I am a big fan of brand extension in new media. I believe that the synergies create advance the core value of the program or network brand and offers greater monetization opportunity. And while I frankly don't get Second Life as a stand alone social gateway, the Turner announcement intrigues me. And it was this quote in the article that made me think...“Through this opportunity, we hope to leverage the Kaneva platform to explore how users interact with our brands in a virtual world,” TBS vice president of new products Blake Lewin said, in a statement.
I can think of a number of interesting virtual worlds that a user might want to interact in; for TBS - walk in Seinfeld's apartment and Tom's Diner, hang out with the Ramones on Everybody Loves Raymond. For Cartoon Network, walk around Camp Lazlo, or for us old timers, hang out in Bedrock with the Flintstones. Applying a virtual world with social networking and popular entertainment is the key mash up approach to success. I look forward to what Turner and Kaneva have in store. It is these kinds of relationships that will make second life far more valuable in the new media space.
