As the SLW conversion and WSE server update delay have received much attention lately, I would like to sway from the tension and focus on more RL matters. In my leisure time, I enjoy reading investment and business books. In the future, I will not make this front page and will only update these in iVentures Volitant’s Blog. Here are a few to mention:
- The end product of the shorter deadline is almost inevitably of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.
- There are two synergistic approaches for increasing productivity that are inversions of each other:
a) Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/20 rule)
b) Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson’s Law)
Best solution is to use both together. Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines.
- Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.– George Bernard Shaw
- Entrepreneurs are those who make things happen.
- Don’t underestimate how much your company needs you. Perform well and ask for what you want. If you don’t get it over time, leave. It’s too big a world to spend most of line in a cubicle.
Calculating per hourly rate based on Salary
For those who would like to know how much you are making per hour based on your current or expected annual salary, I have provide you with an example for simplicity:
Assumptions:
Expected Annual Salary: $50,000
Hours Worked: 40 hours/day
Time Off (Vacation): 2 weeks
Total Work Weeks: 52 weeks
Expected Annual Salary / Hours Worked x [Total Work Weeks – Vacation Weeks] =
50 / (40 x [52 - 2]) = $25/hr
Over time, I will share certain quotes or excerpts that I find interesting. Feedback is much appreciated.
Before discussing my thoughts on the SLW Conversion, I am grateful for the hard work that Arbitrage Wise has put forth after LL’s announcement regarding the ban on banks. He has exemplified his efforts on ensuring his trustworthiness and his client’s protection from a potential bank run. Kudos to you and we look forward for new products and services this year.
Now, on with my thoughts on SLW Conversion.
The SLW Prospectus is clear and concise as it lists the Business Strategies and how revenue is generated. However, what is SLW’s main objective? My original intake was that this business will be used as a payment gateway and currency platform of SL and other metaverses for business related transactions. In RL, this would mimic PayPal.
After further analysis, has the SLW Conversion correctly reflected its business strategies stated in its prospectus? I will compare SLW with PayPal based on its objectives and its current status.
I cannot predict the future.All that I can do is look at the past, and attempt to draw lessons from what has happened before, and hope that others can do the same.That being said, the current situation with JT Financial and SL Wallet (SLW) is reminiscent of what happened with Ginko Financial a few months ago.
Let’s review the facts similarities.With both institutions:
Linden Labs took a new policy action that caused a large run on deposits.
The institutions became at best illiquid and at worst insolvent.
The institutions decided to convert their existing deposits to equity compulsorily.
Depositors have been promised that their new equity will be purchased back at cost over time.
For those of you who have been reading SL Reports for awhile, you know that I was not a fan of Luke Connell’s decision to prohibit Nicholas Portocarrero from purchasing Ginko Perpetual Bonds (GPB) at less than L$1 per share if investors were offering them at such prices.I wrote about it in an article called “Salt in the Wound: WSE Price Regulation of GPB. ”However, this time around I highly doubt that Arbitrage Wise will prohibit himself from buying back SLW shares at less than L$1 per share.Thus we have a rare gift in the financial markets, the opportunity to see how nearly the same event is handled with a minute difference in the rules of engagement.
Although I have been absent from Second Life recently, one of our great contemporary issues – somewhat related to the virtual world – has captivated my attention recently: online support of political candidates.
Perhaps it is my disassociation from the virtual world of late that gives me the courage to write today about the faux-pas subject of politics. As I have said on a number of occasions... deal with it or read something else! LOL
I have been watching amazedly the social networking sites, blogs, news site comments, and chatrooms over the last six months or more. With Super Tuesday now behind us, it's interesting to look at whose Internet followings came through for the cause, and whose failed miserably.
My first, and most obvious example, is Ron Paul. Over the past several months, this man has possibly amassed one of the largest and most devoted online followings of any U.S. presidential candidate. His supporters are educated, loyal, and quick to point out favorable stances on issues affecting the American people.
As I watch our stock market constantly dropping every day due to what I would consider a dismal monetary policy set by the US Feds, I can’t help but think the collapse of the USD is looming just not too far ahead.And if the US Dollar does collapse, how will it affect the virtual worlds, particularly the Linden Dollar since its conversion rate is set based on the USD?
As more open grids and virtual worlds start linking up with each other, one of the things I wouldn’t mind seeing (assuming that it’s legal), is a free market of currency.No doubt that in the early days of the free market currency, there will be a lot of bank collapse and rampant frauds.Being a pure capitalist, I have to say that we just need to let the market play out.Under the condition of a privatized currency, there should be some kind of universal agreement of checks and balances, or ‘membership rules’ that banks must go by in order to ensure that full transparency.But aside from that, it’s really up to the investors and market to perform their due diligence.We can’t expect everyone to research each individual bank they think about using, but we can certainly expect that a business will come around to fill that void – that’s what a free market does: fill gaps and decrease inefficiencies.
If anything is to serve as a ‘Lab’ on how a free market currency would work, virtual world is the place for it.The ‘GDP’ (more like GVP – Gross Virtual Products) of virtual worlds are relatively small compared to the Real World, and virtual world as a whole is still an emerging market.So why not try out free market currency and pure laissez-fair, and see how it works.Something worth looking into, or at least talked about.So assuming that our government somehow allows this, or we can circumvent this just as Linden Lab did – do you think this is a good or bad idea?
For 2008, iVentures Group has created Project Initiatives based on market demand. One of these project initiatives focus on one sector: Stock Exchanges. As these simulated Stock Exchanges are considered to be a learning experience, we want to ensure that the financial market remains a safe economy. The shareholders can trade with confidence and the Exchanges, company management, and potential investors have sufficient financial tools to increase profit. We believe that we have:
1) sufficient accounting and financial experience
2)an in-depth knowledge of the financial market
3)and the independency for objective views as we are a self-funding entity.
SL Financial Markets Watch
The objective is two-fold: to create index funds and to consolidate Stock Exchanges listed Companies information utilizing iVentures Group financial tools. We can provide the financial market with the following:
1)Allow Exchanges to compare their performance with its competitors based on market capitalization, trading volume, and the number of listed and delisted IPOs based on interim periods in one snapshot
2)Allow company management to compare their performance with its competitors within its industry
3)Allow shareholders and potential investors the ability to perform further due diligence prior to investing their funds
An index fund aims to replicate the movements of an index of the financial market, or a set of rules of ownership that are held constant, regardless of market conditions. There are currently several Stock Exchanges in SL: SL CAPEX, ACE, ISE, L&L Global Exchange, and WSE (currently upgrading their server). As there are presumably a few so called, "index funds," replicating the financial market, each listed position is at various prices. Why? Simple. These are not index funds as the strategies implemented are not correctly replicating the market based on the purchased stock positions.
iVentures Group has created strategies for the index fund with the goal to correctly mimic the financial market. After three consecutive months of testing internally and revisions made to our strategies, we have reasonable assurance that the index fund is directly correlated with the growth of the financial sector based on the companies trading volatility listed on the Stock Exchanges.
As we continue our operations throughout the year, we look forward in new project initiatives that would benefit the financial market ensuring that it remains a safe economy.
*Note:
In order to ensure that this financial tool is implemented, Exchanges would need for their sites to have public RSS feed content feature available or the information would not be streamlined. Exchanges would not have the advantages of the following:
1)compare to its competitors of other Exchanges
2)mitigate trading risks based on analyzing listed companies performance
3)increase shareholder confidence and trading volume
Opinions 
