As Antonio says, during the last month journalists stopped telling us how great Second Life is and began saying that it’s headed for failure. We all have been through this, haven’t we? Every time a new technology is accessible to the wide public, somebody notices it and begins using it in smart ways, foreseeing its potential. It is the Technology Trigger, a phase of the well known hype cycle of emerging technology defined by Gartner in mid-nineties. It’s perfectly clear that Second Life has had its Peak of Inflated Expectations in the first months of 2007 and is now falling down the Trough of Disillusionment.

Everybody who has been climbing up the first phase (even if just like a spectator) has made up his mind about the potential of the technology and what its real value can be once it’s become mainstream and widely adopted. When you confront this opinion with the exagerated amount of hype that has been put upon Second Life, it’s easy to understand radical rejections such as the ones from Paolo Attivissimo or Roberto Dadda: I disagree with them, and I strongly believe that in virtual worlds there is great opportunity to create real value for entertainment and even for business purposes. But I also understand and share (for the opposite reason!) the irritation caused by excessive hype. We simply have different opinions about the real value that virtual worlds will have in the long run.