I’ve been thinking about this, on and off, since Rod Humble mentioned it at the Second Life Community Conference last year. “Secret Sauce” is a popular term being used in business these days and it’s really one of those things that just sounds right when you hear it. And Rod Humble was wise enough to realize he didn’t know what the Second Life secret sauce was yet, but he was seeking to discover it.

Some parts of SL have been around for a long time. And they are owned by communities with values & covenants.

Everyone who enjoys SL should hope that Mr. Humble discovers the secret sauce. I believe there are obstacles though. First, he has to find his way past all those noisy experts who claim to know what the secret sauce is.

Yes, Second Life is a platform created by Linden Lab, but when I hear many of the folks creating this platform talk about it, I’m pretty sure they don’t really “get it”, no matter what their job title is.

My instinct is, to discover the secret sauce you have to look outside your zone of comfort, and not only look at different activities and communities, but also try to join in the experience.

The stunning beauty of Calas Galadhon is one of the treasures created by artists and great personal investments.

In my search for the secret sauce, I want to find activities and communities that bring people back again and again, that cause people to spend money. I’m going to start with the things I already am part of, shopping & fashion, the Bluesy community, Edo-era Japanese role play community, so forth. Hopefully, I know what it is about those things that bring me back again and again, then I’ll try moving to something new.

In addition to Mr. Humbles comments, a comment made by writer Tateru Nino in her “Second Life Diaries” post was my first revelation. Using humor, she  characterizes the situation in 2002 like this, “This is going to be great. The birds and snakes roaming the servers are awesome.” Maybe Tateru’s comment isn’t so funny if you don’t know software developers, but I can just picture everyone marvelling in the accomplishment. So, I tend to think the secret sauce of 2002 was a leaky but fascinating platform where a team of programmers worked and played. If you have a certain aptitude, that’s a fantastic world, the world of leading edge software development. But that’s not what Second Life was when I came in 2007, and it’s definitely not what it is today.

Ingredient #1: The Second Life secret sauce gets better with age!

So, I’ve begun. This series has been on my mind for some time. As with most things I do, this is a journey of discovery. It’s not about my life and my secret sauce, it’s about trying to understand the whole universe (joking); or maybe just Second Life.

more to come