How Real is Metanomics?

Well, the Wall Street Journal spelled my name right in their article on Second Life banking , and even got my affiliation correct (a faculty member at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, not just "Cornell University," and they didn't make the mistake of calling me an "economist," as the New York Times did this summer.)

But then, the stinger: according to Ms. Sidel, "Mr. Bloomfield's own Second Life avatar, named Beyers Sellers, hosts a pretend television show in the online game about virtual economics." Ouch!

This remark is mildly insulting (hmmph!), but even more to the point, extremely confusing. Please don't ask an accounting professor what is real—accountants are still struggling to define the most basic terms, like revenue, asset and expense. But what are readers to make of the term "pretend television show?"

In an effort to set the record straight, I just submitted a letter to the WSJ. Since they probably won't publish it, I thought I would just post it here:

To the Editor:

I am glad to see the Wall Street Journal covering the banking crisis in the virtual world Second Life (Cheer Up, Ben: Your Economy Isn't As Bad as This One, Robin Sidel, January 23, 2008; Page A1). Having spent a good deal of time virtual world economies, I would caution that terms like "make-believe," "game" and "pretend" obscure the nature of these new bastions of entrepreneurship.

To take one example of particular interest to me, Ms. Sidel notes that I host a "pretend" television show in Second Life. The show, called "Metanomics," airs live on Second Life Cable Network every Monday; see http://metanomics.net for info).

I am not sure which aspect of the show is not "real." The guests seem pretty real, including faculty from Stanford, Emory and various law schools; top-level executives from tech giants like IBM and virtual world developers Linden Lab, There and Forterra; and senior government officials from Congress, the Federal Reserve Bank and NASA. My audience seems real as well. The Second Life Cable Network reaches close to half of all Second Life residents, and Metanomics is nearing the top of the ratings, while appealing to a pretty desirable demographic of entrepreneurs and academics. This has made the show seem real enough to our sponsors, who include Sun, Cisco Systems, SAP, Saxo Bank and Generali Group.

Are we providing real insights into the future of business and policy in virtual worlds? Tune in and decide for yourself.

Robert Bloomfield
Professor of Accounting
S. C. Johnson Graduate School of Management
Cornell University