All about the benjamins?

Lately everyone i meet seems interested only in the business, and nothing else. Is it just me, or is Second Life changing into a sort of 3D EBAY? Nothing wrong about that, but it isnt me. I don't want to get home from work and login so that i can .... do more work.

LL has spent much of its effort on promoting SL as a sort of 3D hosting service for selling/money-making.

Some of the discussion on the at present immediately adjacent thread might have some bearing on this question.

who's really in it just for the money?
/327/bd/217060/1.html

Business, and content creation, are the most highly embedded activities on SL. That is, they're the ones with the most "real" effect on the world

They're as embedded in SL as killing monsters is in traditional MMOs. So naturally, they attract the most attention, even if they're not the most fun. This has been observed as a trend on almost every online social world or game.

I have to frown a little at this - originally, I'd have used the word "virtual" here, because when I grew up, "virtual" meant "not real, but simulated so well that it seems to be in all respects". Nowadays, according to dictionaries it apparantly means _anything_ simulated by a computer, so Space Invaders is a virtual world now. So instead of saying "the most virtual effect", I have to say "real" in quotes. Boo to the loss of language.

Those who choose to own more that 512 meters of land find tier fees a bit rediculous and so they turn to ways of making cash to cover them. At least that's what happened to me. But this is not a new trend.

Why am I in it for the money now? Cause I got bored. When I first arrived in SL it was all about the socialization. While I never stopped enjoying that it became not enough so I started creating. Once I opened a business, which has been fairly recent, I'm having a lot of fun dealing with the business aspect. I'm not in it for the money as far as expecting to make a lot, but having a great time learning to set up a successful SL business.

Let me rephrase it.

It's all about greed, pure greed.

Unless it's not - in which case, it isn't.

No. And it's counterproductive to say this because some if it really *is* about greed (like adcutting), and labeling all content creation--including heaven forfend for-profit endeavors--as "all greed" dilutes the loathing properly focused on the slimesucking bottomfeeders who so richly deserve it.

SL is certainly not just about business. But, content creators that run businesses allow those that socialize to express themselves through clothes, gadgets, toys, etc., and land-owners provide a service to residents that want homes, etc. The businesses would not exist if there were no residents that were just out there to socialize and have fun.

Many business owners do not just do it for the money (I guess), but for the sheer joy of pushing their talents to the limit and having their output recognized by people actually parting with cash to own it.


~Snowman~

*grins* Flip side is that content creation IS my idea of fun. I don't have a job beyond housework, kid caring, animal caring, family get togethers and.. Well, content creation and customer support that goes with it seems rather like paradise to me. If I happen to make a few bucks on the side, I don't complain.

I socialize, when my comp lets me.

Back when I played Dungeons and Dragons with physical dice and paper, we tracked character levels and experience points as a way to track how well we were doing in the game. I'm sure there is a category of SL players who think of their tier as their "level", and their linden balance as their "points". Maybe how many K of items in your inventory.

Whenever you put a number on it, and what you do can affect that number, for some people it becomes a matter of scoring high and bragging rights. The fact that you can cash out your lindens for spendable dollars just makes it more exciting, its the ego stroke that matters.

I just wish that content creators would put more effort into creating cool areas, such as that space platform, Svarga, Apollo etc, rather than yet another store full of knock-off clothing that has to rely on campers to look busy.
Except, omygawd, Lee Zu Baxter! Sweeet!

It would be nice if people made generous use of the donation points in the pretty areas, to keep those ones expanding. I always make a point of leaving something, and adding them to my picks.

It is for some but I doubt they stay long. Once they learn they actually have to work for it and spend time and that the odds aren't all that great they bail pretty fast.

Most successful business owners in SL that I know are happy if they are able to pay tier. Some people wouldn't call that successful, but they love what their doing so I'd say they are.

Greed is good.

It's about easy quantification of achievements.

Whether it's your level in WoW, amount of frags in Unreal Tournament, the size of your car, your salary, the amount of friends on your myspace page, your amount of 'love' on the LL 'love machine', the number of posts on your favorite forum etc. etc.
It's even the case with Fortune 500 companies needing higher profit numbers each year.

Recent studies even show that 'having money doesn't make people more happy', but 'gaining money does, until it stops increasing'. It's again the same principle, people get addicted to counters that go up.

Modern society is creating more and more endeavors and possibilities to have 'counters that can go up' for people to enjoy.

In SL this quantification amounts to sales and L$ gained.

In most cases it has nothing to do with 'greed' and more with this weird human condition of getting addicted to 'having counters go up'.

Wow, you nailed it. And that explains why even a L$50 sale which translates to about 20 cents can lift our spirits.

I hope that you are joking.

I thought about this, and this can be a significant part of the picture in unexpected ways. For me an important aspect is the achievement of learning new things. SL provides this wonderful environment with seemingly never ending opportunities to learn new things, new skills, new ideas. The counters can be less materialistic things in SL - it's not just about increasing money or land or sales.

I also agree with Bradley, that covering tier is a big achievement in SL - it is like making your "SLiving". If I cover tier, I'm very happy...if I don't it's not the end of the world...if I made a profit, I'd expand the business and/or spend more in world, for it has never been my intention to take money out of SL.

The thing that gave me most pleasure recently was when someone wrote a nice review of one of my products on SLX - that did make me feel glad to know that someone else had had fun with something I created. So, I suppose the counter I like to see going up the most is the"happy customer count".

I make stuff and sell some of it. My sales have gone down a lot recently. I have been re-acquainting myself with some of the big freebie superstores and have picked up some decent stuff. Seeing the amount of free clothes available, some of which are poor quality but others are good, I'm surprised anybody actually pays for clothes these days. And I say this as someone who makes a few clothing items!!

Bingo. Except that I'd argue they ARE the most fun. I love socializing, but I've had more fun creating stuff than anything else. Everything from my first homemade facelight (created, I think, my first week here) to the half-sim build I'm working on now, has been a challenge, a delight, and given me a deep sense of satisfaction.

heyas;

well, you dont HAVE TO do work on sl. you can be a consumer. a lot of people have an 'entertainment budget' that they put some (or all of) into sl. as a matter of fact, four or five months ago, that was the norm -- people putting money INTO sl. this month, i see threads about people trying to take it OUT.

well, here's a hint.... neither side works without the other ;) people trying to take money out need the people putting money in -- else where are they gonna get it? people who want to put money in need, well, something to spend it on. somebody to do the 'work' of creating the cool clothes, hair, skin, cars, etc ad infinitum.


you could do neither. you could sign up for a free account and neither put money in, nor do anything to make money. you could build all your own stuff yourself (like if you want a full-prim avatar, and not have to paint and upload a nice skin, or clothes textrues). and/or subsist on freebies.

but you're going to get to a point where that ain't fun. especially if building things seems to you like 'work.' you know: ugh, i gotta build my own boots, my own cape, my own hair, my own sunglasses... now i gotta make jewlery.....
if you're going to be miserable 'gotta make'-ing stuff, you might as well sell them and get some in-game return for it. then suddenly you dont GOTTA make everything. you can make boots and afford to buy jewelry. or vice versa. or whatever.



so.... um, do we have a point? the point is, without all those money-grubbing businesspeople doing all the WORK, sl wouldn't have much of a place to socialize and play in. hey, SOMEbody built all those clubs. SOMEbody terraformed all that landscape. SOMEbody programmed those dance balls and games and.... ah, you get the idea.

Not a bad thought from a Manic.

Second Life is about the money for me. I am buying and selling the lands, not for chatting and the sexyness.
I am selling the lands unto you for the profits I can benefit for real life needs.

You chose your name well, then. Good for you for knowing what you want, and not apologizing for it,.