Community

Second Life

Thank you for making such a fantastic site available. I discovered, very quickly, that your site is more then just a URL, it is also an entire world!

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe. From the moment you enter Second Life you’ll discover vast, digital continents teeming with people, cultures, entertainment, and opportunities.

The most amazing facet of this jewel of an online platform, is the complete economy … builders, economists, organizations …

And the list goes on. Not only do residents retain the intellectual rights to their digital creations, they can buy sell and trade with others. Second Life supports millions of dollars in transactions each and every month.

What are some of the other opportunities one can expect? And how are they compensated?

“Off-world” name-brand businesses and schools are entering our grid every day, and paying residents in the local currency to build for them. This commerce is all utilized with the Linden dollar, an electronic currency equal in greater value then the currencies of many national currencies. Other compensations appear in “tit-for-tat” commerce such as equal value transaction. One example is a paralegal providing a growing community with services in exchange for a parcel of land to make their own.

One of the first things I noticed were the diverse collection of social groups. These don’t appear to be run of the mill forum groups where people just show up to voice an opinion.

The groups in Second Life are very real entities. One group comes to mind, called V3, whose specialty is to build “grid” representations of upcoming or just-released films and really help excite fans with 3D versions of what they have seen or can expect to see in the film. Favorite scenes, cool locations … Other groups include Nascar, celebrity icon groups, business and development groups like Pontiac, IBM etc, learning centers of every kind, embassies, non-profit organizations … the list goes on.

I think the first thing I did was find a nice spot to call home. I secured a floating pod from Rem Koolhaas, and dropped a sitting chair to enjoy the sunset. The view in Second Life is breath taking. Finding the right spot was a breeze, and I was amazed how easy it was to find available land despite the accelerating “land crunch”.

We want to provide a few, easy pointers for the readers here about land. Residents are always putting plots of land up for sale. You can see what’s currently on the market by checking out Second Life’s in-world map to view what’s currently for sale or you can check out the land auctions at the site itself. There are also private islands such as Twilight, where the land is owned by a resident of Second Life, and you may buy or lease the land from them directly (depending on each island owners policy or covenant).

My sister spends almost all of her time shopping here in Second Life.

Residents have created entire malls jammed with different attachments to enhance the shape, appearance, mood and apparel of each avatar. There is so much to see here in Second Life, and more is being created every day.

Is it hard to create in Second Life? I have started to mess with the building blocks, but my sister wants to go into design, in addition to modeling. Perhaps she wants to model her own clothes!

We provide free templates and instructions for the beginners who want to make their own look for Second Life. There are scripts for those who want to build pets, automobiles or Harry Potter memorabilia. Clothing templates and basic shapes are also available, and for the experienced creator you have only the sky as the limit.

What’s the sky limit in Second Life?

There is no such thing. See you in Second Life.

For more information about Second Life, please visit the site by clicking here or visit a blog at LuckyLinden.com It is full of detailed information, and there is a linden purchase agreement form for those avatars flush with linden dollars and in need of cash.

A special thanks to Andromega whose unmatched talent is the base of the image I used as the thumb for this post.