Today was interesting to say the least. It's hard to really tell what I want to tell you without actually giving a ton away about my real life, but just bear with me and I think I can get the point across.
I walked into my home office today, as I normally do, and attempted to log into Second Life. Instead of the usual barrage of IMs that pop up when I log in, I got a different message. My account had been suspended.
Today has been a hectic day, with a mix of everything, including people panicking over nothing and causing a run on the bank. In case you did not get the minutes to the informal meeting we had, just join the group JT Financial and access old Group Notices - it's there.
To all the business and casino owners that were affected by the recent changes in policy, worrying or trying to circumvent the policy will not help. In the world of businesses, the only constant is that there will be changes. The businesses that survive are the ones that are willing to adapt. Instead of giving up because 'tragedy has occurred', just sit back, recollect your thoughts, and fired again. Failure is OK, but giving up is shouldn't be. You may say that it is easier for me to say this because I am not in your position. But you are wrong, because I was, and on much a larger scale. If you read my blogs when we first started, I noted that I failed in my import/export business and lost a lot of money, especially for a 24 (or 25) year old with no job. But I just reloaded and fire again. If you fail, so what? Just reload and fire until you get it right. All you need to do is hit the target once to be successful.
By now, I'm sure a lot of people out there are worrying that they won't have anything to do with their land and will be stuck with tier, but they can't sell it because everyone else might be doing the same thing. So what can they do? Well, if I owned a small parcel, this is what I would do:
If you go and ask most people in Second Life whether it is a game or not, odds are that people will probably tell you it is a game.Not here!Second Life is not a game.It is just another world, another country.There's not objective in Second Life.You just 'live' in there, socialize, and do business as you would in Real Life.And the fact that there are capital gains should remove the notion that Second Life is a game.Most people who argue with me that Second Life is a game keep bringing up the fact that the Linden Dollar is not recognized as a currency.But does that really matter?What is more important is that the Linden Dollar is accepted as a bartering tool - a means to an end.And isn't that the what a currency is - a universally accepted means of conducting transactions?Did anyone know that back then, Salt was used as a bartering tool and made Venice what it is today?I bet no one back then argued that Venice was a game because Salt was not a currency.So what makes Second Life so different?Because it is virtual and has no tangible assets?Sounds like a feeble argument to me.Maybe that's why so many people sign up to Second Life and leave.Because they were expecting something that Second Life was not - a game.Second Life is exactly what it is, a second life.
Well, I have to admit, it has been a while since I've written something more personal and in-depth.It's not easy to write blogs when you're already occupied 10-12 hrs a day, 7 days a week.But I will definitely try to write A LOT more.Plus, there's a fine line between sharing your thoughts ideas with your readers and protecting your trade secrets.If you haven't paid attention to us in a while, you will see that we have recently launched our 4th business.Let's go back and count them first and discuss how they came about.
It has been a while since I’ve posted a personal editorial on here. I remember, when I started SL Reports, I was able to write all the time. Like a lot of small-time publishers though, I have been caught up in back-end administrative work and had little time.
Well, with a couple of hours free and an inkling of inspiration, here goes. Nothing earth shattering, but just a random thought I would like to share. If you’re looking for a life changing read, this might not be the article for you. If you are looking for my two cents on a silly little trait of human behavior – present both in Second Life and real life – do read on.
A recent opinion post by the so-called "technology writer", Russell Shaw says that "for business uses, Second Life is a fad and a crock" . While I know that there have been quite a few RL businesses that set up shop in SL, only to close their doors, soon after, I also believe that there are ways that RL businesses will use (and are using) SL.
One of the problems that I have seen, first-hand, is that when people from RL businesses come into Second Life, they think of it the same way that they think of their real life business. They use the technology in the same way that they would use a web page, creating objects that link to their web site and other information, rather than providing the information "in-game".
In Shaw's article, he says that Second Life is "cool" and "fun", and that he even has his own avatar there (though he doesn't mention his SL name). I don't think that he's seeing the full spectrum of what virtual worlds are all about, though.
The same as many of the companies that have come and gone, it seems that he thinks Second Life (the only metaverse he talks about) should be used for "advertising" by businesses. He doesn't talk about any of the other possibilities for doing business in Second Life.
I do know that not "all" businesses will have a place in virtual worlds. Just flip through the yellow pages and think about how many types of businesses could benefit from being in SL. The last time I did, there weren't a lot of them that I would think could do anything in a computerized 3D setting.
On the other hand, though, I may not be able to imagine what a plumbing & heating business, shoe store, or other types of non-typical SL businesses could do in a virtual world, but other than "advertising", I'm sure they could use the platform for something.
A couple years ago, there were buzzwords like "micropayments" and "the long tail". What happened to these ideas? In my opinion, they are still valid economic structures. Maybe "big", high profile businesses are the ones that get noticed coming and going, but I guarantee that there are many other, smaller businesses that are doing just fine. I'm also sure that there will be many more to come.
SL 2006 was just like Web 1994. Give it a few more years and we'll look back on some of these naysayers comments and just laugh.
Opinions 
