Linda Zimmer over on Business Communicators of Second Life posted a blog back in Feb that I forgot to mention. It was on research being conducted on the psychographics and media usage of Second Life avatars and their owners is being released by research company, Market Truths on March 7.

Being busy at the time, I could not check in but remembered it today. I read through the outline doc on the research and it looks very interesting to me — and the price of $200US is not to pricey.

Here is the outline:

Psychographic Segments and Media Consumption (Q1 2008)

Mar 2008

“Psychographics” is a term used to refer to characteristics such as values, interests, and personality. Psychographics are used to inform a variety of marketing decisions, such as target market selection and development of promotional messages, because psychographics tend to be better predictors of attitudes and behaviors related to products and services than demographics such as age, gender, etc. are.

This report compares US Second Life (SL) participants to international SL participants and to the US general population in terms of their psychographics and use of twenty-five different types of traditional and new media. It also describes psychographic segments that are present within SL and the general population and explains how the distribution of those segments varies between international SL participants, US SL participants, and the general population in the US. In addition to describing the characteristics of each segment, the report also compares and contrasts media use by segment.

Second Life price: L$25000 (Research Panel members: L$24000)

Real life price: US$200

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Key Points
• Introduction to the Psychographic Segments
  • Characteristics Used to Form Segments
  • Segment Descriptions
• Segment Composition and Distribution
  • Second Life Versus the General Population
  • SL Participants From the US Versus Those From Other Countries
  • Demographic Differences
• The Segments in SL
  • SL Age Differences
  • Hours in SL
  • How and Why SL is Used
• Media Consumption
  • Online and Other Computer-Based Media
  • Audio
  • Video
  • Print (and Electronic Version of Print Publications)
  • Mobiles and Handheld Devices
  • Summary of Usage Differences
  • Media that Complements and Competes With SL for User Time
• Marketing Implications
  • Globalization
  • The Attraction of Digital Media
  • Reaching Target Markets Within SL
  • Tailoring Interaction and Messages for Specific Segments Within SL
  • Integrating SL and Other Media
• Appendix A: Methodology
• Statistical End-Notes