SL in Newsweek 10/16

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9629835/site/newsweek/

The Net: How Much for a Jetpack?
Newsweek

OCt. 17, 2005 issue - If the managers and residents of the online virtual world Second Life agree on anything, it's this: don't call it a game. Second Life is the Internet's purest embodiment of science-fiction author Neal Stephenson's vision of the "Metaverse," a parallel online universe where residents wander around as animated avatars and interact with one another. Think of Second Life as a 3-D eBay. All the occupants look like characters from "Shrek" and conduct business with a currency, the Linden dollar, that's convertible into real U.S. greenbacks on Web-based currency exchanges. Everything users create in the world (at secondlife.com) is theirs to sell or barter. Medford, Ore., single mom Munchflower Zaius, for example, designs decorative cyberclothes and skins and makes a high five-figure income selling them to Second Life citizens. "I put in a 40-hour week," says Zaius, who is so famous in the virtual world she prefers to use her Second Life name and keep her real name private. "I have fun, but for the most part, it's become a full-time job."

Second Life has become something else, too—the Net's fastest-growing virtual world, with a robust marketplace whose dynamics mimic the vicissitudes of a real national economy. Sixty thousand residents conduct 50,000 trans-actions per day on the service, spending the equivalent of about $2 million U.S. dollars per month on things ranging from beachfront property to sunglasses to personal jetpacks. Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, the San Francisco company that runs Second Life, has faced such real-world headaches as a tax revolt (Lifers hoisted boxes of Linden tea into a virtual Boston harbor to protest membership fees) and steady inflation, which is damaging for residents like Zaius who depend on a stable Linden dollar for their livelihoods.

But with help from the bankers and venture capitalists who invested in his company, the 37-year-old Rosedale is now trying to stabilize his currency—with some unintended consequences. In August, with the Linden dollar down about 25 percent on the year against the U.S. dollar, he reduced the weekly stipend given to paying members of the service in an effort to tighten the money supply. Last week, trying to improve economic efficiency and reduce fraud, he opened Linden's own currency exchange, the LindeX, forcing the closure of a popular private exchange that operated on a separate Web site. Like a surprise announcement from Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, the move had an immediate effect. The value of the Linden dollar first shot downward as panicked residents rushed to convert into U.S. dollars, but later began to rise for the first time in months in a dramatic show of confidence. Such authentic economic turbulence actually seems to please Rosedale. "I'm not building a game," he says. "I'm building a country."

—Brad Stone

Heavy Weaver strikes again!

I'll let that hang in the air for a moment, for those debating this subject about a week ago.

What did I tell you? Expect this quote to be pulled out in future virtual-world political discussions.

EDIT: Jeffrey already beat me to the quote.

~Ulrika~

From: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5890497.html



And this is why I love contradictions!

What's interesting is, that Robin's statement not only contradicts Philip's statement but is self-contradictory in and of itself.

To paraphrase, she states that they are avoiding labels that bring about the expectation that the Lindens will provide in-world policing or government, however the community standards which are supposed to be an example of users policing themselves are in fact set and enforced by the Lindens. Were this not the case, we would have player-implemented policing and government, which we certainly do not have (except in Neualtenburg).

I find it supremely amusing that our policing and governing body is actively denying terms which create an expectation of policing and governance. It explains much.

~Ulrika~

Philip gives good sound bite; Robin gets to come in later and sternly explain/clarify official policy. It's a sort of "Good Linden-Bad Linden" roleplaying thing.

Or a visionary Linden, self-contradictory Linden thing.

~Ulrika~

Or konfooshun. Or anRkey.

Or konfushun. Or anRkee.

Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. Oh but if I went 'round sayin' I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away.

Could this guy possibly believe himself?

Wha? I don't like like a character from Shrek! And this isn't anything remotely like e-bay.

i agree with you but to the avrage person reading news week i think its a good description.

as mny of you may have found when talking to people in real life its not easy to describe second life in a way they can understand.

Yep, as I believed. Its the skinmakers who make the big bucks.
Definetly need to start withchunting these instead of landbarons, since they are those whoring the game most. The jelousy of people have all this time been pointed to the wrong profession.
I will open a school, where people will be retrained to take all the bitching, dirt throwing and negative attitude against skin makers ( those lazy bones who only work 40h/week and make 5 numbered sums) and away from landbarons ( who work 110+h /week and make maybe if lucky make a 4 digit number).

Just imagine if people like " well cannot name, but you know" , could be retrained. Would only be one week and SL would be skinless ......

According to what I 'm pretty SURE he said at the State of Play (I watched some of it), he also believes that loss of reputation is enough to prevent much of any problem with a businessperson making off with other people's Lindens in SL, thus abrogating any need for government, law and punishment, knowledge of a resident's rl info, and/or LL involvement in adjudicating such issues should they arise.

coco

Oh good to know, thanks. No government, law and punishment, etc. Cool! I guess I needn't worry about that twelve sim shooting spree I went on the other night. You know, for kicks!

Well, you'd have to watch it for yourself to make sure I haven't interpreted it wrong. But the question was about what you can do if some unscrupulous businessperson makes off with your money instead of giving you your goods or whatever, and the answer seemed to be that fear of loss of reputation would pretty head off that problem. Which I thought was awfully naive or idealistic or something.

coco

~and~



OK, OK. I took some liberties with the Phillip Linden quote.

Which willn't it be, folks?

HAHAHAHAHA Where have you been 'cuz???

That seems to be some flawed logic to me. If Philip really thinks that, I think he is wrong. If I was to be a scam artist, I could just run a business of somesort that holds the money of others. Maybe a bank, or a land holding company, or something like that. Once I am around a few month, really earn the trust of others, and have a large amount of cash on hand, I could just sell it all and vanish from SL. If I really earned the trust, I could easily walk away with 10k USD. Then all I need to do is get an alt and do it again. Unless SL can have enforciable contrats, I really don't see a good way to avoid this.

On a positive note...

Congratulations, Munchflower! I love you, Lowlow. *big smoochers*

We agree that it shouldn't be called a game? I am bound by contractual agreement acknowledgeing it is not a game, but really, I think there has been enough debate in the forums to suggest that some residents do call it a game.

Me neither! The nerve!



Um... well okay.. maybe a smidge.

*gasp* We do NOT! I do NOT!

eh I kinda do. Really its not THAT far off. Much as we would love to believe otherwise.