A Goldrush Called Second Life Namespace is Also About Sex
Posted on October 15, 2006
Filed Under Companies, Insights |
Clickable Culture talks today about the sale of Second Life names (right now you have to choose from a list given by Second life).
Second Life now intend making names a tradable item, pretty much like domain names, though more expensive (like $100).
I wrote about Second Life in the Irish Times recently and, weird, then received a couple of e-mails from people “in world” (the Second Life name for Second Life).
First let’s say monetising names in Second Life is a cute idea - Linden Labs, Second Life’s parents anticipate 20 million members by this time next year. Twenty million people pretending to be cartoons? Are you kidding?
But here’s a question. Do we really know what goes on in Second Life to make that upside credible?
Blogging became a big deal when Google began monetising opinion, when a few bloggers got published and when it seemed for all the world like the blog was a potential income source.
Linden Labs have done a good job of talking up income potential in Second Life (people make money out of selling clothes, household furnishings, even news in Second Life).
In order to have that chance you have to buy Second Life property (and yes there are Second Life real estate agents). So to trade, first you pay Linden Labs.
But one of the correspondents who wrote to me following my article points out what really happens in Second Life. It’s about sex. According to her (I guess a her from the name) people buy the property, try to make a few dollars exercising their design skills and then realise hey, I have this beautiful avatar body, nobody knows who I am, everybody I meet is perfect, I can talk dirty.
Yes, Second Life might well be the place people live out their sexual fantasies. It might also be the most sophisticated and costly dating agency. Now the 20 million, and charging for names, begins to make sense.
Of course it could also all be about BBC concerts, Suzanne Vega, Duran Duran, knitting, avatar couture, household furnishings, and cafe culture. Yawn.
technorati tags:Second Life, sex, dating
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Thanks for the linkage, Haydn. Where’d you get the info that Linden Lab expects 20 million members next year? I haven’t come across that goal yet, do you have a link where I can read more about it?
FYI, it’s possible to make money in Second Life without buying or renting any virtual property at all. Land is not a requirement for sales of anything but real estate — I, for example, am homeless (in SL). But there’s nothing stopping me from approaching retailers with my product, or selling directly to avatars (like a street vendor). Acquiring land requires paying Linden Lab, and cuts into one’s bottom line. On the other hand, having a dedicated sales space can increase sales.
That’s interesting - when I interviewed Second Life they were definitive about having to own land to trade.
The figures - they are a projection at the current growth rate given to me by one of the main partners to LindenLabs.
Was this a recent interview of Linden Lab? Perhaps they are planning a land-based commerce system that is not yet in place. It is currently possible (even easy) to buy and sell items in-world without owning or renting land.