Pixel Scoop

Money makes the world go round, right? Or is that love? Well whatever. The point is we all kinda like it. There’s nothing better than feeling a bit flush after payday (real life) and being able to treat yourself to something you don’t need but just happen to want. It’s long been accepted that some will do anything in real life to get their hands on cash. And Second Life™ is no different. What continues to astound me in Second Life though, is how much people will do for an absolutely minimal amount of money.

Take camping for example, L$2 every ten minutes or so. That’s one cent per ten minutes, or six cents an hour. I’m pretty sure that breaks minimum wage laws in every single country! Ok, so there are those who camp while they sit around and talk to friends. Why not? If you’re only going to be sitting around talking to friends anyway, then you might as well get paid. But it always amazes me when people talk of leaving their computers on twenty four hours a day to camp for six cents an hour. Call me cynical, but would it not make more sense just to turn the computer off and save on the electricity bill? What with energy prices on the rise and all! It’s like paying ten dollars to travel to see someone who owes you a dollar. Forget about it!

And it isn’t just the electricity costs. It’s the undignified extremes some will go to with their camping. People will sit on ANY poseball no matter what it makes your avatar do just to get those couple of Lindens!!

Looks painful

Take these people for example. In their two hours of hanging around, staked of course, they’d earned L$ 13 each. However, much to my entertainment you could click on the little cones behind them to ‘jab the stakes harder’ and make them make all sorts of noises. Now there’s a job advertisement you would never see in real life:-

“We are looking to recruit men and women who would allow us to force a stake through their entire body for the entertainment of others, who will then be invited to come and jab that through a little harder. Qualifications and experience unimportant. Salary will be around 6 cents an hour, maybe 7 if you’re really good. Must be patient and have a high pain threshold. Please submit your resume.”

Hmm, I wonder if I’d get any takers for a role like that!