Is it too late for newcomers?

I was on SL a couple years ago, but my computer was crappy at the time and was unable to really enjoy the game with all the laginess. I'm going to try out the game again with my new computer, and I hope it will work ok now. Well, I think it's exciting to build something that will thrive, but I get the impression from this message board that the economy is controlled by people that were here originally. I understand that if you invest more time you're going to be more prosperous, but I'm curious if a newcomer can still build wealth to an impressive degree. I don't know if I will go down that route, and just be a simple resident, but I would like to know if the potential is still there.

Thanks for your time.

Hmm, what gave you that impression?

Was it the way that older people act as if they own the place?

Or is it because newer people are complaining about older people acting like they own the place?

If you want to make money and are creative and motivated, I don't see how it wouldn't happen.
There are thousands of thing in SL that don't exist, waiting to be created, you don't necessarily have to compete with oldbies.

There is no reason why anyone wouldnt be able to be successful in any way in SecondLife's enviroment. In this aspect its pretty much the same as RL.

If money is your 'thing', you can get quite abit of it by selling something that people want and is not yet available. You can also easily compete in any field in SecondLife, same as in RL - just with no production costs. Its really all about how much time you'd be willing to invest in whatever you're doing to make it work.

It's absolutely possible to build a worthwile experience in SL there are plenty of potentially profitable areas still to be covered and plenty of space for more of the same, just look at all the clothing designers! All you need is conviction and to an extent some skill you can put to use. I wouldn't worry one iota about anything you read in this forum as it's mostly just trivial banter between a bunch of denizens who believe for some reason they form some kind of elite group, forgetting 95% percent of SL never read the forum and therefore don't know of or care about their existence. But if you can wade through the noise, the forums are a very useful tool, after a short while you'll soon recognise who is worth putting on your ignore lists ( me included )


on the other hand...
I do believe SL is way too biased toward making money, it does seem pretty much impossible to do much without a decent sized amount land which has to be payed for either from your own pocket or from in-world profits. I really believe LL should help promote more "Art" in SL. It seems to me many of the great works I saw when I first came to SL have gone by the way because their creators have left and I'm just not seeing anything coming in their place.

No such thing as too late! While existing users and businesses have the advantage of a head-start and familiarity with the platform as a whole, new residents have their own advantages, too!

Before I begin, though, I think it's important to preface my remarks with a standard disclaimer (though I don't think this is a problem for the original poster). Don't come to Second Life specifically with the objective of making a buck. This is not a rewarding outlook with which to enter the world. Instead, come to Second Life wanting to make the most of its creative possibilities for your own purposes and satisfaction. Learn everything you can about SL's many creative facets, its people, its products. Be an active SL citizen to the greatest extent that pleases you, while keeping an eye out for stuff that could use improvement, or stuff that you really want but that no one has bothered to make yet.

Now, as far as it being "too late," as I said, I do not hold such a concept as being possible. Let's look at some broader examples of "never too late."

Search Giant Google:

While the world wide web was gaining credibility and filling with commercial entities, Stanford student Larry Page was busy with his many classes. That didn't stop he and his pal Sergey Brin from working on a web search technology they called BackRub. By 1998, they had something pretty neat, which they re-dubbed "Google." Though the web search market was already thickly populated with search engines, newcomer Google rose to the top of the heap thanks to its minimalist interface and robust, intelligent ranking algorythms. Today Larry and Sergey are two of the business world's golden boys and most of Google's early competitors, despite their early advantage, are less than relevant.

iPod:

When Apple entered the handheld MP3 player market in 2001, they were pretty far from being the first. Indeed, the market was pretty well full of MP3 players of many different stripes. Apple didn't care, though, because they had "do it better" gumption. Plenty of people were unimpressed by the first iPod, blaming capacity and price and making broad statements about the dismal outlook of the little white box. They were wrong. Today, iPod controls upwards of 70% of the overall MP3 player market. The iPod's success, in hindsight, was simple: Remove the MP3 player from the narrow realm of geek tool and make it a broadly-appealing lifestyle device no one will want to live without.\


The worlds of business are replete with more stories like these. While, again, your competition has the advantage of being first movers, with brand loyalty and experience on their side, they're also saddled with preconceived notions, older products to support, multiple locations to maintain, segments of their business they're afraid of cannibalizing... And the list could go on, depending on what sort of business we're talking about.

New entrants to this world are blessed with a fresh outlook, a complete lack of baggage and all the time in the world to come up with strategies, product ideas and relationships with useful contractors.

The point is, don't be discouraged. You can achieve anything if you really want to work for it. You can even unseat your competition, if you're clever enough to see what makes them deficient and craft your opportunities accordingly. Learn *everything* that challenges you, and feels like fun.

Anyway, go have fun in this new world. Just keep your ears open, jot down ideas. Most importantly, every time you buy something that really sucks, put it in a special folder. When you're ready to work on your first products, have a good look at the stuff you bought that really sucks and learn from it, make sure what you're putting out there has none of that suck involved. You'll do just fine.

Sorry for that lengthy ramble.

If I may use Enabran as a case study: there is always room for new players, new creativity, new avenues.

I first became aware of Enabran shortly after his arrival into SL. He had invented his Recon Drone (TRD-2), pieced together from some existing items, a lot of imagination, a healthy attention to detail and good customer service. It was quite novel and still one of the coolest things in my inventory.

Even cooler, it caused a temporal rift that propelled me back in time so that I arrived in SL a year prior to Enabran

His works are available at Templar Botworks Kaili (135, 47).

disclaimer: no connection except as a satisfied customer (and victim of the "grandfather paradox"

I was going to mention Enabran...

I know another guy who showed up maybe halfway through 2004 who also found a niche and filled it. His products are very well known among the target demographic.

nuff said

Welcome to SL

relax, enjoy, explore


mayhap, without looking you find a niche, and a path to rich...

or you have a blast just being here with the rest of us

It's never too late to do something you enjoy and excel at it.

Arcana,
Welcome back to SL. The economy is not controlled by anyone. Please don't use this message board as a way to determine is SL is for you or not. Only about 10% of the residents post here.

No one can control the economy. If you make stuff people want to buy, they will. With that said, if your main goal is to come here and get rich quick, it wont happen. It takes time to delevope skills, and creative content.

I would like to ditto most of the positive comments above and add my own two cents. With a join date of Jan 2004, I'm a relative noob compared to the age of Second Life and the folks in the beta. My view of Second Life back when I started was very much like Arcana's view of it now, that is to say, there were cliques, well established designers, and people who seemed entrenched in their SL success.

At the time, I could have become discouraged and quit, or I could have complained relentlessly, or I could have tried to undermine the success of others. I did none of these things, opting instead to focus on creating, being helpful to others, and making good friends. Now that I look back, the hopelessness I may have felt a year and a half ago seems illusory.

I think the new users joining us today will be seen as the entrenched powerbrokers of SL in just a year or two. In a year or two, new users will see people with a Sept 2005 start date and either be inspired or discouraged. Which one will be their choice as it is the choice of new users today.

I think the reverse is true , Its very possible for newcomers to get involved and compete with established Content providers.

In addition theres a serious climate of good will I have seen amoung content providers even towards people who sell items in direct competition.

Two of My friends Joined back in June (of 05). They have since made a nice sized niche for themselves in the Lingerie sales area. Well enough that their store is very well visited and they have a nice sized customer base of loyals and a bunch of walk ins.

I think the key thing is a little luck, some decent brainstorming and good ideas, and a a decent amount of hard work.

Mall locations are not expensive at all to get started, and I beleive everyone is generally encouraging of anyone trying to start up business's




PS as to land barons and stuff - well its probably not too late for that either - you just need lots of RL money.

Not only is it possilbe, but it is essential that new players come in with, hopefully, new ideas and a fresh perspective.

We were all newcomers at one point.

If you have some skills, some imagination, and some ambition, then being new or old won't make any difference. A good product is a good product, regardless of the join date of its creator. Do a good job, treat people fairly, and word will spread.

However, those that are looking to instantly be the gold standard without putting out any effort, and those who resent the people that came before them for the success they've already worked for, will most likely find themselves disappointed.

Thanks for the feedback! This is Arcana, by the way, I remembered my old account information finally!! I'm glad too, I always liked the name Jovian. I will definitely give SL another shot, and I will probably just get some land just build a little home to have fun with for now. I hope this account is eligible for the first land ownership thing. I never bought land before with this account, but not sure if that deal is only for new account creations. Thanks again all!!

In RL, I earn a good salary, have a nice house, can't afford everything I want, but do manage a surprisingly large percentage of it - and then I hear about hotel rooms that go for tens or hundreds of thousands of <<insert local currency>> PER PERSON PER NIGHT!!!
There's another world of finance out there soooooooo faaaaaar above my head I find it easier contemplating the size of the universe than thinking about having that much money.
And yet, I have a nice house and can afford to do most of the stuff I want to. I'm happy - very happy.
SL is the same - there are financial moguls whose dealings are above my ken, but I got me sum bucks, I got me sum land, got cool friends and when I build something cool for myself, every now and then someone else will look at it and say, "hey, you should sell that" or "where can i buy one"
And in SL, I'm happy - very happy.
Welcome back.