I’d become aware of Sand Castle Studios through my friendship with an associate of Sand Castle and through the Association of Virtual Worlds, where Gianna Borgnine and I first became acquainted. After exchanging wall postings there for several weeks and later in twitter, we were able to connect in Second Life recently for a conversation about her and Sand Castle Studios.
“Hello Nazz.” She said, as I rezzed into her office at the Sand Castle Studios headquarters. “Shall we sit?” She asked and then added, “It's nice to finally get together.”
We each took seats at the long glass conference table where we exchanged pleasantries and then I asked her, “Sand Castle is an interesting name for a company ...what's the genesis?”
“Actually, I would love to say we put lots and lots of thought in it, but ... really we liked the idea that SL is constantly changing and that what we develop here in this platform never stands still … where you can build anything … including fairy tales.”
“How long has Sand Castle been in operation?
“We started in October of 2007. I had recently left another company and decided to start my own. We barely had the building up and we had clients. It happened so fast, we never even had a grand opening party or an official launch date.” She replied and then laughed.
“What was it that bought you into SL and why did you stay?
“Originally someone recommended it to me … more as a social place. Then I saw an article about it in Time magazine. It made it sound very interesting ... a virtual world where you could explore places, meet people, create things.” She replied and then added. “Of course the first thing I wanted to do was buy everything! Then I thought, maybe Gianna needed a job.”
“What was your first job?”
“I looked for what was available and many of the posting were in the "adult" field. I wasn't too interested in that. I did eventually get my first job working as a live in landlord overseeing what the builder/owner referred to as a battered woman's shelter. He said he wanted to make a safe haven for woman to feel safe in SL when some did not at home. The position was slightly overwhelming, even given my RL experience, and I shortly after took a job with a man starting a graphic design studio. Then I got into this field, and have been here doing it ever since. It is now my full time RL job as well … completely changed my life.”
“What was your RL experience if I may ask?”
“I have a BA in psychology and one in criminal justice. I did some counseling and eventually took a job as a Probation/Parole officer for offenders on Home Confinement. It came with quite a bit of counseling as well as law enforcement.” She replied, than added. “It was nice to get to use a different piece of my psychology degree for marketing in SL. I wanted it to be lighter than RL … more upbeat.”
“Isn't psychology and marketing the same field?”
“It certainly hasn't hurt our company any.” She replied and laughed.
“Sand Castle is your full time job now ... how has business been in these uncertain economic times?
“Believe it or not, business has been better than ever. We hit a slow patch in December and I was worried that the economy was taking its toll ... but I think the holidays were stressful for many people. Since, it has been great and is full force! I think in these times where many people have to choose their brand strategy/marketing wisely, SL is a great way to advertise and build a community around your brand. It's very cost efficient when done correctly.”
“Reading through the SCS list of service offerings ... marketing and branding has been in the forefront of the surge then?” I asked
“Yes, very much so. With many of those, we get to do amazing building jobs and we have such a great team that has really been up to the challenge. In my opinion, the potential of virtual worlds is still largely untapped. But the opportunities to create emotional connections with brands through truly interactive experiences are there. We get to allow companies to build communities that tell their stories through interactive experiences based on the emotions underlying their brand which in turn allows them the opportunity to develop connections with their customers in a truly unique way that you just can't achieve by simply advertising at them.”
“I've always thought that was a component of SL most major corporations missed ... tell me a little about VESIM/NESIM technology, is it proprietary?”
“Almost all major brands have completely missed that. We are hoping to change that.” She replied and then continued. “Our VESIM/NESIM technology doesn't truly belong to just us. We were approached not long after opening by a long time friend and business associate of mine who happens to be a nursing instructor in RL. He was looking to develop something unique to use with his students in SL. He had also met another instructor looking for the same thing. They couldn't find anything truly interactive for their students in SL. We met and discussed his vision and how we might change that. We made it mostly as a BETA to test the concept which was very successful. We do have several schools trying NESIM and providing us feedback and we are still working on it with someone who is truly dedicated to Nursing Education in virtual worlds to take the concept further. NESIM stands for Nursing Education Simulation and VESIM is Virtual Education Simulation as we were approached by many fields looking to create something interactive and educational for their students as well. I can't say much about what we are currently working on in this area due to the NDAs involved but I will say we are trying to make it as easy as possible for students to come in world and use the technology without much exposure to SL.”
“Any closing thoughts you'd like to share with my readers?”
“Hmm ... Whether it’s with us, or with another company, or own your own, don't forget the imagination you had as a child. If you can dream it, you can create it.” She replied.
