Spending In Second Life
Second Life is a virtual world in which every single item and location is designed and created by its users, commonly referred to as ‘residents.’ However, what sets it aside from many other virtual worlds is the fact that it has a booming economy. Even in the face of recession, residents continued to spend Linden dollars in world, purchasing anything from virtual services, to pixel furnishings and virtual clothes for their ‘avatars.’ 2009 saw the economy total 567 million US dollars.
Linden Dollars, the ‘currency,’ of Second Life can be bought through an exchange, the Lindex. They can then be spent in world and those earning Linden dollars in world can convert them to US dollars and cash them out of Second Life, thus meaning that the platform has immense earning potential for its users and actually generates a very real life income for many.
But what do people in Second Life actually spend their money on? Well, virtual land is big money business. Residents pay both an upfront fee and an ongoing monthly fee to rent the virtual space on which to set up homes, stores, clubs, relaxation or romancing locations or even spoken word venues. There’s also plenty of money gets spent on avatar appearance, Second Life fashion, skins, virtual hairstyles and shapes. People like to have their 3d representations looking great.
Another big money area is in that or services. People may pay talented marketers to run the marketing campaigns in world for their brands or they may pay a live musician to perform over microphone at their event.
It can be difficult for those who have never used Second Life to comprehend how others can spend money on items that do not really have a physical existence. But the Second Life economy is very real and is a genuine income for so many. And for those who really don’t get it, I simply ask, do you pay for your Internet connection? Because you can’t physically touch that either…
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