"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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