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By Xavier Mohr
SLReports.net Particularly since the ban of in-world banking, in light of the continuing coverage we've been providing with regard to the financial sector, I've received a lot of random questions about SL Reports, JT Financial, the stock markets (stock exchanges), and other things. With my conflicting real-life schedule and persistent duties here at SLReports.net and elsewhere, it would be nearly impossible to answer each question individually. There are, however, a few great things which I felt I might be able to address publicly... in my new capacity as a staff writer, but based on my experience with SLR and Wise Metaverse... during what has been a period of extreme writer's block for me this afternoon. We'll start out with the most-asked questions as I have noticed... "What is the future of JT Financial, and
how does that affect SL Reports?" As you may or may not be aware, JT Financial purchased my majority share of SL Reports in May of 2007 in a highly-publicized transaction. Since then, however, organization of the company has changed. Prior to the banking ban, JT Financial, SL Reports, SL Capital Exchange, and other Second Life businesses managed by Arbitrage Wise were reorganized as subsidiaries of the real-life entity "Wise Metaverse, LLC," effectively making SL Reports a sister company to JTF.
SLReports.net and its staff fully support the future of JT Financial, and we are holding our breath much in the same way you are waiting to see what happens. At this point, it would appear that liquidation of JT Financial assets and real-life payment of depositors is well underway. JTF, however, is not closing up shop to my knowledge. The process of re-branding and reorganizing JT Financial has begun from what I understand, with a final destination being a merger into the organization known as SL Wallet. SL Wallet will serve as a payment gateway for Second Life, allowing third-party websites to accept Linden Dollar payments from SL Wallet accounts... thereby significantly increasing the buying power you have with your Linden Dollar balance. SL Wallet was never a "Plan B," though. JT Financial's disappearance from the business community of Second Life was inevitable simply because the plan to merge JTF into SL Wallet was in place months ago... the banking ban just radically pushed things forward. SL Reports is not affected by the issues currently being experienced by JTF, and as far as I know has its own operational liquidity completely aside from the JTF depositor reserve. We will continue to support other sister companies like SL Wallet and CapEx, just like we supported JTF... with cross-promotion, advertising, et cetera... but at the end of the day, SLR remains a separate entity operating under completely different guidelines and objectives. "Will SL Reports have to retool its coverage
in light of the banking ban?" Good question. SL Reports has in fact made a niche for itself in the financial community with coverage of banking, stock trading, and the financial impact of company decisions. I think you may see SLR "expand out" into other areas of news coverage such as in-world events, profiling of in-world businesses and avatars, and RL/SL activities of corporations. You'll also see our regular commentary, as usual. I don't really think you will see our audience change, I think you will see us change to match the evolving interests of our readership. We have a number of new content providers lined up, already, so expect to see more content coming... serving diverse interests... from diverse perspectives. That change, however, was in place at the start of the new year and has nothing to do with recent events. "I thought you quit SL? You mysteriously
reappeared after the banking ban." LOL – Another good question. I never really intended to quit Second Life. The thought crossed my mind a couple of times, sometimes publicly, but it was always just that... a thought. I came back to the Second Life grid after the banking ban because Arbitrage Wise has been a good friend of mine for a long time, and I knew that JTF would need help. I literally "worked the floor" of the bank for hours the day after the banking ban policy was announced, when the ATMs reopened, simply because I knew there would be a bank run and customers would need help. That being said, I very rarely log in to my avatar account anymore. There are a myriad of reasons for this... not the least of which is platform stability. I think it is amazing that a state-of-the-art MacBook that I've pumped over $3,000 USD worth of upgrades into still can't run the client in any decent fashion. It's difficult for me to run my web browser, Photoshop, iTunes, and Second Life all together without the Second Life client crashing and forcing me to re-log. In short, it is just too much of a frustration for me to log in anymore unless I have a specific task which must be completed from the grid. I would just deal with it if I had in-world obligations that I couldn't avoid. Simply put, though, my SL business efforts do not require land... so I no longer have land in SL to "play" on. I no longer hold any official or administrative role with SL Reports. Most people that I talk to regularly from SL have both my RL and my SL Gmail/Gtalk addresses so I converse with them there... and most of my "avatar-only" friends who I have known forever no longer participate in SL. There's just not a lot of use for me being inside SL anymore unless I am drunk and bored. I think the long-term future of my Second Life involvement will be what you are seeing right now... commentary at SLReports.net based on observations from the blogosphere and the real-life media... based on my past experience with the platform and insight into the virtual financial world. Will I cancel my account? I doubt it. I am no longer premium, so it is not costing me anything. In the event that Second Life account-holder rules change significantly, I might rethink that... but that does not really factor in to the equation at this point.
A couple random questions, but still important nonetheless... "Has SL Reports ever considered
bringing back podcasts?" I was so excited to receive this question, if not a bit sad. Technically, I cannot make a determination on whether or not podcasts will once again be a part of the SLR product line... but I can explain our history with podcasting. SL Reports, in its infancy as a public company, produced ten episodes of a Second Life news podcast... which was the number one SL podcast on iTunes for much of the time we were producing them. I still have an archive of them available, if you would like to check them out, right here. The reason, though, that these podcasts were so great is because of their production. Arbitrage and I would prepare a script every couple days, and send it off to be recorded at a commercial studio in Nashville, Tennessee. They would then send them back to us as MP3s and I would publish them to the server using a great Mac program called "Podcast Maker." The problem with this method is that even at the studio's cut-rate price of L$10,000 per episode, it was still not financially feasible to continue them. I think the most ad revenue we ever brought in was about L$7,000 for one of the later episodes... and we basically had to beg and plea for people to advertise in that one. I know, people have argued that would could do them cheaper... or for free with the right partnerships. We just haven't found someone that can produce quality, professionally-edited files in the same way that they once were. I also know that I personally have the technical knowledge and the software to do them, but I cringe imagining how they would turn out. If you don't know me in real-life, all I will tell you is that I have a face for radio and a voice for print. I think if SLR ever did podcasts again, that they should be of the quality that they were before... making that happen is the hard part. "How do I write
for SL Reports?" Wonderful question, and thank you for asking. If you would simply like to be an infrequent contributor, you are always welcome to send in your articles via the "Letter to the Editor" link. While we cannot pay you for these submissions under most circumstances, we can happily give you a by-line and a link back to your blog or website, if you have one. If you would like to be a regular contributor here, we can manage that as well. Simply send your request to us using the "Contact Us" link and we will review your request. If accepted, you will receive an author's login and instructions on how to make your posts... you'll have your own RSS feed and linked section, in addition to full creative control of your content. Under most circumstances, we do not pay for regular contributors, although you are more than welcome to re-sell ad space in your posts or include *tactful* AdSense placements.
To conclude, I would just like to thank everyone for their trust and support during this time of great growth and change for SL Reports, and the SL community as a whole. We look forward to servicing your needs and will happily answer any questions you have about our service. I can always be reached by email at
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should you have an inquiry that you would like to have addressed. The new CEO of SLR, Cash Yiyuan, is also ready and willing to help out with anything you need... Cash can also be contacted inside Second Life or via email at
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. Thanks for reading SLReports.net.
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