A few weeks ago, Om Malik did a highly unscientific graphic comparison of second life and real life. Well, real life sucks, and it is in the after life where harems of virgins await us. (...await the virtuous men. Who knows what women want?) So for round two, we do a highly scientific graphic comparison between second life and the after life.

Calibration - after life vs. afterlife

This calibration comparison shows that though after life is more popular than afterlife globally, both are highly correlated, so we can choose either one. We pick the stronger term for final combat.

Calibration - second life vs. secondlife

secondlife emerges as a search trend at the end of Q1 2005. At the same time, second life starts trending up from its previously stable baseline. The MMO game is finally garnering attention eighteen months after its October 2003 debut. second life is the far stronger and more dynamic signal so we choose that for final combat.

Conclusion - after life vs. second life

after life quietly owns second life in the big hive mind until the beginning of 2006. After three months of fermentation, second life waves goodbye to the virgins and hello to the world.