Last Month I've made $1300.00 USD and in the past four months I've held an Average 15% growth in business. If this trend continues and I invest the same amount of time every day to it, I could very well be making $45,000 USD or more by this time next year.

My Second Life business has without question surpassed my Real Life business for Stability and Profits. I have friends in my industry in Second Life that have quit their Full Time Jobs to put all of their efforts into their Second Life Jobs.

I have not run into any currenty exchange issues with the exception of waiting 10 days for a transfer to my bank account, I continue to draw money on a schedule so that isn't a problem.

If I understood this article correctly, The Author Logged in tried to buy and sell lindens to profit on the exchange rates? If that sort of activity would drastically effect my exchange rate or my rate of pay, I'm glad those safeguards are there.

SLFashion

bboypk

Randolf

Any Business that emploies media technique known as the SL are infact up-charging END customers while attempting to hide facts in a glossed 3D posting and all to the benfit of multi-national corperate media outlets (the same ppl who bring you wmd and the printing processes with IP have found a new way to lock people out of content) AND providing nothing new but getting richer by the day while others die from preventable causes.

And having SL corperate media reps posting comments is a joke!

I have to note where SL is advertised upon commercial and government networks - with the tick #1 being a sad fact of making readers, listeners, or viewers forget they are being sold too. Mainly stupid people with money who want their children to profit over those without money!

This system works with SL ads in they always state an amount of money or value in a nice clean environment to a world creator yet nothing is said for the PAIN of average users go through just getting to work and who just wanted contact information who instead found INFORMATION and not window dressing in a search engine which took around less than a second to produce an actual result...

Then again considering the 'advertised' mafia that is SL with partners from x-y-z there is no shocker here that I need some new car with internet access, AC, electric windows, lockup garrage, 300sq home, 20 light bulbes, fridge with internet access, toilet with internet access... lol

PSS: Last time I looked people were more impacient (esp when driving)

Oh is there an SL Earth? Rock On!

pmsl

I think that the creators of Second Life have intentionally discouraged participation of certain types of individuals or certain types of activities. The most notorious one is that it is not a game: World of Warcraft gamers are typically not interested because Second Life does not have "action".

In a similar fashion, I can see them discouraging, just like Brazil does in real life, the "plundering of their economy" by preventing the artificial extraction of value through money arbitrage like the one intended by the consultant's client. Such activities may be very beneficial for the perpetrators but, since they do not add value, they impoverish the internal economy.

Technically, it is more than viable: The software that runs Second Life can keep track of how many times a copyrighted good has changed hands. That is why you can have one-generation copy rights that will not allow a second generation copy. Why couldn't they implement a tag on the money that says "This is still fresh money just exchanged from outside US Dollars" and have the exchange market behave fairly on them, providing them only as much return on their investment as if it had been sitting anywhere else, thus discouraging arbitrage and keeping the value within the community?

If my conjecture is right, I applaud it. Second Life is not supposed to be a mirror of real life nor an investor's haven but a social space. They can choose to exclude anything they consider detrimental for their community. While a large debate can be brought on whether the sex business is detrimental, on money arbitrage I don't think you can find anybody willing to say that funneling out the profits made through arbitrage can be good for the community.

This1Guy

toaster99

However I do like the flavor of the article, you have to have ability and merit, in some way bring value to the community, to make money in SL. You cannot just jump in and make bundles of cash, it has taken me years to get to where I am. It is not a pyramid scheme as that term implies several things that are false to fact when compared to the reality of business in SL.

GrafxMan

Among others. One can get a money market through an online brokerage, a mutual fund company, or even through a credit card these days. Banks have a specific definition, especially if they are on the Federal Reserve System.

The only requirement is that you put a disclaimer saying that your value isn't guaranteed.

False. Myriad SEC regulations, licensing stipulates, binding industry self-regulation and other Congressional acts govern what they can claim and for what they are responsible.

Facts are sometimes inconvenient.

Randolf

rostbif2000

Vnezh

And, in the real world, if a bank *intentionally reneges* on its obligation there are consequences and recourse for recovery.

Randolf

Just as money market funds in RL don't guarantee your money either.
---------------------------------...

Ummm Money Market accounts and BANKS are not the same thing. You fail intentionally to mention that BANKS do guarantee your money in real life. So you say no BANK in sl and then Money Market in SL apples to apples please.

Nerys

Yonderboy

also Strokers Toys, and some other friends of mine take money out of the game regularly take out hundreds or thousands per month. So where is the verification for this data? Name some names, what banks, etc? When did it happen? It sounds all professional but the backing just isn't here. If everything is true, you can't be held libel for naming verifyable specifics.

Just as in RL businesses fail and things are lost. No bank in SL that i've seen says your money is guaranteed.

Just as money market funds in RL don't guarantee your money either.

Also with the cartoon porn, and other negative comments, if you don't like it you don't have to do it there are lots of PG areas where it isn't allowed and there are other things to do such as live bands etc. All for free for the most part.

Vnezh

For on and off participation in SL for a few years , I've gained valuable skills in customer service, project development, and computer graphics that gave me a jump start on my planned career. For this I now have pretty stable extra income that increases as I create more.

• "Virtual labor" performed by the denizens of the game on their various Second Life business projects is always compensated far below the real-world USD equivalent;

I have fun, I have direct contact to my customers, and can get their opinions right away. Besides regular customer support, there really isn't any cost to duplicating items made in world, and I don't need to be there to make a sale. For me a college student, its a great part time job, one that provides the opportunity to learn and enjoy what I do. What's wrong with having a job like that?

• SLL are effectively illiquid beyond small volume trades --
SL is still growing, the client is now open source, and the server software will follow suit down the road. Frankly to call it a pyramid scheme is kind of irresponsible this early on, right now if you expect to make a profit in SL as a large business you need to be patient, those who have a presence and experience in SL early on will have an advantage to those later on. Even then it is still a risk.

How is it hard to cash out? Its pretty much automated to sell Linden, and the lindex (linden money exchange) is still developing itself.

In reality I'm just a lowly college student, however even I can see to expect huge profits from SL right now is believing in a media hype. Secondlife has potential, calling it a pyramid scheme because it doesn't have the ability to give the media promised "easy cash from the Internets." right away is insulting to anyone who actually participating in the growth of Secondlife. It reminds me of when all those tech companies failed trying to ride on the hype of the internet in 99'. I'm pretty sure some of them denounced the Internet too. Yet now, it is a force to be reckoned with.

I make and sell virtual swords, in an online world. It just may be geeky, but it feels great that I can actually say I do that as a job.
I'm sorry if all SL boils down to some people is making money. To me it's alot more.

Also note, some people actually use SL to have fun.

See ya in world. ~Esprite Xavier

Esprite

jgurtz

Randolf

RationalBeaver