Second Life Forums Archive - 100K Premium Subscribers? If true, not too shabby SL :)

Cheyenne Marquez

Registered User

Join date: 19 Sep 2005

Posts: 940

07-31-2006 18:05

"Smith can't afford a beach house in real life. But in Second Life, the online game created by her employer, Linden Lab, she — and nearly 100,000 other subscribers who pay $10 a month — can have that and more."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/31/eveningnews/main1852600.shtml

Doubledown Tandino

ADULT on the Mainland!

Join date: 9 Mar 2006

Posts: 1,020

07-31-2006 19:00

I can't afford a hot blonde and a mansion, but I could buy me a Barbie and her Dream House....

Real stuff... virtual stuff..... there's a difference....

_____________________

http://djdoubledown.blogspot.com

SuezanneC Baskerville

Forums Rock!

Join date: 22 Dec 2003

Posts: 14,229

07-31-2006 19:05

Is that figure accurate?

_____________________

-

So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them.

I can be found on the web by searching for "SuezanneC Baskerville", or go to

http://www.google.com/profiles/suezanne

-

http://lindenlab.tribe.net/ created on 11/19/03.

Members: Ben, Catherine, Colin, Cory, Dan, Doug, Jim, Philip, Phoenix, Richard,
Robin, and Ryan

-

Svar Beckersted

Registered User

Join date: 14 Apr 2006

Posts: 783

07-31-2006 19:14

Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000.

Jon Rolland

Registered User

Join date: 3 Oct 2005

Posts: 705

07-31-2006 20:25

That's not the only bull in the article.

"But it's paid for with real-world credit cards — at Second Life alone, $6 million a month. "

nimrod Yaffle

Cavemen are people too...

Join date: 15 Nov 2004

Posts: 3,146

07-31-2006 20:27

From: Svar Beckersted

Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000.

They said nearly, not excatly.

_____________________

"People can cry much easier than they can change."
-James Baldwin

Iron Perth

Registered User

Join date: 9 Mar 2005

Posts: 802

07-31-2006 21:20

Well, if you count the number of people who are either premium or purchase 10$ worth of currency each month, this could be an accurate number.

_____________________

http://ironperth.com - Games for SecondLife and more.

crucial Armitage

Clothing Designer

Join date: 30 Aug 2004

Posts: 838

07-31-2006 22:19

yea I can see that number representing the number of people that buy at least $10 worth of lindens each month. with Residents Logged-In During Last 60 Days = 197,087 I would think a lot of them would be buying at least $10 worth of lindens. There is a lot of people buying a lot of L$ that's for sure.

_____________________

CRUCIAL CREATIONS MAIN SHOP AND DESIGN STUDIO
Crucial Creations On Slboutique

Lordfly Digeridoo

Prim Orchestrator

Join date: 21 Jul 2003

Posts: 3,628

07-31-2006 23:27

From: Jon Rolland

That's not the only bull in the article.

"But it's paid for with real-world credit cards — at Second Life alone, $6 million a month. "

That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is.

If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded.

_____________________

----
http://www.lordfly.com/
http://www.twitter.com/lordfly
http://www.plurk.com/lordfly

Jon Rolland

Registered User

Join date: 3 Oct 2005

Posts: 705

08-01-2006 00:16

From: Lordfly Digeridoo

That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is.

If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded.

When you say that $6 mil is "paid for with real-world credit cards" then it becomes bullshit.

Elex Dusk

Bunneh

Join date: 19 Oct 2004

Posts: 800

*Holds Up Yellow Card*

08-02-2006 07:56

From: Svar Beckersted

Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000.

I agree... simply looking at the Economics Statistics page and dividing the total amount paid out in stipends for the month of July and dividing by 4 (weeks) and L$500 yields nearly 30,000 "Premium" accounts. as the vast bulk of the population is free Basic there are probably less than 10,000 premium accounts.

Considering that there were approximately 350,000 residents when this CBS story was researched and aired this means, based on the rough math outlined above, about 3-percent of the population is Premium. My guestimate is, after excluding accounts with multiple alts, the minimum total number of accounts for SL is around 70,000 and and actual _active_ accounts is probably closer to 21,000 (and that's a high guesstimate).

Either someone at CBS added a zero or someone at LL blew smoke up their ass.

BTW, the big money for LL is in tier fees.

Part of the reason why LL opted for displaying Account Types in Profiles as No Payment Info, Payment Info on File, and Payment Info Used was that Premium accounts make up such a small percentage of the population it would've been _highly_ noticeable how few there really are.

Ricky Zamboni

Private citizen

Join date: 4 Jun 2004

Posts: 1,080

08-02-2006 08:05

From: Lordfly Digeridoo

That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is.

If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded.

Your second paragraph outlines exactly why that $6,000,000/month GDP figure *is* bullshit. It sounds impressive because, generally speaking, it's highly inaccurate, unverifiable, and easily subject to manipulation.

100K Premium Subscribers? If true, not too shabby SL :)
Cheyenne Marquez Registered User Join date: 19 Sep 2005 Posts: 940	07-31-2006 18:05 "Smith can't afford a beach house in real life. But in Second Life, the online game created by her employer, Linden Lab, she — and nearly 100,000 other subscribers who pay $10 a month — can have that and more." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/31/eveningnews/main1852600.shtml
Doubledown Tandino ADULT on the Mainland! Join date: 9 Mar 2006 Posts: 1,020	07-31-2006 19:00 I can't afford a hot blonde and a mansion, but I could buy me a Barbie and her Dream House.... Real stuff... virtual stuff..... there's a difference.... _____________________ http://djdoubledown.blogspot.com
SuezanneC Baskerville Forums Rock! Join date: 22 Dec 2003 Posts: 14,229	07-31-2006 19:05 Is that figure accurate? _____________________ - So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them. I can be found on the web by searching for "SuezanneC Baskerville", or go to http://www.google.com/profiles/suezanne - http://lindenlab.tribe.net/ created on 11/19/03. Members: Ben, Catherine, Colin, Cory, Dan, Doug, Jim, Philip, Phoenix, Richard, Robin, and Ryan -
Svar Beckersted Registered User Join date: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 783	07-31-2006 19:14 Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000.
Jon Rolland Registered User Join date: 3 Oct 2005 Posts: 705	07-31-2006 20:25 That's not the only bull in the article. "But it's paid for with real-world credit cards — at Second Life alone, $6 million a month. "
nimrod Yaffle Cavemen are people too... Join date: 15 Nov 2004 Posts: 3,146	07-31-2006 20:27 From: Svar Beckersted Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000. They said nearly, not excatly. _____________________ "People can cry much easier than they can change." -James Baldwin
Iron Perth Registered User Join date: 9 Mar 2005 Posts: 802	07-31-2006 21:20 Well, if you count the number of people who are either premium or purchase 10$ worth of currency each month, this could be an accurate number. _____________________ http://ironperth.com - Games for SecondLife and more.
crucial Armitage Clothing Designer Join date: 30 Aug 2004 Posts: 838	07-31-2006 22:19 yea I can see that number representing the number of people that buy at least $10 worth of lindens each month. with Residents Logged-In During Last 60 Days = 197,087 I would think a lot of them would be buying at least $10 worth of lindens. There is a lot of people buying a lot of L$ that's for sure. _____________________ CRUCIAL CREATIONS MAIN SHOP AND DESIGN STUDIO Crucial Creations On Slboutique
Lordfly Digeridoo Prim Orchestrator Join date: 21 Jul 2003 Posts: 3,628	07-31-2006 23:27 From: Jon Rolland That's not the only bull in the article. "But it's paid for with real-world credit cards — at Second Life alone, $6 million a month. " That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is. If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded. _____________________ ---- http://www.lordfly.com/ http://www.twitter.com/lordfly http://www.plurk.com/lordfly
Jon Rolland Registered User Join date: 3 Oct 2005 Posts: 705	08-01-2006 00:16 From: Lordfly Digeridoo That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is. If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded. When you say that $6 mil is "paid for with real-world credit cards" then it becomes bullshit.
Elex Dusk Bunneh Join date: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 800	Holds Up Yellow Card 08-02-2006 07:56 From: Svar Beckersted Unfortunately it isn't true. There is on average L$13 million handed out in stipends every week. If all those stipends went to premium accounts that would only be 26,500. The real number is probably less that 20,000. I agree... simply looking at the Economics Statistics page and dividing the total amount paid out in stipends for the month of July and dividing by 4 (weeks) and L$500 yields nearly 30,000 "Premium" accounts. as the vast bulk of the population is free Basic there are probably less than 10,000 premium accounts. Considering that there were approximately 350,000 residents when this CBS story was researched and aired this means, based on the rough math outlined above, about 3-percent of the population is Premium. My guestimate is, after excluding accounts with multiple alts, the minimum total number of accounts for SL is around 70,000 and and actual _active_ accounts is probably closer to 21,000 (and that's a high guesstimate). Either someone at CBS added a zero or someone at LL blew smoke up their ass. BTW, the big money for LL is in tier fees. Part of the reason why LL opted for displaying Account Types in Profiles as No Payment Info, Payment Info on File, and Payment Info Used was that Premium accounts make up such a small percentage of the population it would've been _highly_ noticeable how few there really are.
Ricky Zamboni Private citizen Join date: 4 Jun 2004 Posts: 1,080	08-02-2006 08:05 From: Lordfly Digeridoo That's actually not bullshit. They're taking into account the "gross domestic product", which is just the running tally of $L transactions over a given month. It sounds impressive, because, generally speaking, it is. If you want to muck it up, though, make an object that you pay into that instantly pays you back. Pay into it $L99,000 dollars per click. Rinse, repeat 10000 times. Whoops, the GDP just exploded. Your second paragraph outlines exactly why that $6,000,000/month GDP figure is bullshit. It sounds impressive because, generally speaking, it's highly inaccurate, unverifiable, and easily subject to manipulation.

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

100K Premium Subscribers? If true, not too shabby SL :)