From February 11-13, Ashoka and The Lemelson Foundation, with support from Microsoft, brought together pioneers and thought leaders in the field of technology and invention for systemic social change.

Are you a social entrepreneur or the leader of a social venture, or do you know someone with a social venture that could benefit from capacity building, in-depth consultation on their business plan and mentoring by Santa Clara University faculty and Silicon Valley start-up veterans?

I wanted to let you all know about an online event that I am co-hosting this week with Paul Lamb from Man on a Mission Consulting.

Join the event: http://www.socialedge.org/Events/Workshops/86

Here is the announcement: 

Moving your social benefit organization to the world of Second Life

Join Paul Lamb, A Man on a Mission, known in Second Life as Jumper LeSuere (yes, that’s his avatar’s name).

Begun in 2003 by Linden Lab, Second Life is a 3-D virtual world with over 1 million registered users worldwide. Think of it as an online game that allows you to interact with others and move around and do things via your own online character (called an avatar).

Second Life has its own U.S. $64 Million annual economy, an independent media, its own currency, and a thriving virtual real estate market that allows you to purchase land and structures. It is reported that over 3,000 entrepreneurs are making more than U.S. $20,000 a year, selling not just real estate, but coding and distributing everything from clothes to body parts for your avatar in Second Life.

Last month Reuters news agency announced it would be setting up a news desk within Second Life to report specifically on the news there, and numerous universities and companies are conducting training courses and advertising in a world that is growing in population by 10-15% per month.

What does any of this have to do with the social sector? Well, you might just ask the American Cancer Society, who raised over $40,000 this past spring by conducting a virtual walkathon in Second Life.

Take a look at this brief You Tube video clip of a visit to Better World Island, where you will find Camp Darfur and other social benefit organizations. These organizations are interacting with online visitors to provide education, raise money and offering an alternative way for people to learn about their efforts, all online.

Joining Paul Lamb as a guest in the discussion will be Susan Tenby, Online Community Manager at TechSoup. Susan has taken the lead in involving her organization and in forming an ongoing nonprofit discussion group on Second Life. She is currently in discussions on an effort to setup a free nonprofit office complex, and is developing a directory and Frequently Asked Questions for nonprofit newcomers in Second Life.

Before joining the discussion, you might wish to checkout the Wikipedia description of Second Life or sign up on Second Life yourself and try it out. It’s free and just requires you to register for an account.

Here are some thoughts on how social benefit organizations might use Second Life:

• Setup a virtual office space to host online visitors who can learn about what your organization does through online hosts and interactive activities.

• Use the site to conduct trainings for staff or clients who cannot be physically present in your offices OR create a virtual office and forego a physical office altogether?

• Advertise your organization to the Second Life community – 1 million and growing.

• Raise money.

• Use Second Life as a place to foresee and experiment with what is not yet possible or doable in the real world.

Please let us know your own thoughts on Second Life and the social sector:

If new to Second Life feel free to ask questions… Don’t worry: it takes a little getting used to.

If you are an active Second Life user, share your ideas and experiences and tell us if Second Life represents a new opportunity for the social sector.