, who turned 14, the newer generation tunes out.