Double life: how to make money, do science and help people in Second Life. Second Life - real money making in the virtual world Second life making real money
There are people who consider business to be a gamble. However, today there are more and more of those who just consider the toy world as an opportunity to earn their first million. Paradox? No more than our whole life, according to entrepreneurs from virtual reality... Moreover, becoming successful in an artificially created world is sometimes much more difficult than in the real one. Check it out?
It is unlikely that the head of Linden Lab, Philip Rosedale, assumed that the multiplayer Second game Life will quickly outgrow the boundaries of the genre, turning into a "second life" for millions of investors who will not only spend, but also earn real money in the invented virtual space. Then, at the very beginning, Philip Rosedale clearly could not claim to be the demiurge of a parallel reality, the "population" of which a year after the start was just over one and a half thousand people. Apparently, this is why the first version of Second Life was called then much more modest than it is today - Linden World.
Now, just five years later, Second Life (SL) has over seven million registered users. This world has its own currency, and the world's largest corporations, one after another, open their offices.
The list of the most profitable sectors of the virtual economy, the volume of which is estimated by experts at $ 500 million, seems to be taken from real life... In Second Life, they sell land and real estate, open chain hypermarkets and develop without restrictions gambling business, and the avatars (that is, the game hypostases of users) of the most successful businessmen flaunt not just anywhere, but on the covers of leading business publications.
Please do not be confused!
What motivates those who spend time and money on the development of a fake, artificially created habitat? Perhaps self-interest. The hype surrounding the first "millionaire" SL, Anshe Chung, a German teacher of Chinese descent who in real life bears the name Aileen Gref, has caused a massive influx of newcomers into the game. Newbies attracted by the opportunity to make "easy money".
Personally, I fell for the bait after reading an article about a Chinese woman who earned a million in SL, - says Anton Shepetko, a representative of the administration of the island of Russian Empire. After three months spent in a parallel world, however, he somewhat lost his fighting enthusiasm and had to admit that making money in this game is not so easy: “Today, as a person with some experience, I can say that I personally do not know anyone who would make big money in Second Life. "
But what about the hyped millionaires? Anton Shepetko believes that this, apparently, is just a competent PR for Linden Lab, which is interested in the influx of new players. Perhaps it is. However, the old-timer of the game, the president of TechInvestLab, Anatoly Levenchuk, is sure that the commercial success stories of individual players are not fiction at all: "They are as real as the stories about" ordinary guys "Gates or Abramovich." Indeed, most of us have never seen either Gates or Abramovich live (TV and magazines do not count). However, this circumstance does not at all prevent us from discussing their capitals, as well as gossiping about the personal lives and quirks of billionaires. Anatoly Levenchuk claims: you can make money in SL. But first, it is very important to understand that Second Life is not a game at all, but an environment for communication. Or, according to the editor-in-chief of the secondrussia.com portal Alexei Nikitenko, virtual space. The space in which people become gods, capable of creating not only objects, but also whole phenomena.
That being said, most neophytes still view Second Life as yet another multiplayer game. And, not finding what they were looking for, they leave. “They are waiting for missions, assignments, goals and opponents - as in normal game, - does not see anything surprising in this Musashi Tanabe, who refused to disclose his real name to Business Journal, but in the game prefers to wear the loud title of “master of virtual Moscow”. - And here there is nothing of the kind. You yourself are the smith of your own happiness and you can do whatever you want in this world. "
Yes, there is no second or third life, - laughs the CEO of Happy Web Makers Stanislav Borisov. “Likewise, the inhabitants of SL are not“ avatars ”at all. These are not strange and wonderful characters, but ourselves, in the refraction of the rules of this space.
Well, but if in reality one is used to living in such a way as to earn more and more money, and the other values first of all the ease of being and the absence of rigid attachments, what will SL become for them?
How what? A money thresher for the former and an intriguing adventure for the latter, Stanislav Borisov is sure.
Virtual construction
SL: first steps
To become a full Second Life citizen, you don't have to wait long lines at the consulate or go through the tedious process of obtaining citizenship. You just need to register on the game website secondlife.com and get a confirmation link to create a user account. Everything, you can fly! Why fly? Within the limits of the playing space, you can also move in more familiar ways - on foot or by vehicles. But for long distances, players prefer to move through the air or teleport to the desired location.
When you first get into SL, don't be intimidated. Most of the avatars here have a completely anthropomorphic appearance, but some prefer a more extravagant, and not only human.
Everything you see in the game was created by the hands and computers of users, using common 3D graphics packages, or using the built-in capabilities of the gaming client software available today to Windows, MacOS and Linux users.
Registration is free, so everyone can travel through virtual spaces as much as they like. But in order to start your own business and get the right to buy your own land, you will have to pay $ 9.95 for a premium user account (Premium account). In general, something similar to the registration of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.
Second Life is not just a game. This is a virtual world that game form allows you to implement serious tasks, - says Anton Shepetko. - In addition, while the team of the island of Russian Empire is not facing the goal of immediate enrichment. Now for all of us this is an opportunity to realize ideas that are difficult to translate into real life. And it is quite possible that in the near future we will have an interesting commercial project.
Among the inhabitants of virtual reality there are already those who live off the income from the business opened in Second Life. And yet there are no miracles. Even in SL you don't often find lucky ones who come without a single linden in their pocket and become millionaires overnight. In the end, even Anshe Chung, owner of Anshe Chung Studios and the most successful entrepreneur in SL, according to official legend, spent $ 9.95 to get the opportunity to buy her first land, which was then resold profitably.
For Jess Syman and her sister Vega Pilipenko (the girls, again, do not give their real names; it is only known that they are Russian, but live abroad), a successful career in SL also began with investments, albeit insignificant. “Our investments amounted to 72 dollars for the purchase of a premium account, which makes it possible to buy land. Well, and another $ 20 for the very first things, - recalls Jess. - And my sister and I immediately agreed not to invest real money in the business. After all, we spend in SL. So, let the incomes flow from here too. "
Today, Jess and Vega's business is based on two pillars - a network of jewelry stores and construction, famous in Second Life. “Jewelry is more of a hobby. But construction brings good money, ”says Jess. Virtual development is truly one of the most profitable types of business in SL. Refusing to advertise her earnings, Jess nevertheless told Business Journal that the development of one island now costs about ten thousand dollars, and she and her sister can do this work in a month.
Do not think that construction is the only business in Second Life that allows you to live comfortably in real life. “There are five people in our environment whose earnings exceed 15 thousand dollars a month. And not all of them are related to construction. Someone owns a large store, and one of our friends has an entertainment center where he arranges corporate parties and takes 10 thousand dollars for it, ”says Saiman.
At the junction of two worlds
At first glance, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the entrepreneurial spirit of successful businessmen in SL found its expression precisely in virtual world... After all, it seems like a real paradise for doing business. “In the real world, there are enough restrictions to start your own business: taxes, unequal opportunities in the market, age, gender, sparsely populated area. There are no such restrictions in the virtual world, ”says Aleksey Nikitenko. I agree with this assessment and Musashi Tanabe, who urges not to forget about the extremely low "entry threshold". But Tanabe makes a reservation: for many, business in Second Life is still an implementation of the skills acquired in Everyday life: "Designers paint clothes and skins, architects build buildings, programmers write scripts."
Stanislav Borisov believes that all attempts to distinguish between “here” and “there” are meaningless: “People open in SL not a virtual, but the most real business. It's just that someone knows the Second Life world better than, say, the device of internal combustion engines or blast furnaces. That's what people are doing. Provided that an increasingly significant part of the economy produces not a real, but an information product, there will be more and more businessmen in SL ”.
Oleg Pokrovsky, Development Director of the Center for Internet Payments, expects that the growth in the number of players will lead to increased business activity exclusively within the game. But so far, the main money is spinning at the junction of two worlds. Thus, the Roboxchange service, owned by the Internet Payments Center, exchanges electronic money for Second Life's internal currency - Linden dollars. “This service has been operating for a little over a month and has now reached the level of about 100 user transactions per day, which significantly exceeds our initial forecasts,” comments Oleg Pokrovsky. Until now, most of the real money is exchanged for Linden dollars, but even such a one-way exchange brings the company about four thousand real dollars a month thanks to a five percent commission.
By the way, the "exchange office" is not Oleg Pokrovsky's only business in SL. He has invested in the SecondRussia.com project, which is to become the main entry point to Second Life for Russian-speaking users. It is expected that later this site will become attractive for a variety of SL-businesses, whose owners will certainly want to loudly declare themselves to the entire Russian-speaking audience of Second Life. “It is very important for us, as contractors of this project, to master the new market, - says Viktor Zakharchenko, head of the content direction of the E-generator portal and the secondrussia.com project. - We are already considering applications from several domestic companies to bring them to the Second Life space. Yes, this is not Intel's level yet. But dashing trouble has begun! "
Sharks of non-virtual business
Even in Second Life, ambitious newcomers are unlikely to be able to compete with the world's business giants. IBM alone plans to invest at least $ 10 million in the game by the end of 2007. Already today, four thousand employees of the Blue Giant “work” in SL, and the corporation itself owns dozens of islands in the game.
What makes completely real companies invest in the virtual world? “They just expect no less from SL real money- Stanislav Borisov (Happy Web Makers) is sure. - Look at the media hype around this phenomenon! A large part of this information noise is nothing more than PR paid for by big business, aimed at “prompting” the consumer what needs to be done to be modern and effective. "
Alexey Nikitenko agrees that large corporations are already trying to use Second Life to their advantage: “It is clear that they are not interested in selling virtual goods as a goal. Mainly for them, this is an advertising market with a huge audience, which can be used to promote their services and products in real life. " That is why Toyota gives away virtual copies of its cars for free - in the hope that in real life, users will buy cars of this particular brand. And along the way, the company - at minimal cost - gets the opportunity to conduct marketing research. In the meantime, other corporations are opening shops in SL selling real goods, advising customers and organizing teleconferencing, saving on transportation costs. And allowing the inhabitants of the game to earn money along the way. How?
There is a company whose employees are scattered across different cities and countries. And there is a person who can connect them all in SL. The company rents an island from this person, he builds it up, and the company's employees, despite the fact that they may be separated by thousands of “real” kilometers, come to the “virtual office” as to work, ”cites Jess Syman as an example. In her opinion, many companies will adhere to such a strategy in the near future: "It is better to rent an island in SL than pay big money for several offices in the real world."
Gartner analysts are confident that this will be so, predicting that by 2011, most of the Fortune 500 companies will open their offices in SL.
Disenfranchised as we are
The presence of real-life business sharks in the game, among other things, gives players some confidence that the “wonderful new world"Will not fall apart before our eyes and will not cease to exist at the behest of the almighty Lindens (all Linden Lab employees, including Rosedale himself, bear this name in the game).
According to the user agreement that each new player with Linden Lab, everything created and earned does not belong to the player at all, but to the company, which reserves the right to any action, up to and including the removal of the player from SL without explanation. “Many businessmen are still afraid to invest serious money in SL,” admits Anton Shepetko (Russian Empire). "So there are not many people who will agree to" upload "more than 100 thousand dollars to SL yet."
Indeed, the hard-earned Linden Dollars can evaporate overnight if Linden Lab wants it. But, according to Jess Syman, things are not so bad. And it is not at all necessary to “store” the money in the game itself: “Suppose you received an order for 25 thousand dollars. Does it make sense to change dollars for lindens, and then back? After all, the transfer of payments can be organized without going through Linden Lab - via PayPal or Western Union! It's both easier and safer. "
As for the "general lawlessness", Saiman believes that the risks in the game are no higher than in reality. “Of course there is a problem. But in life we are not always insured. Just remember the devaluation of the ruble and Black Tuesday, ”recalls Jess. “Moreover, today Second Life is not only Linden Lab, but above all IBM, Dell, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler and other corporations doing business in SL. And already a plus to them - Linden Lab. Companies that have invested serious money in the game will not let anyone just go and disappear. "
Linden Lab director Philip Rosedale is confident that in ten years almost the entire population of the world will live "second life", and Gartner calculated that the general "exodus to the Matrix" will happen even earlier. By 2011, 80% of Internet users will live in one of the virtual worlds. True, it is far from the fact that it is in Second Life. Perhaps it will be a different project.
Wait and see. But at least Jess Saiman and Vega Pilipenko associate their future with SL. “We have not yet reached the level where we can say with full confidence that this is our job. But we are striving for this and will achieve our goal, ”Jess Saiman assured Business Journal.
But Stanislav Borisov, in his youth, spent all kinds of game worlds for more than one year, is not going to start a "second life" and believes that analysts predicting a quick and massive exodus to parallel worlds are wrong:
I personally don't play any MMO games right now. I'm much more interested in reality. The way life changes according to the will of people is the most real miracle, the most magical and fascinating fairy tale. I'm not going to scare or dissuade anyone. Play to your health. In the end, everyone is responsible for himself. In addition, if a certain balance is observed, any game becomes an exciting and rewarding pastime.
Russians are coming!
Russia is not yet represented in Second Life on such a large scale as the United States or Germany (most of the citizens of these countries are in SL). However, the number of the "Russian diaspora" is growing, and today there are already seven public Russian islands in the game: TechInvestLab, Russian Worldware, Russia, VisBoo, Moscow Island, Russian Empire, Fynist.
As in real life, serious competition begins between the owners of the islands, among whom there are both legal entities and individuals. The more popular the island, the higher its attractiveness for business owners who have decided to open their own shops, casinos or entertainment centers on its territory. This means that the higher the rental rates will be.
Everything here is like in real life, and each island has its own strong point. For example, on the territory of the island of Russian Empire, free training is provided for beginners. The idea is good. Indeed, according to the representative of the administration of the island of Russian Empire Anton Shepetko, the main reason for the outflow of people from the game is the lack of basic information about Second Life. “That's why we have built a virtual academy,” says Anton Shepetko. “Thus, we killed two birds with one stone: we gave people the opportunity to study somewhere and increased the popularity of our island.”
Another Russian island, Moscow Island, earns points (more precisely, while it is going, since it is only being built up) by the ambitious ideas of its creators - the charismatic Musashi Tanabe and the director of the dance label Uplifto Sergei Pimenov. Virtual Moscow will not be an exact copy of real Moscow, but it will certainly contain all its sights. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed is already ready and the Red Square is being completed, and the well-known specialists in SL were involved as developers - the sisters Vega Pilipenko and Jess Saiman.
4. Contest board
There are several types of these competitions:
1. Screenshot. You take a screenshot and upload it to the board, after which people come and vote for their favorite photo. At the end, the winner is given a certain amount of Lindens.
3. Chat. Spam in the chat with the guesthouses of that location (to the extent).
5. Suit + spam in chat, or by voice.
5. Work (English Work or Job)
Just like in ordinary life, there is also work in SL. To do this, you need to enter either job or work in the search by location, by which it finds locations that provide work. It can be any job that takes a standard piece of time from 1 to 8 hours of real time.
You can get a job in three ways:
1. Fill out the form on the website.
2. Create a note and fill it out in accordance with the questionnaire requirements, and then send it to the employer.
3. Contact the employer by IM directly.
Striptease
It is part of the fifth paragraph "Work", but differs in the implementation of the standards.
To earn lindens, you need to spin on the pole for a certain amount of time. (In some cases, there is a conventional camping system).
There are also several types of striptease employment:
1. Filling out the questionnaire, checking the voice (by which it is judged whether you are 18 years old or not).
2. Joining a group, after which you will be able to spin on a pole.
3. Without a group, questionnaires and checks.
The work is paid either by the system (bot), or by users who come to the location (old guys and aunts come who pay for striptease, they may ask for something more).
Work to order
In the SL world there are customers who pay for the work in full. (They can offer a huge amount).
Skills such as:
Scripting, drawing (arts, etc.), working with prims / sculptures (creating houses, any other structures, animals, weapons, etc.), working with a mesh (clothes, structures, etc.) , texture.
They are looking for creative people by groups and among acquaintances. Therefore, you should make new friends and tell them about what you do. Because they can help you if necessary.
Drawings are often needed by locations, shops and furry groups.
Nurses, dummy work, role-playing games, DJ services, security guard.
Blogger. Some sponsors pay bloggers extra money for good work.
6. Fishing (English Fish hunt)
This way of working belongs to the Gold Tokens campaign.
Information
Location
Note: at the location, you can also collect coins that bring a small profit (if any).
You can take a free fishing rod.
Life hack: when the fishing rod limit is completely depleted, buy a new one and go fishing boldly (if this method has not yet been blocked).
Hud allowing you to find more locations
Additional fishing
How to make money fishing in Second Life.
Fishing Virtual Fishing.
Hud fishing rod can be bought for free(software for catching and managing this fishing) Virtual Fishing.
Find the Virtual Fishing Rod and Virtual Fishing HUD in your inventory. right click select the (Add) command with the mouse.
We start earning lindas and fishing in Virtual Fishing.
Finding a place to fish.
Click on the Hood button Random Location (random location). You will be offered to teleport (press the teleport button) and you will find yourself in the fishing spot, if not, follow the red arrow to the fishing spot. Find (buoy, lifebuoy) to start fishing, you must be no more than 20 meters from the buoy.
Casting a fishing rod.
Press the Cast out button on the hood and wait until the timer ends. After that, you will see at the worst of Virtual Fishing that you have been credited with lindas.
From time to time you need to solve math problems to prove that you are not a robot that automatically clicks a button. Add up the suggested numbers and choose the correct answer.
The fish is no longer caught. What should I do?
When you press the casting button and the timer does not start anymore, an inscription appears in the general chat that you need to change the fishing location ... this means that you have caught all the fish on this buoy. Via Randon Lication Hood Button or Virtual Fishing Official Website
We change the place of fishing.
Transferring money to your wallet.
When you have 1 lind or more, press the Withdraw button on the hood to transfer the lindas from your fishing account to your own game wallet.
How to buy worms in Virtual Fishing.
We find boxes with worms. Click on the boxes with the right mouse button and select the command (Touch).
In the menu that appears, select the size of the worms you need. (Small - Small, Medium - Medium, Super - Super). Select and click on the button you need.
After selecting the worms you need, right-click on the boxes again and select the (Pay) command.
For small worms L $ 10 = 100 pieces, medium worms L $ 40 = 100 pieces, for super worms L $ 60 = 100 pieces.
Official site
For several years now, the virtual world of Second Life has allowed its users to lead a full-fledged second life in an alternative space, choosing the appearance, environment and occupation to their liking. It would seem that escapism in its purest form - but digital reality is not as illusory as it seems at first glance: in addition to admiring paradise landscapes and role-playing games the platform also provides an opportunity to get a very real education, participate in a scientific conference, launch your own business, launch an art project, and even visit a psychotherapist. T&P has chosen 8 promising projects of the new "Matrix".
SciLands: an archipelago of science
Second Life is used as a platform by many libraries, universities, government agencies and other organizations. Some of them prefer to act alone, others gather in the metropolitan area. This strategy helps to enrich each other in terms of ideas and attract more visitors.
The island SciLands operates in the virtual world today, bringing together several organizations from the field of science and technology. Initially, it was divided among themselves only by NASA and International Museum space flight, but later joined by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Imperial College London, University of Denver, Exploratorium Museum and other organizations.
SciLands has a 3D model of Victoria Crater on Mars, a flight simulator through a hurricane, a tsunami model that allows you to study how giant waves are formed, a simulator of data collection in the Earth's atmosphere using hot air balloon, a virtual clinic, a simulator of the oil spill response process, a training model for drawing up a sea map and other interesting things. Every week NPR's Science Friday discussions take place here, in which a variety of topics are discussed. SciLands allows Second Life users to learn within the computing world, and also opens up many new horizons for people with disabilities who would otherwise not be able to participate in hands-on activities.
British Council Islands: corner for Anglophiles
The British Council's three islands in Second Life, which were previously only available to its students under 17, have been open to adult users around the world since 2011. Here you can not only learn English for free or for a modest amount, but also see replicas of British landmarks: operating three-dimensional models of the London Eye, Carnaby Street and the central sports stadium, where they offer to play virtual football. Even on the islands, you can get acquainted with the life stories of famous British people and go through language quests with the search for keys and solving problems on English language... The British Council also hosts many student and faculty activities on its islands in Second Life, but these remain closed to outside users.
Mesh Agency: business on avatars
To play Second Life, you need an avatar. To really enjoy the process, he must be good-looking, combed, dressed and shod, trained in the correct gait and small movements (or, for example, dancing). All this is not given immediately, and, as a rule, in order to become a handsome man in virtual reality, you need to make as much effort as in real life. Blanks for avatars - the so-called "meshes" - can be bought on MarketPlace, made by yourself in the program for working with 3D images, or purchased - all or separately - in special stores for quite real money. A well-designed hand-made avatar can cost about $ 3,800 Linden ($ 240 Linden is approximately equal to one US dollar), bought from designers or made to order - even more expensive. The avatar can be dressed, combed, settled, and hired to your liking. To do this, in Second Life, you can buy any models of varying degrees of detail: shelves with freshly baked buns for the bakery, cups of tea for the kitchen, the stable for the courtyard, a bed for the bedroom, snake-like braids on the head, and so on.
The most lucrative business in this area has come from the Mesh Agency, which hires 3D designers and sells objects they create: hairstyles, shoes, clothes, objects, buildings and entire avatars. For example, a pair of shoes here can cost anywhere from $ 8 to $ 30. The company also works with sales managers to help distribute its products in Second Life and beyond. Mesh Agency employees can “work” in the virtual office of the company using avatars, or stay on the sidelines, creating models in the real world.
Online Therapy Institute: working with people
The Online Therapy Institute within Second Life offers training for prospective coaches, psychotherapists, supervisors, business coaches, managers, and other professionals who focus on behavior and mental health. There are practical online relationship models that allow you to practice your professional skills, practice a foreign language in your specialty, and conduct observations to support theoretical work. The institute does not work outside of virtual reality, but at the same time the organization issues diplomas that will be useful in the "first" life.
Accelerated Recovery: Virtual Therapist
Accelerated Recovery Center patients visit a psychotherapist in Second Life. As part of an alcohol addiction treatment program, they first undergo an intensive two- or three-week course in real centers, and then go home - and there all the familiar temptations await them. This is where virtual reality really comes in handy: over the next nine or twelve months, patients meet with a psychotherapist in Second Life.
On the “island” of the clinic, the building of the rehabilitation center has been recreated in all details, and people can come there in the form of avatars to meet with the avatar of their doctor. The appearance of the latter here hardly differs from the real one. Audio and chat are used during conversations so that patients hear their therapist's voice as well.
Experts note that after such sessions, their clients not only “feel like they’ve been somewhere outside the home”, but also “are more frank and speak more directly” due to the phenomenon of “network disinhibition”, which can also be observed during normal communication in chat programs. ... According to therapists, this form of counseling helps to develop an “observing self” in patients, which allows them to look at themselves and their actions more objectively and rationally. “Perhaps it is communication with the help of an avatar that makes it possible to simulate the work of the observing Self,” - experts at Accelerated Recovery are sure.
Virtual Reality Medical Center: Combating Phobias
The Virtual Reality Medical Center network operates in California, which specializes in the treatment of phobias. With the help of existing 3D models Scary phenomena in Second Life, specialists help patients overcome their fear of flying, public speaking, high floors, enclosed spaces, and even spiders. Virtually Better offers similar services in the state of Georgia.
The American military also uses virtual reality: here, in particular, a platform operates that allows you to simulate dramatic military events. Sounds and smells can be added to visual information: the stench that comes from burning rubber, or prayers in Arabic. Psychotherapists use these models to help their veteran PTSD patients revisit and process their painful memories.
MyBase: American Airbase Simulator
The Air Force has also created several "islands" and "regions" in Second Life to train its potential and current employees. This includes MyBase, a virtual air base for recruiting, training, education and training operations. Its creators pursued not only educational, but also popularization goals, since the base is designed for outside users. “We have developed different roles so that people can evaluate our base in Second Life from all angles: what it is like to be a military or ship chaplain, a medic, a member of a young soldier's course, or a pilot,” the authors of the idea say. Users who visit MyBase can also "teleport" or fly over the territory of a virtual naval base, which is located on a nearby sea island. In addition, within the framework of MyBase, OneSource operates - a territory for the military, their families and friends, who in the real world are far from each other, but can come here and communicate with each other.
Ten Cubed and Machinima Movies: 3D Art
Within Second Life, users can also host exhibitions, make films, do choreography, and do anything else from a list of things that are called art in real life. For example, gallery owners Hayne Shaughnessy and Roos Damon hired New York-based architect Benn Dunkley to create their Ten Cubed showroom in the virtual world. At its opening, five artists who in everyday life are engaged in contemporary art presented their works. In Ten Cubed, you can view and even buy both virtual and real works. The game also runs the Crossworlds Gallery - an openspace for artists in Second Life - and other showrooms.
There is a special genre for filming in the virtual world - machinima. This is a short film shot with 3D graphics and video game technology. In addition, there are theatrical performances in which the roles are played by avatars (for the first time at a professional level in Second Life, of course, an excerpt from Hamlet was staged), and theater festivals: for example, the comedy Virtually Funny Comedy Festival. As part of the game, ballet troupes work (and music and choreography are created separately for each performance) and live dance shows created by the La Performance team are held. Often, for users, participation in Second Life also becomes a platform for literary careers. Stories and novels dedicated to the experience of "virtuality" are written by many, and some authors even find colleagues in the game. For example, the novel "Second Life Love", which is now on sale on Amazon, was written in the form of a dialogue by two users: Per Olsen and Lee Gang Kin, who had never seen each other in real life.
The art of Second Life, of course, cannot yet compete with the real one. And yet, in a world of more than a million people, there is more than enough room for creative expression. It is quite possible that one day an artist or director will appear in this area who will be able to create a work that is equally popular in both worlds. And the matrix, generously pollinated with ideas borrowed from reality, will return to its origins, gradually blurring the boundaries between biological reality and life “in digital”.
Among young Internet users, it is difficult to find someone who has never played an online multiplayer game. Someone, perhaps, tried it once, he did not like it, and he once and for all refused to do this in the future. And someone, on the contrary, cannot imagine their life without games.
The number of players includes not only those people who just spend time for their own pleasure, but also those who treat the game as a way of earning money. The fact is that you can make real money on multiplayer online games. The main thing is to know in which game and how it can be done.
Sale of game valuables
There are several ways to make money on online games. But more often than not, people simply sell game values that they once were able to get themselves in the game or that were also previously purchased. You can even sell your account with a well-developed (pumped) character.
Considering that online games themselves are very popular, there will definitely be people among the players who want to buy this account. The fact is that many players who have barely started the game do not want to spend time and effort to open everything on their own. It is easier for them to find such a seller of game values and buy a ready-made, strong and "pumped" character.
Having understood the essence of such earnings on games, you might at first think that everything is simple here. But in fact, everything is noticeably complicated by the fact that many projects categorically prohibit their players from engaging in such activities, since it leads newly registered ones to significant financial losses.
You can buy and sell in Second Life
But still, those who want to engage in such a gambling business should not despair, since there are such companies on the vastness of the Internet that, on the contrary, welcome this kind of entrepreneurship. An example is a game called Second Life.
Here, each player can demonstrate their creativity to other users, get a decent amount of money for this, and at the same time do not worry at all that the account will one day be blocked for violating the rules established by the administration. The developers of this game are happy to accept any user who wants to make money. After all, the more money a player earns, the more money the company itself will receive.
Famous brands in Second Life
Many serious companies have developed their virtual enterprises for the game. They did this in order to once again advertise themselves, as well as in order to increase the flow of customers outside the game. In the game "Second Life" you can often see famous brands and even try to get a job in one of the famous companies.
In Second Life, you cannot accumulate resources by grinding. Here the profit depends solely on how adventurous the player is. In general, everything is like in real life. At the very beginning of the game, you can try to invest real currency or start working for those who have been registered in this system for a long time and are looking for workers.
The most popular in the game are establishments intended for entertainment. This is explained by the fact that many players still pursue the goal of relaxing and having fun, and not making money. After all, this is primarily a game.
Someone even managed to get rich
A good example for aspiring virtual businessmen is a German teacher who was involved in the sale and purchase of gaming territories and, as a result, was able to collect over a million dollars in one year. This only confirms once again the fact that in the game, as in real life, a lot depends on entrepreneurship.
Earning on the game "Second Life" updated: January 11, 2018 by the author: ItsNotMe
It is unlikely that the head of Linden Lab, Philip Rosedale, expected that the multiplayer game Second Life he created in 2002 would quickly outgrow the genre, becoming a "second life" for millions of investors who would not only spend, but also earn real money in the invented virtual space ... Then, at the very beginning, Philip Rosedale clearly could not claim to be the demiurge of a parallel reality, the "population" of which a year after the start was just over one and a half thousand people. Apparently, this is why the first version of Second Life was called then much more modest than it is today - Linden World.
Now, just five years later, Second Life (SL) has over seven million registered users. This world has its own currency, and the world's largest corporations, one after another, open their offices.
The list of the most profitable sectors of the virtual economy, the volume of which is estimated by experts at $ 500 million, seems to be taken from real life. In Second Life, they sell land and real estate, open network hypermarkets and develop the gambling business without restrictions, and the avatars (that is, the gaming hypostases of users) of the most successful businessmen flaunt not just anywhere, but on the covers of leading business publications.
Please do not be confused!
What motivates those who spend time and money on the development of a fake, artificially created habitat? Perhaps self-interest. The hype surrounding the first "millionaire" SL, Anshe Chung, a German teacher of Chinese descent who in real life bears the name Aileen Gref, has caused a massive influx of newcomers into the game. Newbies attracted by the opportunity to make "easy money".
Personally, I fell for the bait after reading an article about a Chinese woman who earned a million in SL, - says Anton Shepetko, a representative of the administration of the island of Russian Empire. After three months spent in a parallel world, however, he somewhat lost his fighting enthusiasm and had to admit that making money in this game is not so easy: “Today, as a person with some experience, I can say that I personally do not know anyone who would make big money in Second Life. "
But what about the hyped millionaires? Anton Shepetko believes that this, apparently, is just a competent PR for Linden Lab, which is interested in the influx of new players. Perhaps it is. However, the old-timer of the game, the president of TechInvestLab, Anatoly Levenchuk, is sure that the commercial success stories of individual players are not fiction at all: "They are as real as the stories about" ordinary guys "Gates or Abramovich." Indeed, most of us have never seen either Gates or Abramovich live (TV and magazines do not count). However, this circumstance does not at all prevent us from discussing their capitals, as well as gossiping about the personal lives and quirks of billionaires. Anatoly Levenchuk claims: you can make money in SL. But first, it is very important to understand that Second Life is not a game at all, but an environment for communication. Or, according to the editor-in-chief of the secondrussia.com portal Alexei Nikitenko, virtual space. The space in which people become gods, capable of creating not only objects, but also whole phenomena.
That being said, most neophytes still view Second Life as yet another multiplayer game. And, not finding what they were looking for, they leave. “They are waiting for missions, assignments, goals and opponents - as in a normal game,” Musashi Tanabe does not see anything surprising in this, refusing to disclose his real name to Business Magazine, but in the game prefers to bear the loud title of “master of virtual Moscow”. - And here there is nothing of the kind. You yourself are the smith of your own happiness and you can do whatever you want in this world. "
Yes, there is no second or third life, - laughs the CEO of Happy Web Makers Stanislav Borisov. “Likewise, the inhabitants of SL are not“ avatars ”at all. These are not strange and wonderful characters, but ourselves, in the refraction of the rules of this space.
Well, but if in reality one is used to living in such a way as to earn more and more money, and the other values first of all the ease of being and the absence of rigid attachments, what will SL become for them?
How what? A money thresher for the former and an intriguing adventure for the latter, Stanislav Borisov is sure.
Virtual construction
SL: first steps
To become a full Second Life citizen, you don't have to wait long lines at the consulate or go through the tedious process of obtaining citizenship. You just need to register on the game website secondlife.com and get a confirmation link to create a user account. Everything, you can fly! Why fly? Within the limits of the playing space, you can also move in more familiar ways - on foot or by vehicles. But for long distances, players prefer to move through the air or teleport to the desired location.
When you first get into SL, don't be intimidated. Most of the avatars here have a completely anthropomorphic appearance, but some prefer a more extravagant, and not only human.
Everything you see in the game was created by the hands and computers of users, using common 3D graphics packages, or using the built-in capabilities of the gaming client software available today to Windows, MacOS and Linux users.
Registration is free, so everyone can travel through virtual spaces as much as they like. But in order to start your own business and get the right to buy your own land, you will have to pay $ 9.95 for a premium user account (Premium account). In general, something similar to the registration of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.
Second Life is not just a game. This is a virtual world, which in a playful way allows you to realize serious tasks, says Anton Shepetko. - In addition, while the team of the island of Russian Empire is not facing the goal of immediate enrichment. Now for all of us this is an opportunity to realize ideas that are difficult to translate into real life. And it is quite possible that in the near future we will have an interesting commercial project.
Among the inhabitants of virtual reality there are already those who live off the income from the business opened in Second Life. And yet there are no miracles. Even in SL you don't often find lucky ones who come without a single linden in their pocket and become millionaires overnight. In the end, even Anshe Chung, owner of Anshe Chung Studios and the most successful entrepreneur in SL, according to official legend, spent $ 9.95 to get the opportunity to buy her first land, which was then resold profitably.
For Jess Syman and her sister Vega Pilipenko (the girls, again, do not give their real names; it is only known that they are Russian, but live abroad), a successful career in SL also began with investments, albeit insignificant. “Our investments amounted to 72 dollars for the purchase of a premium account, which makes it possible to buy land. Well, and another $ 20 for the very first things, - recalls Jess. - And my sister and I immediately agreed not to invest real money in the business. After all, we spend in SL. So, let the incomes flow from here too. "
Today, Jess and Vega's business is based on two pillars - a network of jewelry stores and construction, famous in Second Life. “Jewelry is more of a hobby. But construction brings good money, ”says Jess. Virtual development is truly one of the most profitable types of business in SL. Refusing to advertise her earnings, Jess nevertheless told Business Journal that the development of one island now costs about ten thousand dollars, and she and her sister can do this work in a month.
Do not think that construction is the only business in Second Life that allows you to live comfortably in real life. “There are five people in our environment whose earnings exceed 15 thousand dollars a month. And not all of them are related to construction. Someone owns a big store, and a friend of ours has an entertainment center where he throws corporate parties and charges $ 10,000 for it, ”says Saiman.
At the junction of two worlds
At first glance, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the entrepreneurial spirit of successful SL businessmen found its expression in the virtual world. After all, it seems like a real paradise for doing business. “In the real world, there are enough restrictions to start your own business: taxes, unequal opportunities in the market, age, gender, sparsely populated area. There are no such restrictions in the virtual world, ”says Aleksey Nikitenko. I agree with this assessment and Musashi Tanabe, who urges not to forget about the extremely low "entry threshold". But Tanabe makes a reservation: for many, business in Second Life is still the implementation of skills acquired in everyday life: "Designers draw clothes and skins, architects build buildings, programmers write scripts."
Stanislav Borisov believes that all attempts to distinguish between “here” and “there” are meaningless: “People open in SL not a virtual, but the most real business. It's just that someone knows the Second Life world better than, say, the device of internal combustion engines or blast furnaces. That's what people are doing. Provided that an increasingly significant part of the economy produces not a real, but an information product, there will be more and more businessmen in SL ”.
Oleg Pokrovsky, Development Director of the Center for Internet Payments, expects that the growth in the number of players will lead to increased business activity exclusively within the game. But so far, the main money is spinning at the junction of two worlds. Thus, the Roboxchange service, owned by the Internet Payments Center, exchanges electronic money for Second Life's internal currency - Linden dollars. “This service has been operating for a little over a month and has now reached the level of about 100 user transactions per day, which significantly exceeds our initial forecasts,” comments Oleg Pokrovsky. Until now, most of the real money is exchanged for Linden dollars, but even such a one-way exchange brings the company about four thousand real dollars a month thanks to a five percent commission.
By the way, the "exchange office" is not Oleg Pokrovsky's only business in SL. He has invested in the SecondRussia.com project, which is to become the main entry point to Second Life for Russian-speaking users. It is expected that later this site will become attractive for a variety of SL-businesses, whose owners will certainly want to loudly declare themselves to the entire Russian-speaking audience of Second Life. “For us, as contractors of this project, it is very important to develop a new market as soon as possible,” says Viktor Zakharchenko, head of content at the E-generator portal and the secondrussia.com project. - We are already considering applications from several domestic companies to bring them to the Second Life space. Yes, this is not Intel's level yet. But dashing trouble has begun! "
Sharks of non-virtual business
Even in Second Life, ambitious newcomers are unlikely to be able to compete with the world's business giants. IBM alone plans to invest at least $ 10 million in the game by the end of 2007. Already today, four thousand employees of the Blue Giant “work” in SL, and the corporation itself owns dozens of islands in the game.
What makes completely real companies invest in the virtual world? “They just expect no less real money from SL,” says Stanislav Borisov (Happy Web Makers). - Look at the media hype around this phenomenon! A large part of this information noise is nothing more than PR paid for by big business, aimed at “prompting” the consumer what needs to be done to be modern and effective. "
Alexey Nikitenko agrees that large corporations are already trying to use Second Life to their advantage: “It is clear that they are not interested in selling virtual goods as a goal. Mainly for them, this is an advertising market with a huge audience, which can be used to promote their services and products in real life. " That is why Toyota gives away virtual copies of its cars for free - in the hope that in real life, users will buy cars of this particular brand. And along the way, the company - at minimal cost - gets the opportunity to conduct marketing research. In the meantime, other corporations are opening shops in SL selling real goods, advising customers and organizing teleconferencing, saving on transportation costs. And allowing the inhabitants of the game to earn money along the way. How?
There is a company whose employees are scattered across different cities and countries. And there is a person who can connect them all in SL. The company rents an island from this person, he builds it up, and the company's employees, despite the fact that they may be separated by thousands of “real” kilometers, come to the “virtual office” as to work, ”cites Jess Syman as an example. In her opinion, many companies will adhere to such a strategy in the near future: "It is better to rent an island in SL than pay big money for several offices in the real world."
Gartner analysts are confident that this will be so, predicting that by 2011, most of the Fortune 500 companies will open their offices in SL.
Disenfranchised as we are
The presence of real-life "business sharks" in the game, among other things, gives players some confidence that the "wonderful new world" will not fall apart before our eyes and will not cease to exist at the behest of the almighty Lindens (all Linden Lab employees, including Rosedale himself , carry this name in the game).
According to the user agreement that each new player enters into with Linden Lab, everything created and earned does not belong to the player at all, but to the company, which reserves the right to any action, up to and including the player being removed from the SL without explanation. “Many businessmen are still afraid to invest serious money in SL,” admits Anton Shepetko (Russian Empire). "So there are not many people who will agree to" upload "more than 100 thousand dollars to SL yet."
Indeed, the hard-earned Linden Dollars can evaporate overnight if Linden Lab wants it. But, according to Jess Syman, things are not so bad. And it is not at all necessary to “store” the money in the game itself: “Suppose you received an order for 25 thousand dollars. Does it make sense to change dollars for lindens, and then back? After all, the transfer of payments can be organized without going through Linden Lab - via PayPal or Western Union! It's both easier and safer. "
As for the "general lawlessness", Saiman believes that the risks in the game are no higher than in reality. “Of course there is a problem. But in life we are not always insured. Just remember the devaluation of the ruble and Black Tuesday, ”recalls Jess. “Moreover, today Second Life is not only Linden Lab, but above all IBM, Dell, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler and other corporations doing business in SL. And already a plus to them - Linden Lab. Companies that have invested serious money in the game will not let anyone just go and disappear. "
Linden Lab director Philip Rosedale is confident that in ten years almost the entire population of the world will live "second life", and Gartner calculated that the general "exodus to the Matrix" will happen even earlier. By 2011, 80% of Internet users will live in one of the virtual worlds. True, it is far from the fact that it is in Second Life. Perhaps it will be a different project.
Wait and see. But at least Jess Saiman and Vega Pilipenko associate their future with SL. “We have not yet reached the level where we can say with full confidence that this is our job. But we are striving for this and will achieve our goal, ”Jess Saiman assured Business Journal.
But Stanislav Borisov, who spent more than one year in all kinds of game worlds in his youth, is not going to start a "second life" and believes that analysts predicting a quick and massive exodus to parallel worlds are wrong:
I personally don't play any MMO games right now. I'm much more interested in reality. The way life changes according to the will of people is the most real miracle, the most magical and fascinating fairy tale. I'm not going to scare or dissuade anyone. Play to your health. In the end, everyone is responsible for himself. In addition, if a certain balance is observed, any game becomes an exciting and rewarding pastime.
Russians are coming!
Russia is not yet represented in Second Life on such a large scale as the United States or Germany (most of the citizens of these countries are in SL). However, the number of the "Russian diaspora" is growing, and today there are already seven public Russian islands in the game: TechInvestLab, Russian Worldware, Russia, VisBoo, Moscow Island, Russian Empire, Fynist.
As in real life, serious competition begins between the owners of the islands, among whom there are both legal entities and individuals. The more popular the island, the higher its attractiveness for business owners who have decided to open their own shops, casinos or entertainment centers on its territory. This means that the higher the rental rates will be.
Everything here is like in real life, and each island has its own strong point. For example, on the territory of the island of Russian Empire, free training is provided for beginners. The idea is good. After all, according to the representative of the administration of the island of Russian Empire Anton Shepetko, the main reason for the outflow of people from the game is the lack of basic information about Second Life. “That's why we have built a virtual academy,” says Anton Shepetko. “Thus, we killed two birds with one stone: we gave people the opportunity to study somewhere and increased the popularity of our island.”
Another Russian island, Moscow Island, earns points (more precisely, while it is going, since it is only being built up) by the ambitious ideas of its creators - the charismatic Musashi Tanabe and the director of the dance label Uplifto Sergei Pimenov. Virtual Moscow will not be an exact copy of real Moscow, but it will certainly contain all its sights. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed is already ready and the Red Square is being completed, and the well-known specialists in SL were involved as developers - the sisters Vega Pilipenko and Jess Saiman.
