This weekend it appears Linden Lab are bringing in new residents through the new Welcome Island in Second Life when using the default Second Life viewer. For many years when new residents join they go through Learning Island and then the Social Island. The new user experience has been completely been revamped with a new layout and a new Welcome Island Guidebook.
I decided to join Second Life today under a new account and see if the lab have started to roll out the new user experience. I was amazed to arrive at the new Welcome Island as I thought it was still being tested / QA.
Welcome Island is open to new residents joining Second Life. The Welcome Back Island appears to be open to the public which is the same layout as the Welcome Island is. I would imagine in the weeks or months ahead the lab will add a whole lot more Welcome Islands on the grid. Keep a look out just in case.
Once new residents log into Second Life they will now arrive at this starting point on the new Welcome Island. The new Welcome Island Guidebook will appear on screen where they can get started going through the basics of Second Life. The Welcome Island is split into many areas with free gifts, seating areas including a new bar and more. See the snapshots below.
I have to say the Welcome Island new user experience is alright compared with previous versions of the new user experience the lab have rolled out. This version is faster for sure and is mainly focused on the new Welcome Island Guidebook rather then going through different physical tutorials.
I just wonder how many new residents will stay with Second Life after finishing this new Welcome Island. I think that more improvements could be done like more tutorials to interact with, a huge map of Second Life with key landmarks to visit, support resources and more.
Let me know what you think of this new Welcome Island experience in comments.
Daniel Voyager 