What residents want

Heya all!!

I've been in SL for 1 year now and I'm thinking of opening a club... The thing is... I need ideas, knowing what ppl wants and likes...

Have you ever thought what could do a club different? Which kind of club would you like to have in SL?

Ty loads ^^ I will invite you once opened

SL is full to bursting with clubs. However, very few of them are actually any good, with a decent DJ. Really, the best thing you could do would be to concentrate on just making a ordinary club but running it well and actually having a decent DJ and some events - that in itself would be a novelty. Keep It Simple, Stupid - really no need for any gimmicks as such, I reckon.

Oh, and there aren't many jazz clubs; there are a few, but they are hugely outnumbered by rock and metal clubs (that market is pretty much saturated now).

Good luck figuring that out in this day and age. Most people wanted Sploders as far as I can tell because 99% of the clubs that open soon close.

Good dance pose balls and good music, low lag, romantic surroundings. Start there. Also, contact Sarah Nerd and get her advice (tell her I sent you). No one knows how to run a successful club better than her.

I was recently at a club, that has NO shopping attached to it, is on a tiny piece of land, and is using a blues radio station and it is always packed.

On the other hand, I've seen many, many clubs surrounded by shopping malls struggling to get and keep people there (except strip clubs, they're usually hopping).

The conclusion I drew is that people don't want to be bombarded with the whole shopping scene.

Is that a correct conclusion? Who knows!

I want to bring my club back, it was different, not connected to shopping etc

the thing is, ppl want a club, that when they go there, they get something, be it sploder, or prizes etc

I see very few places that stay active, without some enticement

the only reason mine closed is I can not afford the stream for DJ's, (DJ myself but can not afford stream) as well as prize money

sad

Might put the build up for sale, can't hurt (picture center city, renovated ware house kinda feel.

Or if I had the time and money, I would open a romantic type ballroom setting, using the build I just put up for sale. very classy, give ppl a reason to wear the formal stuff hehe

anywho, good luck with yours

Low lag is the main thing- the interminable rezzing puts me off of some places.

If you want to be ahead of the competition, create a low lag environment. There's nothing worst that arriving to a place packed with AVs and been barely able to move.
- Don't pack the place with unnecessary furniture, use less textures as possible (play with the repeats and color to create different effects) and use textures that are 128s or 256s pixels, not the 512s. That way, the surroundings will rezz quickly after people arrive and won't have to wait long minutes just to see the dance floor.
- Don't use foggers and other particle generators as these cause huge amounts of lag.
- Don't place zillions of lights, use a few well placed lights as needed, as these also cause lag.
-If your club is outdoors, don't use many different plants and landscape. Use a few only, in different sizes instead.
- Lastly, I like to use my own dance animations, so I wouldn't put so much emphasis in having a lot of poseballs, but that's my own personnal preference.

Good luck to you.

Unfortunately you've come to late. There are too many clubs in SL and most fail the month they open. One of the best clubs that closed was thugz mansion.

A good idea would be getting a decent dj, a low lag region, some freebies, and a particular theme. Also, having an excellent build is a must.

I'm with Conan, on the Jazz clubs. There are few really good ones, most play garbage Kenny G Pseudo Jazz.

I guess there are some basic things that all clubs need to have that clubgoers expect. Like danceballs and the ability to rez their own. A dancefloor. A general club-like appearance. You need to be able to do the basics very well. Not just adequate.

Then there are the unique things that you need to make your club stand out and make people choose it over the other basic clubs out there. A certain theme. A certain type of music. A dress code maybe.

Here's a few thoughts:

* Have a live DJ who takes requests as often as possible.

* Show the name of the current song and artist posted in a prominent place within the club. I've only seen a few places do this. Maybe connect to a service that sells and uploads the song to the SL resident. No doubt, you'd earn extra real dollars with this.

* Limit the number of visitors to an amount that does not cause severe lag.

* Provide many, many dance options, and update them frequently. Provide a "stop all animations" option that always works.

* Give fun freebies away, like beer mugs, roses, sounds, pillows (for pillow fights), etc.

* My favorite clubs have the friendliest, kindest management and, as a result, clientle. That is the main reason I visit those clubs. This postive atmosphere starts with the club's management.

* Here's an idea for ya, now that SL has voice: set up a real Karoke option.

Avanti

See, I miss the Sploders. These newfangled skill sploders make it too much like work, you have to work at it, or you feel like you're throwing your money away, and then there's always someone who has practiced and learned the skill so they always win anyways... I never was into gambling, but I liked the easy, simple, no-hassle fun of a good ole' random Sploder. Throw L$10 into it, maybe you win, maybe you loose. Or if you're in a good mood, throw a few hundred or thousand even into it, and share the joy. I do miss them Sploders.

Sorry, back from the tangent there.

I only frequent one 'club' and I go there because the people are nice and the atmosphere is fun. The ones who run it are nice, as well as the regulars. It's not the same week after week, they do themed parties, and change the venue now and then.

Based on my observations, I would add to the other suggestions with this -- in addition to good management, good DJs, etc, try and get some friends together to participate. Even if that means just hanging out there at regular times every week or every day. Unless someone is a total solipsist, a club with a half dozen or a dozen people in it is going to be way more attractive than a club sitting empty and forlorn.

-Atashi

Well, first and foremost I'd say go with something that will make YOU happy - because to make a club successful I think you have to put a lot of yourself into it and if you don't enjoy, it's not worth it. (But if you want a vote, I'll say I miss the great swing and big band at a nightclub I used to frequent, now closed. The last thing SL needs is another huge, empty ballroom.)

Conversation and a personal feeling are huge. Greet people when they come in (when you're there, and make sure hosts/hostesses do so during events), try to keep a general chatter going, and try to draw everyone in. Except maybe for couples who are obviously in their own little world... If I go to a club and find myself ignored, I'll go to a different one the next time.

(On the other hand, I recommend an arrival point outside the club to give people a chance to put themselves together before they're bombarded. I TPed into one club and was surrounded by dancers and hit with "Hi!" "Come dance with us!" and a group invitation before I'd even rezzed in. I TPed back out.)

No idea how to achieve it, but I've rarely found a club in SL that has a balance of singles and couples. Most at least provide for both, but I tend to see either a vast sea of single dancers, or a few couples dancing and a herd of singles standing around waiting to couple up. Oh yes - make sure the dance ball/poster/whatever is apparent! They seem to be different in every club and I'm never sure what to click...

Someone mentioned sploders/poppers. Yuk. But that's just one opinion. I'll just say the clubs I've enjoyed most use them rarely or never.

Contests are always fun, or even theme nights with no prize to be won. I LOVE playing dress-up in SL.

Really, I think the best thing you can do for your club is to create something YOU enjoy and be ready to pour yourself into it. Be there as often as you can. Get to know your patrons and make them feel welcome and at home. Build a staff who loves the club as much as you do. The most successful clubs I know are successful largely due to the personal investment of their owners and the people who work there.

How about a club that celebrates the fact that it will most likely be an abysmal failure any day now?


It would be the most honest club in Second Life.

You could have

*a cuddle corner called the "Drama Zone"

*a Lag vortex ride

*an "Alt table"

Basicaly celebrate failure at every turn. Have pictures of Edsels, the Spruce Goose, Cop Rock, Istar...

Additionally Make sure to spoof on every "serious" club in the game.

Phil Linden knows they deserve it.

I enjoy a pub setting, barmaids, bartender...sit and chat while music is playing, small dance area. Theme nights, different types of music on different nights. A Friendly homely feeling.

I miss the older jazz clubs, before they all got shopping malls and huge builds surrounding them... Just a dance floor, a few lights, and great jazz and blues.

Always wanted to see a comedy club but not sure if that is possible. Have seen one that had a comedy theme but it was either not in use or it had a tv screen, can't remember now which it was.

I say this after seeing two live comedians last night, but I have been looking for comedy in SL since I arrived. Most often, if I look for comedy, I get gag-props. Like the vendor that supposedly had some connection to the Monty Python group. Think they had an exploding suitcase or something like that. Not exactly what I was looking for.

And yes, I assume you were thinking music, and I know everone else in this thread have mentioned music, but I always have hope.

edited to add: Oh the other thing I looked for was "Cheers" but never found it
edit 2: Ok, I never found something exactly like "Cheers" but there is one club that I really enjoy going to because everyone knows my name. hehe. And then, of course, there is also the Hangout.

I love this idea, drama zone totally needed

lag vortex ride, well can find that anywhere in SL, maybe a laggers sofa, sit down, lag to hell, but who cares, you are comfy LOL

alt table LOL LOVE that one

Ooooh, I like theme pubs. For research, get yourself a copy of the amusing "Book of Heroic Failures", which includes such gems as the time in 1972 that communists in Italy tried to overthrow the government, marched on Rome, but got lost in the backstreets and eventually got bored and went home. The Italian government found out about it in 1977.

Then they surrendered to the Germans.

That's the French you're thinking of. They do that a lot.

What the club really needs is a DeLorean and a big screen showing Captain Eo on a constant loop.

It'd be great to have more clubs in SL that identify live original music of all genres. With this new world we should be hearing more music from cultures worldwide.

Don't get me wrong, I love the DJ's. Just like RL, they pay the bills so the original bands can have a stage to perform on. Of course, using live musicians has it's own checklist of issues but still...we need to support our live artists in RL and SL.

What do residents want?
Two things

Ale
Whores

And Captain Eo.

That's a deal-breaker for me.

Setting up and building the club is actually the easy part.

Running it, staffing it with good people (experienced DJs, *good* hosts), having it survive drama, and keeping the regulars, is the hard part. Been there, done that, for 9 months.

You have to be willing to spend many hours a day in one place. And spend many Lindens too... Clubs can be fun, but they don't make money.

Okay... just realized I didn't answer the OP's actual question yet...

What do people like? Good, realistic builds. Very important. Not an off-the shelf tacky prefab that is being used in the next sim over. Don't overload the club with vendors or advertisements. A variety of dance balls, from faster dances to slows. *Good* DJs. Greet everyone when they come in... and when they come back the next time. Don't fill the club with dancers so that everyone there is staff and not guests. Be consistent in the days and times the club is staffed. I found the hard way that inconsistency in event scheduling can really make it hard to attract a regular crowd. People like to know that they can always expect to find a crowd there during a certain time of the day.

Sploders and all the other giveaways are fun, but that's not what keeps a core crowd coming back. They come for the music, the atmosphere, and the other people.