You Can Do Anything vs. It's Just Too Hard!

Talk about selective reading.

My point is that there are two ways of looking at business and business policy in Second Life. I have neither the desire nor the energy to categorize the sorts of people who use Second Life.



Brilliantly stated!

but my question is: why is SL all about being in business or playing entrepreneur? I don't see that as a recipe for LL success.




lol jake, you used the word "doubled", so the mind just followed the trajectory of that thought... I wasn't so much talking about runaway inflation for your sake, however, since you already know this, but for those reading that haven't thought about that angle. Of course, statements like that are why prok calls me arrogant



lord i couldn't agree with you more



BS

I'm lazy.

As they probably should be, handouts, economy, or not.



Puritan work ethic my ass. We make Luskwood the best it can be because we want it to be the best it can be. No, we don't pump out avatars as fast as some other people. It's not a wake-up-at-the-crackadawn work ethic sort of thing.

It seems that those who consider themselves "lazy and talentless" seem to think that those who have "talents and skills" can just do amazing things without doing any work. Having a talent doesn't mean you can utilize that talent as easy as breathing. It all takes a hell of a lot of work and refinement.

I've had people who *really don't understand* that talk to me about how, say, someone stealing our work on avatars isn't a big deal because av making comes so *easy* to us. Bullshit. It's ALWAYS a lot of work.

But then, I've also spoken to people whose *lifelong goal* is to be able to sit on the couch in sweatpants and watch TV all day. That would be the pinnacle, for them. Seems that some in this discussion fall into this category.

But for some others still, it isn't about "puritan work ethic". It's about being truly proud of what you do. That isn't just work for the sake of work. Wonder if you've ever felt that?



...OK, then I suppose you haven't. Well, you gotta be proud of something, and if your battle cry is that of the lazy and talentless, more power to you.

Keep on reaching for the stars, Jake.

In some cases, a lot probably, laziness in SL can be attributed to a busy 1st life job. Or busy 1st life period. I know for a fact that Jake is a lawyer. So let's just remind ourselves that we're talking about "SL laziness" here and nothing else. What a person does or doesn't do in SL doesn't necessarily reflect on them as real people.

I like hearing success stories of coming from the ghettos and rising to the top like cream of the crop.

More like Judge Mathis in SL.

You: we need like a Hustlah Linden
You: who is a bling bling dollah man

I'm pretty damn lazy in RL but not as much in SL ...

Probably should be the other way around, ya?

It's okeydoke to be lazy!

I'm a lazybeck.

DRUNKEN MASTER STYLEE!

More than that, we are talking about expectations. SL is, for most people, recreation. Being lazy in SL is completely fine. Being lazy in SL while expecting the same benefits afforded to those who are NOT lazy in SL is unreasonable (and people should know, never really possible).

On one extreme you have a system that greatly rewards hard working content creators while leaving the exchange of RL money to SL money the only option for those who don't want to produce in SL. The result would be the production of a high quality virtual world, but the departure of users that don't want to produce OR spend RL money to have a good time.

On the other extreme you have a system where economic success is doled out evenly with little regard to effort. The result would be that SL's talent would seek opportunities elsewhere (by either bypassing SL's redistributive economic system in favor of RL money or just finding other platforms), The rest of the population would be able to "play successful."

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. I don't feel the need to hit Jake with hyperbole, he has a grip that we need to find the sweet spot on the continuum. My opinion differs from his in my belief that the sweet spot will be found closer to favoring content creation.

Let me clarify my position a bit, then.

One BIG problem that SL has is that, as the economy grows, the standard of living for all doesn't rise because SL doesn't have inheritance. In the real world, the poorest are less poor than they were fifty years ago; in SL newbies are worse off because the "average" standard they're being compared to by the non-newbie population has risen and, if they do want to try and make money, it's become harder to compete.

As others have pointed out, SL is a choice. Unlike RL, if you don't like SL you can quit. As the amount of "work" required to reach the minimum standard increases, the number of people who are prepared to do it will drop. Without them, SL's numbers will peak and the customers for all the businesses will be gone.

The idea that it "you can do anything" is no less deluded than that it's impossible to succeed through work. Capitalism requires some people to fail, because it requires unequal income levels. If all of the failures quit, it starts to break down.

Well, why do the majority of people play online games if not to get to "play successful"?

And that's the problem. It's impossible to "play successful" in SL. And maybe that makes it a little too close to reality for some people. I'd worry that the casual player would drop SL because of it. You have people who say "let 'em go". I tend to think finding a way to retain them, make their virtual dreams come true, while also encouraging content creation is maybe the "sweet spot" Aimee is talking about.

I guess this is evidenced in the weapon/nuke you made that was referenced in a post I was looking at earlier in the week, blaze?

The great news about that is that you don't have to eat or have shelter in Second Life. You also have a first life in which you have all the benefits of inheritance and can convert some real cash into L$. I'm also not sure why it's harder to compete. Because of the loss of first-mover advantage? Big whoop, Google has the greatest percentage of searches today and it came to the game very, very late. It's incumbent upon the entrepreneur to create opportunities and distinguish his product so as to create inroads to entrenched marketshare. Is the US Government supposed to subsidize my MP3 player business so I can take on Apple?



Your "minimum standard" is a fallacy. There is no need to eat. Everything anyone "needs" in SL is given for free or can be made with minimal cost (upload fees). Everything beyond that is a luxury. A luxury for which there exists a dramatic market, as noted by the strong L$ to US$ exchange we're currently seeing.



Wasted potential is not the same thing as no potential. A rubber ball can fall on the floor, but it won't if you catch it. That people fail is not a function of their lacking the ability to succeed, but a function of their lacking the will to pursue success.

Funny. I was thinking exactly the same thing when I read that post!

Yes and no. You can discover hidden talents. But to enable that, it's necessary to make sure that it's by doing that work that people can succeed. To make sure that people won't get all excited at building stuff that perhaps is good and valuable, and then have it fail because they don't have business skills or know how to market.

As it is, though, the bar is rising fast. Aimee had to work hard, and be talented, to succeed - but anyone who wants to succeed now has to do even more, because they have to compete with her. If people can't get on and feel a bit more successful, they won't want to play. If succeeding in SL is as hard as succeeding in RL, why pick SL to try and succeed in?

Everyone - EVERYONE - I've talked to has considered converting real cash into L$ for reasons other than buying something that's obviously meant to be bought with US$ (like custom items or land) to be "admitting defeat". No-one wants to admit they're a loser.



It also had a revolutionary new method for doing searches. SL's engine is limited. It can only take so many revolutions.



SL itself is a luxury. A person who spends time running SL is doing it to enjoy a luxury. As a result, they're going to expect luxury-level entertainment. Nobody wants to play Sim Loser.



No - due to the fact they lacked that will, they couldn't have succeeded. It isn't like they made a free choice not to have the will, after all.

Thinking too much about "competition", especially with certain established individuals, can make things really depressing! Psychologically it is stressful. Using the example of Aimee, there is no better Aimee than Aimee. So trying to compete and out-*PREEN* her is a lose-lose situation.

Be yourself and do your own thing. Fill a hole that is empty. There are TONS of niches I see in SL that are unfulfilled... I'm waiting for the right people to come into SL and do them, and I'll jump up in their faces with many congratulations when each of those times does come.

Embrace the lateral. When so many people are walking forward, walk diagonally.

Those who think they can and those who think they can't, are both right.

O

Dear Mr. or Mrs Torley,

Don't be so sure of that.

Sincerely,
Amy Weebler

First of all, it's nothing about what I'm trying to do. I wouldn't be interested in that field anyway.

However, although there are "unfulfilled, lateral niches" - at the end of the day, EVERYONE is competing because everything is based on the same thing: L$. It's not just a case of "you can't out-preen Aimee"; it's a case of "are people going to want your funky new gadget instead of one of Aimee's outfits"?

Speaking of... to use a specific example... there are a lotta otaku (I use this in a broad sense) in SL but not enough Japanese and anime content to satisfy them. Some of the names I've got my eye on include—but are not limited to—Mustelid Carnot, Compulsion Overdrive, Anisa Naumova, IZOU Roo (who has a watermelon in his profile piccie I might add), Pique Flan, and MORE! I'm always thrilled to find more quality in quantity by nice people.

With Jpn. grid expansion on the way and greater internationalization in general, including many appreciators of this in the US of A, this will continue to grow. Content created especially in SL and perhaps inspired or influenced but not directly copied from preexisting designs will be increasingly valued—that's also meant generally.

It will be like Enigmatic Lia for Second Life.

ABSOLUTELY!... which is why it's great to have so many people self-improving! C'EST FANTASTIQUE!

I had a chat with Rathe Underthorn, if someone was gonna make a competitor to ROAM REGIONS

and he said... he already knows of some that are being developed, but all the better, 'cuz that'll prod him to make ROAM REGIONS even BETTAH!

I find this exciting, when humans can motivate each other.

Sage.

I recommend to read Norman Vincent Peale's Enthusiasm Makes The Difference.

At one point in my life when I was suicidal, it made a big difference. It wasn't the only factor, by any means, but a big difference it did make.