Philip at an SL anniversary. Now he's preparing to vacate his chair as CEO of LL.
Hat-tip to Robbie Kiama on Twitter for being the first I saw with that line, "Long Live the King," a play on the name of the new CEO as well.
Philip Rosedale has picked his successor in the job as CEO -- Mark Kingdon, formerly of Price Waterhouse Cooper, who will use the name "M Linden".
M as in Millenium? Or like some rap star?
In another scoop handled by Adam Reuters, instead of Eric Reuters who does all the work at the possibly-trade-mark-violating site of secondlife.reuters.com, M had something rather intriguing to say, that I think would be music to the ears of most businesses in SL:
“Maybe it was the right place but definitely the wrong time for most big brands,” Kingdon said. “I’d like to see a continuation and even acceleration of the incredible in-world development we’ve seen from engaged, highly participative residents. that will create the richness of experience and vibrant economy that’s so important. If there are companies that can participate in the organic growth of Second Life, it’s a great place for them.”
Well, how about that!
I think on the blog, Alf Lednev said it best:
"Congratulations to Mark. The wonderful vision of Philip’s has been lost in a sluggish, elitest, arrogant (non comunication) organisation that has to many geeks and not enough focus on listening and responding to paying customers.
When the competition comes, SL has a real risk of returning to its early days, a tiny world for the inbreeding geeks. The paying customers will simply walk.
Fix it or becoming history. Another brillant vision lost in the morass of bad business practices. Hint get a decent problem reporting system that the general paying public can understand and use. Staff it adequately and start acting.
Grid Stability is the catch cry, but the “proof of the pudding is in the eating”, and the Grid is NOT stable, and not just the Havoc project, thats one side of the coin, the whole Grid is abysmal. Fix it. Everything else is just moving the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Goodluck Mark, paying customers will vote by taking their real money out of your virtual world as soon as a viable alternative arrives."
Philip's introduction sounded predictably upbeat, although a tad bit hollow. He said that by advertising the need for a new CEO publicly, which apparently "just isn't done" in this Silicon Valley industry, he managed to find someone who both fit the job description and wished to pick up the phone and call and ask for the job. I would have loved to have seen the short list!
More than one big guy I talked to at VW08 said they wouldn't take the job precisely because it would involve still having Philip to deal with. "My ass isn't big enough to take Philip's hand up," said one qualified candidate.
Or to sit in Philip's chair -- which has involved presiding over the Largest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in the Metaverse, and hence the most ginormous open beta software project with the largest number of back-seat drivers in history.
One thing we do have to be worried about:
"Kingdon added that he plans to “magnify the very best” of Linden Lab’s quirky corporate culture, which currently allows employees to choose which projects they want to work on. That is, he didn't say he'd magnify THAT aspect -- that was Adam digging lol.
So...the Biltmore garage is the spot...but the $1000 grand we ain't got.
Fortunately, auctions on the mainland now have bidding opening only at $750.
