3,000 people are making about $20k each on average annually

Does 3,000 people making over 1,666 USD monthly in SL seem high to you? Think about all the people you know making phat lewts, then think about all the people you buy stuff from, and all the people you know of that sell shit you think it crap but it keeps selling, now triple that number just for kicks to account for all the people you don't know and never heard of. Do you get 3000?

phat ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ft)
adj. Slang phat·ter, phat·test
Excellent; first-rate: phat fashion; a phat rapper.



lewts ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lt)
n.

1. Valuables pillaged in time of war; spoils.
   
2. Stolen goods.
   
3. Informal. Goods illicitly obtained, as by bribery.
   
4. Informal. Things of value, such as gifts, received on one occasion.
   
5. Slang. Money.
   

PS where are you getting those numbers?

They were posted in the secret FIC forums earlier today.

from...

http://www.secretlair.com/index.php?/clickableculture/entry/notes_how_to_be_a_virtual_world_entrepreneur/

If they were posted there Ingrid would have known, because her secret decoder ring would have told her, duh.

Average 30k in a SL business, LL will GOM you eventually.

LL doesnt really see all costs, so this is probably '3000 are getting at least US$20,000.00 in Revenue' which is a tad more believable.

Yeah, remember, the "US$ Sold" value counts EVERY exchange, so it's inflated a bit.

Pay a blackjack table L$20, win your bet back every time 10 times, the stats think you sold them L$200 and they sold you L$200, best as I can figure...

Or it could simply be fabricated and no one would ever know.

I read recently that - if memory serves - 70% of all SL players created "new content" in game last month. Was that 70% of 5,000 or 70% of 160,000? Does buying a boxed shirt and rezzing the box to extract the shirt count? The last time they trumpeted a RL income of a specific player, the player denied the claim.

I think this is what is known in today's parlance as a "credibility gap".

When I was searching around for SL developers making serious money in SL, in preparation for creating www.sldevelopers.com, I found the number was much closer to 30 than 3000.

That isn't to say that Reuben didn't use real figures, but that it proves statistics can be used to say just about anything. It probably is based on some transactions number from LindEX, does not account for land fees, and is probably horribly skewed by land barons who have a fairly low margin.

I'm impressed by 30.

coco

It does say "3,000 people are making about $20k each on average annually".

Doesn't that mean that if one person is making $40k annually, and one is making $0, together 2 people will be making $20k each on average annually?

I don't really buy it being so many different individuals making that much. But if you take everyone making more than $20k a year, then start adding people who are making less and working your way down until you have a figure of 3.000 people, the average might be $20k.

Even though it's a bit misleading, it's probably a real number

Until you turn it I suppose.

I remember my mom cried when she turned 30 and I cried with her and then it dawned on me...why exactly am I crying lol

So was I. Originally, I put the number closer to 15. There are a lot of people doing their thing in SL, not making a lot of noise about themselves, and flying under the radar.

If your theory is right, it's more than a bit misleading -- you could make the claim "every user here makes an average of $375", using the same numbers....i'm firmly in the "he was drunk" camp, myself.

I would believe that statistic, though I would agree, it probably doesn't account for expenditures.


Forget about all content creation for a moment.


Just consider the owner of 4 sims renting 4096m parcels at 25 USD/mo.

That's 64 parcels x 25 USD / mo x 12. = 19,200 USD a year.

(expenses are 4 x195 x 12 = 9260 USD, or about half of the income)



Ok, now consider what it costs for the average land holder in those 4 sims to fill their lot with compelling content.

Then consider the masses without land, who spend on making the hoochiest, blingiest avatar they possibly can.

Add the income potential of gambling, escorting, and violence, then stir and serve.

English is not my first language, so I am not sure what is the exact meaning of "making $20k". It this means "making a profit of $20k" I would like to question how LL can determine that.

With any SL business consisting of more than one person (or alts) so many different transactions can happen that never can be consolidated without intimate knowledge of this business' inner workings.