Wondering how much Second Life sites are represented in the dmoz listing aka open project directory - I had to be there for other reasons - I went to Google’s Directory. To my surprise, the open project directory and thus also Google says that there exist only 50 sites on Second Life?!? That few, you say? Yes, indeed, there are more: I forgot the mention the 18 corporations and the 4 that handle on subjects such as FAQ, tutorials and Help.

In the Google Directory, where the dmoz listings are ranked according to pagerank, I’m in the top 20. Woot! Although with only 74 sites, that might not be such an enormous achievement. ;)

What surprises me most though, is that under the ‘Corporate’ listings no such companies as Rivers Run Red, The Electric Sheep, Crayon, etc can be found. Those ‘Second Life devoloping’ companies constantly tell us that web 2.0 and the internet highway - be it the virtual reality part of that road or not - is the route to take to business and marketing succes. Yet, they themselves fail at the basic duty of submitting their websites to what is to be become the yellow and white pages of our so-called digital future. Also the SL Bloggers are hardly represented in the listings.

What is dmoz, you say?

The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as dmoz (from directory.mozilla.org, its original domain name), is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links owned by Netscape that is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors.

ODP uses a hierarchical ontology scheme for organizing site listings. Listings on a similar topic are grouped into categories, which can then include smaller categories. ODP data powers the core directory services for many of the Web’s largest search engines and portals, including NetscapeAOL Search, Google, and Alexa. As of September 8, 2006 the ODP listed 313 English-language Web sites that use ODP data as well as 238 sites in other languages.[7] However these figures do not reflect the full picture of use, as those sites which use ODP data without following the terms of the ODP license are not listed.

I want to be listed on dmoz too!

As more and more search engines and other traffic generators are trusting on the OPD database, I can understand. So now you’ve decided to spend half a minute of your time on submitting your site to dmoz, how do you do that?

1. Check if you’re not already listed on dmoz by searching your site on dmoz.org. If it’s already there, well, you’re done submitting. If not, proceed to step two.
2. Find the appropriate category to submit your site to. If you are reading this article, that is most probably Computers: Virtual Reality: Multi-Users Systems: Second Life. If you are Natalia Zelmanov you might want to go with ‘tutorials’ as subcategory, and if you run some kind of Second Life business or RL to SL business you go with the ‘companies’ subcategory. For the Frenchies, Dutchies, Germanies, Spaniesh and Italiesh, if you have a website regarding Second Life in your native language, you can drop the site in those sub categories.
3. Find the ’suggest URL’ button on the appropriate category page. Or for the lazy ones that want to quick-submit, press here.
4. Fill in data, read the guidelines, fill in some more data, decipher captcha, fail at that, refresh page, fill in captcha, et voila… it’s done.
5. Await inclusion in the open directory.

Top-5 of Shame for not submitting to dmoz

Really, if you preach new media, you should have snapped away from SLex - or PS -, lifted the lazy metaversed ass and submitted the website!

1. Metaversed - ahead of the virtual curve? u’re sure of that?
2. Zoe Connolly - SL bloggers powerhorse, needs presence on dmoz.
3. planet.worldofsl.com - Now, really?!
4. The Electric Sheep Company - Half-guilty only, OnRez is listed.

The honorable mention for not being listed goes to Prokofy Neva.

Smart Submitters

If I already knew of the existence of these sites or projects, they get an asterix. If for any reason I dislike them, they get a strike trough. Listings ranked according to Google Pagerank.

Second Life companies

1. Reuters - http://secondlife.reuters.com/ *
   Company portal. Offers news, videos about first and second life news and statistics from their island.
2. Vstex - http://www.vstex.net
   Offers scripting and stock exchange services.
3. Advanced Virtual - http://www.advancedvirtual.com
   Provides strategic consulting and practical resources to corporate and academic clients setting up a presence in the game.
4. Trade Lindens - http://www.tradelindens.com
   Offers to buy and sell linden dollars. Funds delivered in game within 15 minutes.
5. Meme Science LLC - http://www.memescience.com
   Development firm that provides metaverse building and scripting services and metaverse statistics with an emphasis in the Second Life Platform.
6. Isle of Wyrms - http://www.isleofwyrms.com/ *
   Offers to adopt a dragon and follow it from the birth to the grown age.
7. Nb Horizons - http://www.nbhorizons.com
   Offers a service to businesses and organisations that wish to create a corporate presence within the game.
8. Hosoi Estates - http://www.sl-estates.com/
   Offering design and building services for businesses in-world. Includes client list, products available and company profile.
9. Citrus Virtual Ltd - http://www.citrusvirtual.com/
   Content design and creation consultancy for the game. Offers to design uniques virtual environments.
10. Terra Bella - http://www.terrabella.co.uk
    Offers custom terraforming, design services and ready-made raw terrain files.
11. Ikon Metaverse - http://www.ikonislands.com
    Provides islands to rent for personal or business use.
12. Blue Fusion - http://www.bluefusionsl.com
    Jazz club. Promote artists and music in the game.
13. Phillip Stonewall - http://phillip-stonewall.de/
    Escort and architect. Presentation of its realizations.
14. Luna Bliss - http://www.lunabliss.us/
    Offers design and sim building services. Information, projects and contact.
15. TheSLAgency - http://www.theslagency.com/
    Offers in-world brand marketing and event planning services. Includes services, portfolio, and press.
16. SL Realty - http://www.asecond-life.com
    Helps peoples to find a land to buy or rent in the game.
17. Devonshire Designz - http://www.devonshiredesignz.com
    Offers to establish presence to companies and individuals in the game. Sells custom products for Second Life to assist residents in creating an individualized online presence.
18. Subscribe O Matic - http://www.subscribeomatic.com *
    Provides an alternative to advertising with in-world group notices.

Second Life general

1. Second Life - http://www.secondlife.com/ *
   Official website. Provides an online society within a 3D world, where users can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy.
2. Linden Lab - http://www.lindenlab.com/ *
   Game’s editor. Presentation and news.
3. SLurl - http://slurl.com/ *
   Offers to create direct links to any place in the game.
4. Linden Blog - http://blog.secondlife.com/ *
   Includes news and tips for the game.
5. Wikipedia: Second Life - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life *
   Includes technical information, history and explanations about how the game functions.
6. Second Life Herald - http://www.secondlifeherald.com/ *
   Presents the game’s events, news and author’s tips.
7. New World Notes - http://nwn.blogs.com/ *
   Blogging the news from SL by Wagner James Au.
8. Second Life Grid - http://secondlifegrid.net/ *
   Describing the technology platform that underlies the virtual world, intended for corporate uses.
9. Second Life Insider - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/ *
   Weblog with news and tips about both the players and the game.
10. B.Places - http://b-places.com/
    Offers to vote for favorite places in the game. Provides SLurls towards these places and HUDs to travel between b.places.
11. SL Exchange - http://www.slexchange.com *
    Sells objects, clothes and others things used in the game.
12. Gwyn’s Home - http://gwynethllewelyn.net/ *
    A weblog about the game’s news and essays on socio-economic issues.
13. Lib Second Life - http://www.libsecondlife.org/ *
    Project trying to understand the game from a technical aspect.
14. Second Life Liberation Army - http://secondlla.googlepages.com/ *
    Movement for national liberation of the game. Want to establish political rights in it.
15. Vintfalken - http://www.vintfalken.com *
    Offers news from the game focused on snapshotting, designing and building.
16. Starting a Second Life Business - Entrepreneur.com http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article172768.html
    Article by Laura Tiffany about the entrepreneurial opportunities that the world has to offer
17. OnRez - http://www.onrez.com *
    Online market for resident created products. Offers free Second Life viewer, free product listing, forum, and blog.
18. Second Life Project - http://www.secondlifeproject.com
    Provides a collection of tools to build and manage projects in the game.
19. Second Life Cable Network - http://www.slcn.tv/ *
    Virtual television delivering video clips of live events that occurred in-world.
20. Second Life Videos - http://www.secondlifevideo.com/
    Provides a directory of movies shot in the game or about it.
21. Squawk Nest - http://www.squawknest.com/
    Offers a directory of good places to visit.
22. Avimator - http://www.avimator.com
    Offers an open source tool to create and edit avatar animations.
23. Phasing Grace - http://phasinggrace.blogspot.com/ *
    Includes perspectives on the trends, culture, technology and user experience within the game.
24. SLQuery - http://www.slquery.com/
    Provides an in-game search engine for objects and places.
25. SLProfiles - http://www.slprofiles.com *
    Second Life online community for all residents. Provides help, blogs, forums, and product listings. A place to meet an establish online friendships and associations.
26. My Second Life - http://www.mysecondlife.com
    Provides a list of locations to see.
27. Supercharge - http://blog.veyronsupercharge.com/ *
    Weblog offering news and information about the game.
28. SLTweets - http://www.sltweets.com *
    Enables researchers to add notes to places in the game and share them with others users.
29. SLFinances - http://slfinances.net
    Provides a wiki about businesses exchanges in the game.
30. Dryesha - http://www.dryesha.com
    A blog by Dr Yesha Sivan that explores and shapes the space between the metaverse and the realverse. Provides links to news about the game.
31. TinySL - http://www.tinysl.com *
    Offers to compress slurls into short web addresses.
32. Prim Perfect - http://www.primperfect.net/ *
    Web magazine and weblog focusing on design of homes, furniture, gardens and landscapes.
33. Kami Harbinger - http://kamiharbinger.com/ *
    Weblog with social and technical commentaries.
34. SL Account - http://www.sl-account.com
    Offers an in-game transactions history tool.
35. Open Metaverse - http://www.openmetaverse.org/ *
    Provides an open source server simulator. [Pre-alpha]
36. Vam TV - http://www.vamtv.com
    Provides an online tv about the game and its news.
37. SLRepublicans - http://slrepublicans.blogspot.com/
    Weblog of the american republicans. Offers news and opinions about the game.
38. Second Life Update - http://www.secondlifeupdate.com
    Blog about experiences and technology in the game.
39. Iceberg Outpost - http://www.secondlifeiceberg.com/
    Floating iceberg off the mainland in the game. Offers a nightclub and a store.
40. Apez - http://www.apez.biz/
    Sells Second Life products, financial services, leasing, and banking services, all related to Second Life residents.
41. Second Life Music forum - http://www.secondlife-music.eu
    Information about music and streaming in the game. Free registration, forum, and chat.
42. Shadow Consumer - http://www.shadowconsumer.com
    Explores economic concepts of the shadow consumer, metaverses, 3D worlds, and features slideshows on education using virtual worlds.
43. sl2go - http://www.sl2go.com/ *
    Provides a directory of places including pictures, descriptions and direct links.
44. Wicked Toast - http://www.wickedtoast.com/article.php?id=108
    Review, with screen shots. Score: 4 out of 5.
45. ShinyLife - http://shiny-life.com
    Offers tutorials, free tools, artist exhibits, videos and events in Second Life.
46. Apolon Online - http://www.apolon-online.com
    Motorized creation in Second Life. Lists slurls, links, and support pertaining to products.
47. Gogolita - http://www.gogolita.com
    News, photos, and feedback about the game.
48. My Freels - http://neograph734.awardspace.com/
    Offers 8 ways to make money in the game.
49. The Seventh Sun - http://www.theseventhsun.com
    Monthly paper providing coverage of issues, technologies, and culture.
50. Pretty Str8 Forward - http://prettystr8forward.blogspot.com/
    Fashion blog covering new releases, product reviews, fashion related events and contests, appearance tips and tricks, discounts and freebie notices

Second Life tutorials, faq and help

1. Second Life Resources - http://www.2lifeblog.com *
   Offers resources, scripting guide and tutorials.
2. SLTutorials - http://www.sltutorials.net *
   Offers tutorials and help for new players.
3. SLBuilding - http://www.slbuilding.com/
   Offers tutorials and information to create objects in the game.
4. Sam’s life in Lost Gardens - http://saminlostgarden.free.fr
   Offers news and tips about the game.

Tags: dmoz, second life, sl blogs, web resources

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