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By Xavier Mohr, Publisher
SLReports.net An Editorial For the last week and a half, I have gone back and forth in my mind curious as to what I wanted to write about. There are so many subjects dear to my heart in regard to Second Life, its residents, its economy, and the system as a whole. It was a very difficult decision, and in the end I decided to publicly contemplate my own place in Second Life. Of course, any time you write about yourself in general, people start talking about ego. I hope that is not the case here. I am hoping I can make a bigger point about Second Life business as a whole. We'll see. As many of you know, I have experienced a lot of very intense drama in Second Life this year. My IPO, beneath-the-surface conflicts with AVIX, a lot of publicity that I didn't really ask for... and now my new position with the SL Capital Exchange . Thank goodness the latter of those things is actually turning out very positive for me. The thing is, throughout all these situations, my entire real life has been 'tied up' with Second Life. Why is that?
I got to thinking about this yesterday. I was offline just sort-of "hanging out" with my other half. We were discussing real-life, Second Life, our plans for the future, next vacation, et cetera. In my mind, I started to realize that as intense as things can get on the grid, and as successful as a person can become within Second Life, it rarely impacts what matters most - real life. Basically, in buying/selling land, operating SLReports.net, and now working for CapEx, I have in all earned about what I would have earned if I would have continued my real-life home business a couple hours a week... which is planning, producing, and placing advertising for local companies. And trust me, that is a lot less labor-intensive than Second Life! Now, as I indicated in a comment on an unrelated SLR posting, I do know a ton of people that claim to earn over $50,000 USD a year through Second Life. I also know two or three people that claim to earn over $100,000 USD through Second Life. I don't doubt any of these claims. Remember, though... as a close friend told me, "There are no big paychecks in SL." This is absolutely true. Most of my friends that I consider big earners here do it full time, and I can't think of a single one that spends less than 8 hours a day here including weekends. The truth be known, I would guess most of them spend upwards of 10 to 12 hours a day in SL - if not more. Depending on where you live in the world, $50,000 a year really isn't a heck of a lot of money. Some places I can think of, $100,000 a year isn't all that much, either. I typically spend about 5 to 7 hours a day in SL during the week, more on weekends. Why? I guess the bottom line is... more than money... I like the people. I like the interaction. Earning Linden is secondary to chatting with friends, writing for SL Reports, and helping out investors over at CapEx. I have watched real-life businesses come and go from Second Life. All of them start out with the same old propaganda... claiming they will use this revolutionary platform to market or sell their real-life products. A couple months later, they disappear without comment. I'm not saying there is no money to be made in Second Life. I don't believe that for a second. I believe that Second Life is on the forefront of what will eventually become the 'new Internet' - virtual worlds. However, the 3-D universe is still a relatively-new concept. We're still gaining users, working out the bugs, the legal and moral issues, and even developing the infrastructure we will eventually need to support a larger 'population'. I guess what I am saying is, "Don't quit your day job." If you want to invest a little money and a little time in exchange for a small return, by all means I encourage you to do so. If you want to develop a virtual business now that could possibly make you rich five years from now, I fully encourage that. What I see more and more, however, are individuals bringing their life savings into the game banking on becoming instant millionaires. Instead, they end up frustrated and jaded... with tough jobs and horrendous schedules... all for a return they could easily have beaten elsewhere. When you operate a labor-intensive, money-hungry virtual business, it's important you also love the other aspects that the virtual world has to offer. I'm here because I love Second Life. If I make a little money while I'm logged in, then that's awesome. Just my opinion. -- Xavier
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