"Comcastic"!?! Get a life...

I have yet to succumb to, or even sample, the whole Second Life thing, which seemed to be all the rage about three months ago. But it would seem the Jump the Shark moment has already arrived. Yes, there was much dither a few months ago about Second Life iterations becoming a "new revenue stream" and product-placement promo platform for nets and studios, yada yada yada. But you know that all of the cool has rushed out of a thing when it's being adapted purely for corporate-branding branding purposes. "Comcastic Island" (pictured above) as a Second Life prospect!?! Good grief. Per the press release heralding this example of cable biz marketing savvy: "Comcastic Island extends Comcast's award-winning marketing initiatives to the rapidly expanding virtual-world environment. The island features a collection of 'speed'-themed entertainment experiences designed to illustrate the benefits of Comcast's high-speed Internet service. Second Life residents can compete against their friends-or their own best times-in several venues" such as a custom race track, jet ski track, etc. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing you can go suit up with the (Comcast-owned) Philadelphia 76ers, perhaps even rap (or scrap?) a bit with Allen Iverson. With apologies to the Roberts clan and Comcast, a company well-regarded as best-of-breed in the cable biz, it's all over when the Next Big Thing goes "Comcastic!"