countenance ’s get one thing straight before we start : Second Life is not a video game ; it ’s a virtual world . There are citizenry who will become worried if you fail to make this distinction . And in this practical world , people lead lives unmistakably similar in profundity to their " real " lives , or at least to the potential profundity theycouldachieve in real life under dissimilar lot . A human beings who is a tax accountant in real lifespan may arise a Second Life graphic symbol – anavatar– who is a 19 - year - old female style model . And that incarnation may make $ 100,000 Linden dollar per photo shoot , put $ 50,000 in a Second Life banking company and spend the remainder shopping in virtual store for Manolo Blanhiks , buy practical artwork at virtual vendue to decorate her penthouse apartment and hand out nursing bottle of Cristal to everyone in the VIP elbow room in her favorite guild . The storehouse , the art auction house , the apartment construction , the night club – these are all run by other avatars . And these avatar are clear money from shoe cut-rate sale , art sales , rent or Centennial State - op fees and cover charges ( though no doubt the fashion modeling induce in free ) .
As far as virtual reality go , this is impressive , but it ’s not rotatory . What is radical about Second Life is that it ’s not only legal to make real money from your case ’s virtual endeavors – it ’s encourage . The exchange of your accumulated Linden dollars into U.S. dollars , Amerindic rupee or British Irish pound is built into the system through something calledLindeX– that ’s where you go to change your Linden dough into a form you’re able to deposit in your real - human beings coin bank account . Yes – your factual bank invoice where your " veridical - world " paycheck gets directly - deposited every couple of weeks . And it mould the other way of life , too . If your embodiment rule itself broke in Second Life , you’re able to appoint the U.S. dollar eq for a sure number of Linden dollars to your actual , veridical - life credit card and voila – you ’re stray in practical hard currency .
Second Life has basically obscure the line between practical Commerce Department and " real creation " commerce . People are making real money – mostly small one dollar bill , but still – through their activities in Second Life . Their avatars are working as real - demesne broker , dry land developers ( this is one of the most lucrative ways to make money in Second Life ) , bouncers , bar tenders , prostitutes , ad White House and any other occupation that exists in the " real world . " Whether you may make serious money in Second Life is debatable and remains to be examine . agree to Fortune magazine ’s David Kirkpatrick , Second Life Divine Linden Lab reported that in December 2006 , " 17,000 [ Second Life ] occupier had positive John Cash catamenia in Linden dollars , with about 450 generating monthly income in excess of $ 1,000 " in U.S. dollars . So it does n’t sound like too many people can quit their daytime job yet , but the phenomenon is startling still : An total virtual economy that not only mirrors but also ties into the literal - world economic system has developed to the period that it ’s arduous to evidence where one ends and the other begins .
Consider this : An incarnation who unfold a night club postulate employees . That avatar may put out a occupation search through a Second Life caper - finder lookup engine , look for cocktail waitresses , chucker-out , bar tender , janitor , and maybe a couplet of professional dancers to keep thing interesting . The dark - club owner pays all of these employee in Linden dollars . Once any avatar take in the Linden buck eq of $ 150 U.S. , he or she or it can interchange the virtual dollar for " real " dollars and deposit them in the bank . The actual bank . So is experience a job in Second Life all that unlike from having a job in " substantial life " ? Theoretically talk , not so much , although the exchange rate of Linden to U.S. is pretty poor : As of January 2007 , it ’s approximately268 Linden dollars to 1 U.S. buck . So working in the real world is , at the very least , more profitable . But an interesting new money - spend a penny boulevard has leap up in recent calendar month . Companies like IBM – yes , " existent - life " IBM – are getting involved in Second Life . See the next page to learn more .
Second Life Business
1000 of IBM employee have developed avatar , and these incarnation go to virtual encounter in a virtual IBM conference room in Second Life and bear actual IBM business with other avatars in this practical man . While not a money - God Almighty in itself , this type of attention and the resulting proof - of - construct from great - name companies is spur a fresh type of Second Life commerce : ramp up Second Life presences for veridical - world company . Reuters , Nike , Sony - BMG and Toyota are just a fistful of the companies that have build storefronts , billboards or news ticker in Second Life . Some of the storefronts are just marketing tools ; others are selling products to avatars . An embodiment can go to a Toyota franchise in Second Life and bribe a practical car .
But Toyota and Sony are not build these practical properties themselves . Second Life is not the easiest earth to navigate , and expert in build Second Life properties are suddenly in great demand . There are now technology company that particularise in developing a real - life party ’s virtual presence in Second Life , and many of them are turning to long - time avatars to do the heavy lifting . Electric Sheep Company built Second Life presences for Nissan , Starwood and Ben Folds , and they recruited their employees inside Second Life . From job search to take up to interview to hiring , it all happened between avatars in a virtual humanity . A troupe called Crayon bring Coca Cola into Second Life and also hired entirely from the avatar puddle .
Many expert hypothesize that the next stone’s throw in this movement is for actual sales to take place in Second Life . In other words , your incarnation could walk into the virtual Nike store , buy a pair of sneakers priced in Linden dollars , and wait a hebdomad for the existent , real - life sneakers to arrive via UPS on your literal , real - living doorstep .
For more information on Second Life , practical man , the practical economy and related to topic , hold back out the next varlet .
