=^..^=

/me invents the comfortable avatar boxer short.

You sometimes hear that the SL economy is “different,” but fundamentally, it isn’t. It’s more that the amount of money in circulation is small. I can earn up to $5000L for an article, which is about $16 US, and that won’t pay my RL mortgage! But it WILL pay my monthly SL tier fee, let me buy in-world goods out the wazoo, and even shuffle stuff OUT to the real world via PayPal, which I can use to feed my iTunes and Amazon.com habit!

The point is that if a business expects RL equivalent returns on an investment, forget about it. That’s why we hear about RL businesses “failing” in SL – it’s because the ROI is low. However, if you are a SL-focused entrepreneur who can accept lower returns and produce a sustainable product (sex scripts and clothing being two good examples) SL can be a profitable venture.

Second Life™ is a platform and a software product. Like any product, it follows a typical lifespan.

Early adopters found this grid, came in fast and made easy money while competition was low and demand was high. No marketing required.

Anyone can make money in the growth phase… no skill required.

In the maturity phase where competition is plentiful, stimulating a virtual economy takes work. If you want to make money, you can no longer sit back and reap the rewards without doing the leg work required to keep your business on top. This requires blood, sweat and promotion, and this is where business amateurs get weeded out.

Natural selection…

Businesses unwilling to invest effort, fall by the wayside while any business who excels in this area will thrive. It requires understanding the culture and demographics of Mr. or Miss Avatar and purchase motivation.

The decline phase is marked not as a negative, but as an absolute maturation of the product. Early adopters or your “lighthouse consumers” will have moved on to “the next big thing” Blue Mars perhaps? It is in the decline that main stream acceptance of the product occurs, so you can expect to see a steady increase in new users of Second Life™, after the hype and novelty have passed.

I agree with you entirely about the platform evolving into an incredible creative medium. Musicians and Writers are thriving in the environment, benefiting by global collaboration with other creatives. This is where the grid truly shines. Will the next major music talent emerge from Second Life™? What about the next Pulitzer Prize winner?

This is what I stay for. The creative community and global friendships I have fostered…

…and I really like looking like a super model…