Rebranding - a Fact of [busness] Life

http://www.thatcanadiangirl.co.uk/wp-pictures/kfc_rebrand.gif Last post here... maybe. Let me know if I should continue, or move-on.

Your2ndPlace has a short article about SL Realtor rebranding itself into 'MetaRealtors". In fact, here's a quote from the press release; from Your2ndPlace:

SL-Realtor.com is pleased to announce they are re-branding as MetaRealtors.com. “While some look at Linden Lab’s new copyright restrictions as interference with their businesses, we view it as an opportunity to not only re-brand ourselves but examine the potential to expand in to other virtual worlds.” said Hel Christensen, MetaRealtors.com Chairman.

Posted at at 3:19 PM on Monday, April 21, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under:

It's a change...

Some of you might already know I actually mange three blogs. This one, where I actually rant and get pretty stupid from time-to-time, SL Review - where I actually make a serious effort at being a decent blogger and a simple one over at Tumblr - where I syndicate both of these as well as add a few snippets interjected here and there.

Well, this blog and SL Review are both based on Linden Lab's Second Life. And, if you follow anything Second Life, you know there is a big hoopla about Linden Lab's own intellectual property rights. Specifically, their branding and use of their copyrighted terms.

Hey, I'm all for that. Go-go linden lab, I say. However, and I've ranted on this all along, Linden Lab is actually trying to claim a trademark on the initials "S" and "L" when used together ("SL") - and I find that laughable. So, "SL Review" (http://slreview.wordpress.com) will stay "SL Review" and nothing else will change until I get that 'cease and desist' letter from the spooky, weirdo legal eagles.

But, no sense tempting fate by having both that and this blog hanging on to those initials. So, welcome to Virtual Attitude. Please note the URL has changed - now at http://virtualattitude.blogspot.com.

Oh, and since we are going generically virtual, maybe we can get Naoki to post a teeny bit more often? I dunno - something ranting (or raving) about IMVU or whatever.

Okay, so anyway - a note that if we haven't scared you off, screaming just yet, you might want to update your RSS reader to the new address. :)

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Posted at at 11:50 AM on Friday, April 18, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under:

I've said it again and again - the tax man is coming.

And now, Forbes magazine agrees with me. I'm warning you - the tax man is coming and it won't be long. The greedy politicians are salivating over the money that is exchanging hands in Second Life and other virtual world and MMORPGs. They are no doubt frantically trying to find aa way to stick their hands into your back pocket.

The hearing that occurred on April 1st this year was supposed to be some kind of exploratory thing. But in truth, and you really know this, whether your believe it or not, it was really kjust the first step into taxing anything and everything you own, whether it is real or not.

Read this Forbes article. Man-o-man do I feel so vindicated.

Indeed, the minority staff of Congress' Joint Economic Committee has a study underway, and academics are already churning out papers on the proper tax treatment of pretend online worlds with their own economies and commerce. You can buy weapons to use in battle in "World of Warcraft," or sexy outfits to go out dancing in "Second Life," or furniture to decorate your igloo in "Club Penguin."
Taxing Virtual Worlds - Forbes.com
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Posted at at 4:24 PM on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Obama whacks Clinton... [rolls eyes now]

Okay, so we all know Second Life is absolutely rife with "drama", right? Especially the love triangles and other interpersonal spaghetti tangles of web that would bring Peyton Place, Romeo & Juliet, NAY! Even the most popular soap operas to shame!

Much of it simply rates 'socially mundane'. But sometimes, the juicy stupid ones come along that rate a socially hilarious! Okay, that rating doesn't exist. so we'll settle for Socially Laughable.

How can a bunch of Obama supporters infesting a usually deserted Clinton sim inside Second Life be anything else other than drama supreme? I swear... some people really do need to get a life.

Now of course, a 'socially laughable' rating is just our way of saying 'get a freakin' life - any life but second life. And grow up just a little while you're at it.' Personally, I'm not very excited about any of the three candidates this go 'round. At least soon it will only be two of them. Then I can simply pick the lesser evil.

A quote from the site [a Hilary supporter]:

"I had one of those brief Yay, we can win! moments, but then I saw they were all clutching Obama banners and flags, and my heart sank," Lestat types, her waif-like avatar starring off into the tropical distance. "Holding an Obama demonstration on Hillary Island ... have they no shame?"
Yes, it's a satire web site. Though I don't think this particular story is made-up. So, even real events become satire. And the sad thing is, the people involved take it seriously. It becomes the impression of satire, therefore, it is.

Obama Supporters Attack Hillary In Second Life
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Posted at at 3:07 PM on Monday, April 14, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 1 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Second Life Exchange - no, not THAT one!

Absolutely hilarious! The first "joke" above isn't a joke. It's a real posting... somewhere. And the funny thing is how vindicated I feel about it. I've been slamming all these so-called 'business' people in SL who scream shrill cries bashing Linden Lab for not 'keeping it's promises' of a stable grid and everything working all fine and hunky-dory - and the SL "economy" becoming stable with land prices and all that garbage.

All so their little SL business will feed and clothe and shelter them in first life.

So many people like the guy above will start what they feel is a successful business in SL and actually quit their real life day job to focus on it. Stupid move unless you have wads of cash sitting in the bank to back you up. Because most, like the guy above, will end-up on the real life employment line all over again. And I've been saying this all along the last couple years.

So I ran across this web site that looks at the hilarity and irony of Second Life and actually makes fun of it. But not via anything Linden Lab says, but rather from the horses mouth: the residents own postings on various blogs, bulletin boards and so on throughout first life's Internet.

I have to say - I'm bookmarking this site and I'll have to visit it every day. Just to get the lighter perspective of things. As for making real money in SL - that's okay. But it should be discretionary cash - something that allows you to buy that new first life toy gadget you want or even maybe to help make ends meet in tough times. But to quit your day job and go whole-hog in SL is immature and reckless.

For your own good.

"I once passed by a Vietnamese restaurant that said Sum Dum Phuck and I wanted to go inside and see if there were any dumb fucks from Second Life."




Second Life Exchange
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Posted at at 9:57 AM on Sunday, April 13, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 2 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Thieves in the night - how to protect yourself?

Sandi with stolen pantiesA very hot debate about content theft (technically plagiarizing) is flying around the SL blog again. We'll simply have to agree to disagree. Part of the replies to my post are also misunderstanding the spirit of my posts.

I've had my say and my say is this:

First - most content created in SL is pretty good. Not too bad at all, nothing that will cause a double-take, but on the whole, not too bad. Then there are those items which are absolute must-haves. The top-of-the-line stuff.

Now as for the whole content theft business goes, my basic presumption is this: if your stuff is really good, well designed, it will get stolen. If not stolen, then coveted and copied (facsimile) at least.

This won't sound pleasant, but you should be honored. It's a sign of the quality and popularity of your product. Now, don't think I don't care - I do. I sympathize with you and it is wrong. But the fact of the matter is if someone wants to steal your work, they will find a way to do it.

Why bother locking your car? If they want your stereo, they'll just smash the window.

Now, the first problem has to do with how are these people 'ripping' or otherwise able to create full permission copies of your stuff. Three ways I am personally aware of: a prim duplicator, a texture ripper and copybot.

Prim duplicators are very useful tools. I use one almost regularly. If you want to know how or why, IM me in world and I'll actually show you, beyond just explaining it. Suffice it to say I build stuff I give to my better half to sell, and i would prefer she be known as the creator, among other uses.

The only way a prim duplicator can work is that the prims being copied must have modify permissions. Without that - it won't work. Additionally, scripts cannot and will not be copied. So the copy is just an empty shell.

Yes, many will use prim hair as a classic example of content ripe for being stolen this way. Two answers to that: make it no-mod and insert a 'resize' script, allowing the customer to resize it without having mod permission - a headache to be sure (no pun intended.)

Or, accept the risk - more on that later.

Texture rippers - I honestly don't know much about them. I know it is easy to script a prim to take any texture that you know the UUID (Universal Unique IDentifier) and display it on that prims faces. As for the next step - I really don't know.

However, textures in SL always have been the least secure to prevent copying. And the majority of textures in world are all illegal anyway! They are downloaded from the web or stolen from out-world content CDs without proper license to upload them into SL. Now, I agree, the skin creators do not usually fall into this category. Unfortunately, there just isn't much you can do about it.

The third method, which works for prims and textures, et alii, is the greatly feared "copybot". I've read about it and based on what i know about how SL, databases and computers work - there just isn't anything that can be done about it.

I see posts demanding Linden Lab put a stop to its use. That's an impossibility. The copybot works on your local computer. It grabs the data from the internet stream as it goes through your computer to the graphics processor. So, unless you want to allow Linden Lab full access to your personal computer and to render the display inoperative - there's nothing that can be done.

Now, it already is known that anyone caught using copybot will get an instant ban from the service. However, there are too many easy ways to make alts and start over. So, with copybot, there really is no defense. Fortunately it is near impossible to actually meet someone who has actually met someone who has actually used one, it is that rare.

The real issue is that people purchasing a product from a vending machine or sales box will have no indication as to the authenticity of that product. How will they know they are buying a stolen copy? They don't. So, you really can't blame them - and yes, I know that ignorance of the law is no excuse. But it is what it is. Even if you know the law, you also have to know when it is being broken.

So - do you simply lock everything down tighter than a drum, or simply take the risk?

SL is a very big place. If your items are stolen, it is highly unlikely you (or anyone else for that matter) will ever know it. Unless a friend or someone familiar with your designs happens across it.

The only other way to know is if you search classifieds for your keywords and find your stuff that way. In which case, you have a stronger case to fight it with. The fact is, if your stuff is worth stealing, it will get stolen.

Do you sweat it out, or just be aware and try not to worry about it until it actually happens. When it actually happens, then, and only then, evaluate the situation, determine the damage it will do for you and then take the appropriate action and move forward from there.

In the case of the stolen commercial skins. If it were me - I make the stolen skins freebies, and be sure that most popular freebie places have them: New Citizens, Inc., Sara Nerds place and all the others. Make sure it's in a box with information about the skin, who created it and where to find more (landmark).

I know there are many who would disagree with this approach. But, it's the approach I feel would work for me. The best preventive action we can take is to educate the resident public at large. The problem is there is no CNN or other "Nightly News" that everyone turns to for information. There is no central news authority where people learn about what's happening.

Even the SL blog is visited by a tiny fraction of active residents.

So... how to let people know when they are buying a stolen copy? Easy, find a way to let them know they are buying a genuine authentic. How do we do this? It will take a lot of work and effort and help from Linden Lab.

Charlotte Bartlett (Post #139) says it best:

"Why can’t we simply all join together sim owners, content designers and creators and become one group. We can work together to create our OWN validation tool and council and work with Linden Labs to take this platform forward. Hey I know groups tend to crash - but I am personally sick of the 10 plus groups I try to stay membership of all dealing with content theft and each with their own champions."
Hey, I'm game.
I already put an "Authentic" logo on all my products and in my boxes and I do everything I can to make sure that part of my design is locked down as tight as SL will allow. But it's really not enough.

So, Charlotte, shout at me when you get this idea of yours initiated. Count me in.

Read the full Linden Lab post here:
Protecting Your Copyrighted Content « Official Second Life Blog

Oh, and a footnote: yes, I have had stuff stolen and sold out from under me. I went the "freebie" route I explained above. it worked... the stolen versions dried out and eventually, I removed the freebie version and retired the design. So, yes - I have been there and yes, I can relate to those offended by plagiaris...er... theft.
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Posted at at 6:57 PM on Friday, April 11, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Second Life Congressional Hearings - What a LAUGH!

You may have already heard about the congressional hearings concerning Second Life that were going on last week, but nothing’s really big news until The Daily Show pokes fun at it.

As usual, Jon Stewart brought the funny while reporting on the hearings, which were also broadcast in Second Life at the same time. The clip from the show really is an insightful portrait of the legal proceedings. Plus there’s a dolphin with boobs.

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Posted at at 7:11 AM on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Want an Alternative to SL? Go Fish.

It ain't happening.

So, deal with the Linden Lab mantra and the SL woes of crashing, asset server issues, database wonkyness and whatever other problems creep-in, because they refuse to boil the code. it already is public knowledge that the server and viewer code is such a spaghetti mess that to 'fix' it, they'd have to start over practically from scratch - and that won't happen.

So, among all the frustrations with memory leaks, crashing viewers and sloppy, laggy sims, we have all kept our eyes pointed to the horizon... waiting for that alternate virtual world that will be rich enough in features, powerful enough in design and open enough to allow as much freedom... a replacement.

You can stop holding your breath and scanning the horizon. The writing is on the wall [emphasis is mine]:

In speaking to companies with virtual worlds in the works, no one is looking to replicate the Second Life model.“A year ago, when a lot of big companies came into Second Life, it didn’t work out for them,” said Jerry Paffendorf, the former “resident futurist” of the Electric Sheep Company, now of Wello Horld. “The reaction is to try to get away from that to these tightly controlled, kid-friendly environments.”
At VW08, kids are the focus
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Posted at at 8:47 AM on Monday, April 7, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Are you in SL for the money? ...or the fun of it?

"One thing I think that frustrates more of the smart people I know than anything else is how many of them are not making very much money, while much less smart people are safely in well paying jobs. I meet many of these people in blogging and in Second Life. The news, I think, is that things aren't going to get any better..."
This brings me to something I've been seeing and thinking about with regard to 'business' in Second Life - and tends to explain the shrill, frantic thrash-backs from residents in the Second Life blog:

Are you in SL to try to make real money?
That is to say, you develop, create, provide a service - whatever it is, you use it to earn Linden Dollars (L$) - but then actually cash some of that out and use it in real life, or (shockingly) rely on some of that?

I make good L$ in SL. But, I'm not crazy enough to even think about cashing any of it out and then rely on any part of it. I have a 'regular day job' and it feeds me, clothes me and keeps a roof over my head. I also have a freelance business that I use (read: not rely on) for some extra cash.

At first, it was my freelance videography and photography business that provided me the discretionary funding for my SL experience. However, I now use SL business to pay for... SL.

In other words, I take all the money I make in SL and I will convert it back to good old United States legal tender. But that's it. It sits there in the pot. Then, whenever the Lindenonians decide to reach into my pocket, they take whatever it is they want from the pot.

You see, that pot is the cash they owe me. So, they must pay me what they owe me before they can actually take any money from me. They simply deduct what I owe them from the credit they owe me. If I keep that credit floating higher than what i might ever owe Linden Lab - Second Life pays for itself.

As for those who earn enough to actually cash-out, (that is, to call Linden Lab on their credit and have a check sent,) well - that's all well and good. I hope it's also a 'freelance' business. What you can file with the Internal Revenue Service (in the United States, anyway) as a "Professional Hobby."

However, if you actually rely on some or (Heaven forbid) all of that money, you're better-off dumping SL and doing something in real life. You see, the dynamic is really very simple, and it shows why this 'business model' can be far more volatile than even the stock markets:

As an employee of someone, you earn a regular wage. you can budget your living and other costs off the security. Even if it's 100% commission - you have complete control in all aspects of it. The same is true if you are running a business in real life.

No middle men to muck things up for you.


Now, if your business model relies on Linden Lab, you'd better be setting some cold hard cash aside for when that falls through. You are relying on an unknown entity. You are relying on Linden Lab for your livlihood and Linden lab doesn't care about you. And neither should they.

You are simply a customer subscribing to a service. Their only requirement in this relationship is to provide you access. Stop. Done.

Hence, if permissions go awry, if someone finds a way to rip (steal) your creations and sell them, if the service goes bad (asset servers and database issues) - if anything happens that kills sales or otherwise loses you money (L$) - it doesn't matter.

LL's sole responsibility is to provide you with access.

I may be wrong, but I am totally unaware of any statement in writing or orally where LL has promised to ensure you are able to make any money at all. And, I have yet to see any promise to ever convert L$ into legal tender of any kind. The only thing they owe you is that credit. Other that, whatever means you use to earn that credit is totally volatile because there is no promise whatsoever that those means will continue the way they work now, or even at all.

So, I'm curious... if you make real money in SL - do you rely on it for anything? Or is it simple discretionary spending cash?

Even more curious: do you feel entitled to earning real cash from within Second Life?
Frankly, if you do, then I must admit I think you need to reevaluate your first life fast and hard.

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Posted at at 7:50 AM on by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 6 comments   | Filed under: , ,

SLEX DCMA’s: Violation of Linden Lab TOS « Shopping Cart Disco

SLEX DCMA’s: Violation of Linden Lab TOS « Shopping Cart Disco

There's something to be said for everyone getting booted off the grid for twelve-plus hours while LL fights with its internet service provider.

Tenshi Vielle of Shopping Cart Disco fame brought to my attention today a stunning blunder worthy of the fumble of the year award.

In the article she quotes an original piece explaining how SLX's butterfingers handling-style has caused one SL organization to suddenly understand the meaning of the phrase "personal space". I'll let you read the articles for yourself, but the point of this post is -- we need to send a message to SLX and tell them that it is, in general, not a good idea to fork over our personal information to people who were already causing us harm without concern for our emotional or financial well-being. It sounds like what could only be a major oversight -- at least, I hope. No major business I've ever worked with has directly sent a DMCA to an offender because they knew what kind of information was on it.

Let's do something about this before more respectable developers have to give up their peace of mind. And let's ask that they be compensated for this pain in the ass, while we're at it.

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Posted at at 12:59 PM on Saturday, April 5, 2008 by Posted by Amanda Martin | 1 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Dorkwad Congressman ... In Second Life

THE HORRORSeveral days ago he held a Congressional hearing in Second Life, a specially designed "virtual world" for sociopaths, furries, and flying penis "avatars."

I really hate when journalists and blogger who think they are greater-than-thou profess to know what everyone else wants or believes and then think they are so influential they espouse vitriol that looks and smells like raw sewage.

It's why I choose my my sources of news very carefully and I don't rely on a single source like NBC or ABC and the rest (wow, what a joke they have all turned into, huh?).

So it's totally refreshing when someone does this on purpose and simply goes completely overboard with it. It's a very short blog post, but so humorous I wish it were longer. the read totally made my day.

this is from the "Wonkette" - a blog I think I'm definately going to have to add to my RSS feeds.
To commemorate this special event, Congressman Markey even crafted his own personal avatar: a virtual Congressman Markey who is cross-eyed with gayness.
Virtual Losers: Dorkwad Congressman Holds Hearing In Second Life
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Posted at at 7:54 AM on Friday, April 4, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Linden Lab converts to Hosting Status

IBM now has a secured private area of Second Life behind their own firewall. it was only a matter of time and I see this is becoming Linden Lab's primary focus eventually. it's what they really want to do. At least, it makes a lot of sense.

The cool thing is it's still Second Life. IBM employees will be able to travel to and from the "mainland" [meaning the 'public' areas of SL] and the IBM secured area without relogging. Okay, I think this is pretty cool and kudos to Linden lab and IBM for making it happen.

Basically, it's just like a private estate, like all other private estates. Unless you're in the 'group' - you simply can't teleport into there. The difference is that these estates are locked-down tight behind IBM's own firewall. I find it a fascinating proposition.

New York TimesCorporate gated communities in virtual worlds, according to Mr. Yoon, will be the equivalent of corporate intranets on the Web. An employee’s avatar can travel easily in the outside realm, but only the ones with company I.D.’s can get inside the firewall.
Second Life: Tamed for Corporate Consumption

UPDATE: Per Reuters - IBM will host the regions on their own servers -
http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2008/04/02/ibm-to-host-private-second-life-regions/
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Posted at at 7:20 AM on Thursday, April 3, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,

Hack SL Instructional

All I can do is chuckle...


Posted at at 7:02 AM on by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 1 comments   | Filed under: , ,

'SL' is a trademarked term. Refrain from using it for things like...

[Crossed from my other blog at SL Review - this one is just too important to me]
Ah yes... typical sarcastic blog entry about the clarification post on the Second Life® blog. But, in truth, I've never had a problem with any of it. Except for one simple rule they try to make. My only issue is how can you trademark a pair of initials? My beef is with the trademark claim on the initials "SL". Now, you can trademark them if they are in a particular context, but that requires more words.

So - does "Sign Language" no longer have a right to be truncated to "SL"? What about all the other terms that are truncated this way?

Well, I'm going to go ahead and continue using "SL Review" as the title of [my other] blog. Now according to Linden Lab™ I am breaking the rules. Not so much because I am not using the little "TM" next to it, but rather because I have only one proper noun after those initials and they say I must have two.

The same with my other blog "SL Attitude".

Well - even though this blog focuses on musings from within and about Second Life, my "SL" is simply a truncation of the full title: "Silly Little Review".

Oh, and SL Attitude is really "Seriously Laughable Attitude" - but there's not enough room in the banner to make it look good. So I'll stick with what I have.

So there.
Take that, Linden Lab. :)

...Can I use SL with my product, domain or organization name?
Yes, under our special license to use “SL.” You can use “SL” with your own trademark.
More on the Trademark Policy « Official Second Life Blog

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Posted at at 8:19 PM on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 by Posted by Ari Blackthorne™ | 0 comments   | Filed under: , ,