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Virtual World Makes Real Money
by
findingDulcinea Staff
With more businesses making money in the virtual reality world of Second Life, many say it’s the next generation of Internet commerce.
30 Second Summary
According to computer industry leaders, online virtual realities like Second Life are the next big step in the Internet's development.
Second Life is a 3-D world modeled on real life, allowing users to maneuver self-designed characters (called avatars) through virtual landscapes. Much of this computerized world functions with all the complexity of living, breathing reality, with users trading a virtual currency (called the linden) for virtual goods such as apartments and clothing.
But lindens have more than just a virtual value: hundreds of money-changing sites, allowing users to buy the virtual currency with real money, have sprung up all over the Web. This means that lindens now function similarly to foreign currency, and every online exchange involving this virtual money now has real-life monetary value.
The growth of Second Life's economy has businesses, politicians, and institutions racing to establish their virtual presence.
IBM, Coca-Cola, and Nissan have all set up shop in Second Life, and the Reuters news agency now has a Second Life bureau. A Democratic congressman from California recently held a press conference there, and even Harvard Law School offers a class that is taught exclusively within the virtual world.
Second Life is a 3-D world modeled on real life, allowing users to maneuver self-designed characters (called avatars) through virtual landscapes. Much of this computerized world functions with all the complexity of living, breathing reality, with users trading a virtual currency (called the linden) for virtual goods such as apartments and clothing.
But lindens have more than just a virtual value: hundreds of money-changing sites, allowing users to buy the virtual currency with real money, have sprung up all over the Web. This means that lindens now function similarly to foreign currency, and every online exchange involving this virtual money now has real-life monetary value.
The growth of Second Life's economy has businesses, politicians, and institutions racing to establish their virtual presence.
IBM, Coca-Cola, and Nissan have all set up shop in Second Life, and the Reuters news agency now has a Second Life bureau. A Democratic congressman from California recently held a press conference there, and even Harvard Law School offers a class that is taught exclusively within the virtual world.
Headline: The business of Second Life
Eager to tap into the money-making potential of what he considers to be the “Internet’s next phase of evolution,” IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has already committed $10 million dollars to further developing the “3-D Web” typified by Second Life. But IBM’s not the only one fired up about turning virtual moolah into profits.
Source: CNN
More and more real-life companies are staking their virtual claim to Second Life real estate. But as the market continues to establish its virtual identity, real-world concerns about consumer privacy are becoming bigger issues.
Source: The Chicago-Tribune
Background: Second Life's world
For those who haven’t taken the leap into virtual reality, BusinessWeek takes a trip through Second Life’s flourishing fantasy world. The article chronicles all the pretend banality of a virtual rookie’s (mis)adventures, from finding a home to buying clothes and going to bars.
Source: Businessweek
Businesses wanting to break into the online realm of Second Life are hiring long-time virtual world users without ever meeting them in person. Imagine being interviewed and hired in a virtual office by someone who’s never met you and doesn’t ever plan to. It’s happening more and more, and the virtual job market is only growing.
Source: CNN
Anshe Chung Studios, the computer-generated real estate business owned and operated by Aillin Graef, aka Anshe Chung, designs every type of virtual home from Arctic cabins to gothic castles. Then she turns around sells her digital developments for a hefty profit. She's doing so well, she's even got virtual employees.
Source: Anshechung.com
Reactions: News services enter Second Life
Second Life even has its own daily “newspaper,” the Second Life Herald. Covering all aspects of Second Life’s fantasy culture, the Herald even pays its reporters in the world’s cyber-currency.
Source: The Second Life Herald
Major news agencies like Reuters are now setting up bureaus in Second Life, investigating and reporting on the role-playing realm’s emergent culture. Reuters is the first established new agency to assign a full-time reporter to a virtual world.
Source: The New York Times
Reference: Linden Lab
Linden Lab, creator of Second Life, is a San Francisco-based company founded in 1999. Despite Linden Lab’s short existence, it has enjoyed the status of a pioneer in online virtual innovation. Linden’s Web site contains information on the company, its employees, and of course Second Life.
Source: Linden Lab
Philip Rosedale, founder and CEO of Linden Lab, spent three years as Vice President and CTO of Real Networks before moving to San Francisco to start what would become Linden.
Source: Linden Lab
Learn how to create an online character (known as an “avatar”) and read explanations of Second Life’s myriad features on the virtual world’s main Web site.
Source: Second Life Web site
Related Topics: Second Life impropriety, politics and education
Second Life isn’t all fun and games: German police have launched an investigation into a group of members allegedly trading child pornography and having sex with virtual children.
Source: The BBC
The FBI has taken a renewed interest in the virtual casinos of Second Life, citing that they could be in violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act passed last year.
Source: Reuters
Democratic Representative from California George Miller has become the first member of Congress to take advantage of Second Life’s virtual forum and its reach to over 2 million users. “Democrats want to use technology to help broaden the public’s access to elected officials,” said Miller in a press release.
Source: Rep. George Miller's Web site
Harvard Law School now offers classes in Second Life. The University’s CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion course will be the first Harvard class ever offered strictly online. “It will be an exciting education for all of us,” instructor Rebecca Nesson said.
Source: Harvard Web site
“Location, location, location” has been a real estate truism since long before people were visiting cyberspace . But what happens when the “real” estate is not so real? If you’re a Chinese-born language teacher turned virtual businesswoman, you become the world’s first virtual millionaire by selling cyberspace homes.
Source: Anshechung.com
What do online fantasy game players do when they run out of virtual funds? They get out their credit cards and start buying them. Sites selling fantasy currency for real dollars are popping up all over the Web, and as the amount of money changing hands grows, regulation and taxation are becoming real issues. CNet examines this cyber-marketplace and the economic implications of its growth.
Source: CNet
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