A number of big-name firms have taken a step into Second Life as a way to network, recruit, and even market their products. In 2006, for example, IBM used Second Life to a host a "town hall" meeting in Beijing, and Big Blue makes extensive use of the platform for internal meetings.
Cisco is another vendor throwing its weight behind the technology, opening its own Second Life "islands" and using the platform to host Q&A sessions with its CEO, John Chambers.
EMC has also held virtual job fairs within Second Life, and Sun opened an "in-world" pavilion for its technology a little over 18 months ago, hinting at a shift from physical to virtual networking.
All these efforts, though, are little more than vendors dipping their toes into the waters of social networking. In a few years' time U.S. businesses could be looking at Facebook and MySpace as invaluable business tools, as opposed to a waste of valuable employee time.
Have a comment on this story? Please click "Discuss" below. If you'd like to contact Byte and Switch's editors directly, send us a message.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
There are many network courses that can address your present job's priorities and help you gain the needed skills to keep pace with industry changes and new technologies.
