Analogy

i've invested a lot into sl but also knew coming in to keep my day job and never get into a position where i would let SL be my main source..
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they can get rich in here because of the real money advertizing..
i learned very young that you have to take advertising for what it say's not what i think they are saying..
can you make real money in sl??yes but real money does not mean make a living off of sl or get rich.. at face value it means in this virtual world yes you can make real currency that you can convert from the game..
A lot of people mistake the word real money for big money because in a lot of places it is the slang word for lots of money..just look at all the things on the internet that say you can make real money..
you can buy a sim which you can turn into what ever you choose and you can open a business and sell anything you wish within the rules of SL..
you can invest money and it is the person that decides how much..

"Make real money in a virtual world. That's right, real money."

"Businesses succeed by the ingenuity, artistic ability, entrepreneurial acumen, and good reputation of their owners. "

"The Second Life real estate market provides opportunities for Residents to establish their own communities and business locations."


all these here are only some of the things you can do in this world..
part of sl
==========================================================
What is Second Life?

Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

* From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

* You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.

* The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges.

Welcome to the Second Life world. We look forward to seeing you inworld.

=========================================================
The World

The most important thing about the Second Life world is that it is constantly changing and growing. Here's why:

* Thousands of new residents join each day and Create an Avatar

* Those avatars Explore the World and Meet People

* These people discover the thousands of ways to Have Fun

* Some people decide to purchase Virtual Land, which allows them to open a business, build their own virtual paradise, and more!

* Linden Lab creates new land to keep up with demand. What began as 64 acres in 2003 is now over 65,000 acres and growing rapidly.

=========================================================
The Creations

The Second Life world is a place dedicated to your creativity. It's about dreaming of something one moment and bringing it to life the next. Everything in Second Life is resident-created, from to the strobe lights in the nightclubs to the car (or spaceship) in your driveway.

Imagine tinkering with the steering and handling program of a motorcycle while your friend tweaks the shape of the fuel tank and gives it a wicked flame paint job, in-world and in real-time, before you both take it for a spin down a newly created road to look for some land to buy. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a pair of black leather wings? Build them and give it a go.
You can:

* See what residents are Building Right Now

* Browse the thousands of items for sale on community websites

* See how residents are pushing the envelope Making Movies With Second Life

* Learn more about how to Create Anything in Second Life
=========================================================

The Marketplace

Make real money in a virtual world. That's right, real money.
Here's how it works:

* The Second Life world has a fully-integrated economy architected to reward risk, innovation, and craftsmanship.

* Residents create their own virtual goods and services. Because residents retain the IP rights of their creations, they are able to sell them at various in-world venues.

* Businesses succeed by the ingenuity, artistic ability, entrepreneurial acumen, and good reputation of their owners.

* Residents who have amassed lots of Linden™ dollars are matched with residents who want to buy Linden dollars at the LindeX™ exchange (our official Linden dollar exchange), or at other unaffiliated third-party exchanges.

* The Second Life real estate market provides opportunities for Residents to establish their own communities and business locations. See Land Pricing & Use Fees for details.
========================================================
You can take SL at face value or think they are saying more than they are..I just don't see anything in there list that is doing more than explaining a virtual world that has many things you can experience..business and investing are just some of the things you can do.
i didn't see anything in there that shows you can become a big business and make an rl living from it..
i think the problem is our demand for it to be more than it really is..
they may want it to be a serious business platform someday but for now in their opening advertising they are not advertising it as one..
i really admire the people that are doing it though..and i do hope someday it does get there for them..
for now it's just a beta virtual world for me and one i like to spend my money and time in..

At this point no analogy to anything in real life really works out.

A store has a computer network problem? If they take checks, use your bloody checkbook.

That's not any more valid the the original. The free kids in McDonalds don't really provide them with much, except possibly future revenue, way down the road, or the adult drinking Coke (c) after Coke (c). Many of the free avatars are paying avatars and spending more net real currency than the premium avatars. Those that don't are contributing, positively or negatively, to the total experience that brings in the revenues and all contribute to the stats that the Lindens like to trumpet.

Yeah, if the signs in front said '3 Billion Kids Entertained!' as their primary metric, yes, it would hold. And that IS what LL does.

Payment info basics buy L$, premiums buy L$. Whatever counts for one, goes for the other as well so you don't have any difference. Money spent buying L$ doesn't really matter for anything either.

Some payment info basics rent, some premiums rent. What LL ends up receiving from rent will be lower than the equivalent in mainland tier unless it's 1/4 sim and up.

Considering the complexity of the platform I experience very few problems. LL has brought an amazing innovation that allows us to interact in new ways. SecondLife is truly amazing from both a social and technological standpoint.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here!

/me gleefully gets out her Pie Thrower and starts splatting Becky as fast as she can.

Trout, you seem to have this problem with providers of basic services...

Let's see...

KFC, no chicken for you.
Vietnamese restaurant, no table for you.
Gas station, no fuel for you (or at least, well watered).

On the other hand, providers of complex, expensive items (e.g., motorcycles) seem to love you.

I'm suggesting that you should go with the flow...start eating at those places with the $20,000 desserts, stop buying gas and simply throw your car away when it's empty. Play to your strengths!

Ahhh, he's just frustrated. We all need to vent from time to time. I love SL, but I have bitched before just to get it off my chest.

Well, no, it isn't revolutionary or the most complex thing of its type. It is relatively unique, yes, but there is no reason that issues such as log-ins can't be compared to any other log-in intensive portal out there, from health services/insurance to ADP to universities. And compared to any of them, they are truly low on the metric scale. Frankly, the last time I had log in issues like this was as an instructor at the University of Maryland - 20 years ago. They're a lot better now.

I've reduced my in-SL budget to handle what I expect to be a mandatory, across the board, fee increase - which will include the basic accounts. It will be a pretty straight forward need, probably predicated by a sale to a larger corporation, that will reduce the use of alts, especially if they crack down on bots. I also think that if the fee increase does happen, it will only reset the population briefly and eventually lead to a healthier experience in SL. But I do think it is coming. And if they do introduce the customer service at the level that would require, I think you will have the ability to change names, choose names filtered only against current names and 'famous names' - a whole host of resolved issues once SL isn't fueled by the repurchases fomented by error and dysfunction. There is no such thing as a free account if you spend a minimum of L$ 5000 to bring the new alt up to speed, due to non-transferrable basic items.

And a family come in and sees customers in seats, selling Super Size double cheese penises. They see other customers wearing fur suits, some others in chains, numerous hookers talking dirty and they call FOX news and their congressmen ontheir cell phone.....and the other customers START THROWING PIES.

Suddenly the family is ejected 2000 miles into space.

Yay! Rebecca's back! *waves*

Wasn't cheese penis a STD back when?

I think it's shameful that Linden Labs induces people to invest money in the Second Life "economy," then provides such a lousy business platform. Of course some people disagree, believe that Linden Labs doesn't have a responsibility to come through on what it promises through advertising, and it's always the user's risk.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with my take on the Second Life "economy," what disagreement would there be to the idea that, along with the advertising for the Second Life "economy," Linden Labs also provides a link to the common pitfalls of participating in the Second Life economy? A list of the basic problems that people run into so often, along with ways to avoid those problems and participate successfully in the Second Life "economy?"

Such a move by Linden Labs would shut up a lot of compaints from people like me. And the fact that Linden Labs takes the extra step to give residents advice on avoiding traps, problems, and scams would be great PR for Linden Labs.

"Hey, we're going to be honest with you, there are pitfalls to dealing with the Second Life economy. But we are going to educate you in advance as to what they are before you put down any of your hard-earned money, and we're going to give you the solutions to avoiding the problems so you can be as successful as possible."

So, by just linking to some basic buyer/merchant beware information, Linden Labs simutaneously earns some trustworthiness while putting positive spin on issues that are otherwise negatives.

Whether or not someone gets upset over a problem many times depends entirely upon whether or not the person was expecting the problem. Problems are more upsetting when they are surprises. They are less upsetting when anticipated. In fact, in some cases, they become no issue at all when anticipated, because someone who anticipates a problem can take steps to plan and protect oneself.

The most information that people readily have access to, when it comes to the downtime for Second Life, is the TOS disclaimer that Linden Labs is not responsible for downtime. Most reasonable people should read that and understand that, yes, Second Life is not going to be up and running all the time. However, unless one has been in Second Life for a while, it's hard to meaningfully evulate the true impact of downtime, the frequency, or, most importantly if one is a merchant, how it affects business.

Me neither, all it did was make me hungry for a cheeseburger.

Speaking of cheeseburgers, maybe Max can help us with this:



Cheeseburger in a can???????

This is a great idea. I love complex, expensive items! And yes, the motorcycle dealer ought to love me. I've sent them at least two sales since my incident.

There's one minor flaw, though. I'm pretty much broke. So paying for the complex, expensive items is going to be a chore after I spend my money on the simple, inexpensive necessities, like groceries and electricity.

I saw a video about a guy eating one of those (don't ask)

it looked gross

I didn't actualy say revolutionary, it is definitely more evolutionary as there were VW before it. I said that it was *arguably* the most complex thing of its type. I beleive it is, if you think otherwise then tell me which VW out there is more complex.[/QUOTE]

Those are not things of the same type at all. Health service/insurance systems do not have to handle the constant streaming of 3D images combined with sound to every terminal for the duration of the time they are logged in. Gaining a connection to a server is only the beginning of the process of a login session, it is what comes after that which important and they are not like for like for the reasons I state above. Unless of course you are claiming that health services and insurance companies are now using a VW type environment that is as complex as SL to provide computer based services?

Most of this is pretty standard forward looking projection, I don't have any real issues with that.

The subject of a free SL was aimed at people who come to SL, have only paid for their ISP connection, a computer reasonable to run the viewer and nothing more. Anything on top of that is optional, not mandatory so at the point of use SL can be free to use if you so choose.

i would like to see them get more involved and i agree it would be nice for some kind of prep for people in business..
SL actually when it comes to business can be ruffer in some areas but much easier in others depending on what side of the fence you are at the time..
if it were not for people with morals in sl it would be a lot more ruthless because there are no standards..
i just don't know if they could put all that stuff in a list that would prepare you for what is to come in here..
some basics would be nice and also how to protect your product..how to set permissions for certain things you sell ..some basic advantages and errors that are easy to make..but with the way it changes soo much to go in depth would be a list that was always changing..

but then again if they did that they couldn't just do it for investors they would have to do it for all the things you could do in sl..

i think if they start giving business advice then it puts them in an area of responsibility and could be liable..
it's a shame that our country works like that but it does..
there are so many goofy and silly lawsuits that have changed the way people do business that you almost have to be cold to stay out of court hehehehe

for them to be liable in their advertising they would have to make a claim that it will happen not that it could happen..a guarantee..maybe i am not seeing it or i didn't hit one of the links where they are claiming this will happen or that will happen.all i see when i read it is you can be this or you can do this or you could do that..a promise would be something they are giving their word will happen..
i've never known them to promise anything..

i sometimes say that i may be to rl for sl when it comes to business because i have a few in rl and the rules in this world for business are a lot different..in world anyways..
when it comes to lindens i look at them as an rl business all the way..
with so many people from all over the world in this world i just see them walking on egg shells..there may be a lot of things they want to do but lawyers say ..Oh you will be setting yourself up for this liability or that liability..maybe heheheh..or they could just be saying stay out of as much as we can because who knows what someone will try to sue us for..
i'm sure there are a lot of claims we never even hear about..

i don't mean to sound like i'm some Pro linden anti business know it all or anything..i'm the farthest thing from it..i do a lot of business advisory in world with people more than anything now days..
Advertising is very tricky and the edge of what you can do and not do almost seem the same at times..
i just see people getting upset over their opening advertising and them seeing promises in it and i look and try to see them and i just don't..
i do think that if real money were not involved we would see more advice in business in this world..but when rl money is involved it is just a whole other set of rules and dangers that may keep them more and more out of the picture..this is speculation of course..

i'm not trying to upset you or anyone else by disagreeing and i hope i'm not.
i'm just trying to understand exactly where a lot of the problems are myself and at the same time show back what i am seeing and maybe sharing another perspective..I know i don't know it all heheheh and t
the day i start saying i know everything is that day i start to become stupid..
seriously though can you show me links to the things that are the problems you are seeing
because i really would like to read them over incase i am missing something which is more times possible than not lol