I’ve had a growl or two of late about LL not engaging on all fronts vis-a-vis communications. Well, to strike a balance, it would appear that things are moving in some areas.

Yesterday we had the news – form Rodvik himself via his profile feed – that last names are set to return. Today, Hamlet Au has picked up on the fact that the much-loved strapline Your World, Your Imagination is back in elements of SL advertising – specifically the website splash screen (below – something I tend to miss as I rarely get pushed back further than the log-in screen when visiting the site) and a new promo video.

I’m not entirely sure about the descriptive text that’s paired with the strapline – “Play games with friends, role-play with vampires, shop for unique fashions”. All are true, but I can’t escape the feeling that the focus on vampires alone when it comes to mentioning role-play could be taken to mean that role-play in SL is “all about” vampire-related games and scenarios. Similarly, “play games with friends” is somewhat suggestive (to me) of a Facebook games environment, rather than anything remotely immersive. But then, I could be just nitpicking…

It’s certainly good to see Your World, Your Imagination back – and kudos to LL for returning to it; but let’s see something that goes with that that does more to present the broader canvas of SL. As a strapline, “Your world….” should be the gateway to a slew of creative ideas.

The new promo video, launched last week (with, dare I say, little or no fanfare) builds on the recent ad LL ran asking for people to star in a new promotional effort.

It’s a reasonable piece, clearly aimed at demonstrating there are “everyday people” involved in Second Life, rather than basement dwellers or other strange lifeforms sections of the media is given over to portraying as SL users. It’s certainly better than “Be your avatar”. But I’m still not convinced it actually gives any real feel for what SL represents. In this regard, I still maintain that the machinima community has a better handle on how to promote SL through this medium than LL or any PR company.

Taken together, the return of the strapline and the forthcoming return of last names does tend to show that LL are listening. Some might take these moves as being more superficial than a sign of anything deeper – and I personally would like to see more positive signs of engagement via the blog, etc (even leaving aside current forum efforts on the part of Community Manager Linden to start-up conversations, as pointed to by Ciaran Laval). But the fact that we are seeing the return of thing users have been requesting for a goodly while shouldn’t be dismissed outright.

One thing I am curious about as a result of these releases: back at SLCC 2011, Rodvik promised that towards the end of the year beginning of 2012 there will have a marketing campaign “of significant investment” to drive traffic into Second Life and hopefully towards SL merchants. I’m assuming the video and the return of the strapline is a part of this – but will we see any details as to how the campaign is to unfold? Any news at all on that front, LL? Any indications as to what we might be seeing and where we might see it?

(With thanks to Hamlet Au)