Write-up in the LA Times says Virtual Marketers are rethinking their position on whether Second Life is worth the time and money required to have an SL presence, one of the main reasons cited, is it’s a virtual world, duh huh, where nothing is really required, even clothing is optional.

Their interests seem to tend toward the risqué. Ian Schafer, chief executive of online marketing firm Deep Focus, which advises clients about entering virtual worlds, said he recently toured Second Life. He started at the Aloft hotel and found it empty. He moved on to casinos, brothels and strip clubs, and they were packed. Schafer said he found in his research that “one of the most frequently purchased items in Second Life is genitalia.”

Another problem for some is that Second Life doesn’t have enough active residents.

On its website, Second Life says the number of total residents is more than 8 million. But that counts people who signed in once and never returned, as well as multiple avatars for individual residents. Even at peak times, only about 30,000 to 40,000 users are logged on, said Brian Haven, an analyst with Forrester Research.

“You’re talking about a much smaller audience than advertisers are used to reaching,” Haven said. Source: Virtual marketers have second thoughts about Second Life

Lots of money is being spent from people buying Islands and building shops, clubs, and attractions to get the visitors there buying stuff. Everywhere you look, stuff is for sale, anything imaginable, heck, I tried out a sex bed in the store the other night, no we weren’t actually doing anything, just checking the various features out. That is another problem with Second Life, most places you go there is hardly anyone there, unless it’s a club, casino or brothel, you browse most shops by yourself or with the avatars you brought with you.

Some businesses are already shutting down, Aloft, a brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. that is closing its Second Life shop and donating its virtual land to the nonprofit social-networking group TakingITGlobal, Signs posted on the window of the empty American Apparel store said it had closed up shop.

But the sites of many companies remaining in Second Life are empty any time you go there, like Best Buy Co.’s Geek Squad Island was devoid of visitors and the virtual staff that was supposed to be online, the schedule of events on Sun Microsystems Inc.’s site was blank, and the green landscape of Dell Island was deserted. Most people blame the lack of creativity on these sites as being the main problem, and one such person, an avatar named Urizenus Sklar — in the real world, University of Toronto philosophy professor Peter Ludlow — wrote in the public-relations blog Strumpette that the community was “being invaded by an army of old world meat-space corporations.” He and other residents accused companies of lacking creativity by setting up traditional-looking stores that didn’t fit in. His column was reproduced in the Second Life Herald.

There is lots of money to be made with Second Life, and like anything else, there will be some people who make it hard for everyone else. They want it all to themselves before the bottom falls. If, you haven’t already, signup for a free account at Second Life, signup at SL Exchange, get you a good looking outfit and shoes, and do some exploring, there are some really cool spots out there just waiting for people to come use them. You need to visit some of them quick before they sell the space or stop renting.

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