2013 SL RESIDENT / BUSINESS SURVEY

[Heavenly Villa]

The Centre for Business Development is undertaking a survey to get feedback from SL residents about SL.  The Centre is a collaborative of business people who want to be proactive in growing and making SL stronger for residents and business people in SL.

 

We want to help you to grow your business in SL and for that to happen we need your feedback.  Please take a few minutes to complete the survey.  Your feedback will help us to help you and the SL economy, to help improve those things in SL we all know are frustrating or not going well.   

 

The survey is confidential and will not collect any personally identifying information.

 

Here is the link to do the survey. 

http://businessdevelopmentcentresl.wordpress.com/

 

Thank you very much.  :)

 

 

 

[Magnet Homewood]

How can you help me grow my business and how will feedback help you to help me?

[Toysoldier Thor]

The survey questions are interesting in that if a lot of residents respond to it I would like to see the results.  But, a good question was asked by Magnet and also a few more...

 

1. Exactly "WHO" are you and the group you are representing?
2. Has your group been hired by Linden Lab to perform this survey and also provide them with a strategy that Rodvik will actually follow to address the complete neglect and mismanagement that we Merchants have all been witnessing by the LL Commerce Team?
3. Will you / your group be posting the results of this survey to the public?  If so, where and when?  You opened this thread in the SL Merchant Forum asking for our participation..... will your team be posting the results of the survey here in this forum?
4. And to repeat what Magnet asked..... exactly HOW will you be able to help all us Merchants improve the SL economy and our ability to sell more and/or sell at higher price points?

The questions seem fair if you want our participation and have made these claims of potential support.

[Heavenly Villa]

HI

 

To try to answer your questions (in no particular order):

1. No we are not hired / employed / contracted by Linden Labs in any way shape or form.   We are a group of people who have had businesses in SL from 1 - 5 or more years.   We came together initially as to have informal discussions about operating businesses in SL and some of the issues that we face that may impact positively or negatively on business growth in SL.    From these discussions we decided we wanted to take a proactive approach and see what we can do as residents who are invested in seeing SL grow, to the benefit of residents, the sl economy and yes, Linden Labs. 

2.  Yes the information will be released on the CBD website, with statistical and qualitative findings.  The raw data will not be released to ensure we protect residents privacy.

3.  The questions are based on many of the robust discussions the group have had around those issues we feel do impact on a resident's ability to start, develop and grow a business in SL.    The questions also reflect how SL itself has changed over the last few years - the decrease in resident retention, information LL no longer releases about the SL economy that would be useful to residents, marketplace, technical changes in SL etc.   In order for us to develop really useful strategies that will benefit residents, they need to be "evidence based".  The more information we have, the more informed decisions we can make.

4.  The Centre for Business Development is just starting up and we have identified three areas / streams of work we are looking at working in.  Assisting new business is one of these.   Resources will be offered to residents to help them, including marketing strategies.   We have just started these and they will be available at the Centre. 

 

Thanks for having a look at the survey and asking the questions.

 

 

[Ciaran Laval]

Awesome surname, didn't know that one was avaialble!

[Medhue Simoni]

Well, I filled out your survey, but I have little faith that this group will have a positive affect on the SL economy. Most likely, it will have a negative affect. Why do I say this? I don't feel the questions reflect any real knowledge of the SL economy, it's problems, nor good business practices. I see a good portion of the problems created by LL as directly related to advice given to them by merchants that have no idea what the real issues are. Further listening to these same merchants will push the economy over the edge. Personally, I feel that if a merchant is not making a major portion of their income from SL, they should have no say in how things should be changed to benefit every1. It is more likely that people who do earn their living in SL will have a much better grasp on what the real issues are. It is also more likely that the advice given by these merchants will have a more positive impact on all businesses.

I'd also like to see who is in this Centre for Business Development group and what their credentials are. It would also be good to bring in economists with a phd, and is of the Austrian school of economic theory. I say this because I understand that when you bring a large group of merchants together, it is not likely they will come up with a plan that benefits every1, but rather a small percentage who are really looking to further their own agendas. When you add in all the tiny merchants that have no understanding of economics, and the pitfalls of merchants banning together, the likely results are even worse policies.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Medhue Simoni wrote:

Personally, I feel that if a merchant is not making a major portion of their income from SL, they should have no say in how things should be changed to benefit every1. It is more likely that people who do earn their living in SL will have a much better grasp on what the real issues are. It is also more likely that the advice given by these merchants will have a more positive impact on all businesses.

 

---

*Sighs*  So only a select group of merchants (and it has been mentioned, shown, demonstrated, etc., etc. many times that the number of merchants who earn a RL income from SL is extremely small) are the only ones to have any say in policies that affect all SL merchants. It is not more likely that only these merchants have advice that will have a "positive impact on all businesses."  I have said this so many times I am blue in the face but there are merchants with a wonderful grasp on business, great customer service, wonderful products, etc. who either don't have the time to devote to making their SL business their RL income or who prefer to maintain a smaller business and enjoy other aspects of SL as well - with a myriad of other situations falling in between.

Please tell me you did not actually say that, Medhue.  This hasn't been a great day and I really don't want to get into a debate with you...lol.

[Toysoldier Thor]

---

Czari Zenovka wrote:

---

Medhue Simoni wrote:

Personally, I feel that if a merchant is not making a major portion of their income from SL, they should have no say in how things should be changed to benefit every1. It is more likely that people who do earn their living in SL will have a much better grasp on what the real issues are. It is also more likely that the advice given by these merchants will have a more positive impact on all businesses.

 

---

*Sighs*  So only a select group of merchants (and it has been mentioned, shown, demonstrated, etc., etc. many times that the number of merchants who earn a RL income from SL is extremely small) are the only ones to have any say in policies that affect all SL merchants. It is not more likely that only these merchants have advice that will have a "positive impact on all businesses."  I have said this so many times I am blue in the face but there are merchants with a wonderful grasp on business, great customer service, wonderful products, etc. who either don't have the time to devote to making their SL business their RL income or who prefer to maintain a smaller business and enjoy other aspects of SL as well - with a myriad of other situations falling in between.

Please tell me you did not actually say that, Medhue.  This hasn't been a great day and I really don't want to get into a debate with you...lol.

---

Yeah Czari, I would agree its not one of Medhue's wisest post comments.

So what Medhue is saying is that about 95% if not more of all the Merchant community should have any say on how LL's Commerce / Marketplace is run, operated, headed.  And conversely, Medhue is stating that SL's commerce environment is only here for this VERY SMALL portion of the entire merchant community... all us other Merchants are only here for the ride and none of our time, money, effort, experience, or personal interests in being a Merchant has any value or rights??

WOW Medhue.... might you want to retract your "personal opinion" statement or do you really believe this?

[Heavenly Villa]

Thank you for your support and comments. 

Anyone, including those with PhDs in economics, are welcome to join the group and contribute to what we are endeavouring to do, which is for the benefit of everyone, not just ourselves.

The questions are not meant to reflect the economy, but to gain an understanding of what the issues are for residents, particularly those who do run businesses, big or small, in SL.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mac Shoreman]

I did the thing and thank you Heavenly, with friends, for caring and acting.

Every thing has to start some where and I am totally convinced that professors from the famous Vitamine Institute in Wien would just trash this virtual world with their pea brains and lack of social skills any how so... Good job guys and I hope to hear more from your group and other groups like this in the future.

[Pamela Galli]

I see merchants as being on a continuum between those who do not need to make any income from producing content and therefore do not need to place any value on their time,  and those who make all their income from producing content and must therefore ask fair value for their time. Everyone is on this continuum somewhere.  And where you are does not mean you have superior or inferior quality of merchandise or customer service, or are in some way morally superior to those in other locations on the continuum.

However, those at either poles not only have very different goals and strategies, but conflicting ones.  For example, those who have plenty of free time and/or no need for SL income, can afford to earn nothing for their time and can charge very little or nothing for their products, which has driven prices down. This is good for customers, but not good for those who do need their SL income -- often because it is the only earning option left to them --  and must earn something for their time.  

 

Therefore I don't see any way for those at opposite ends of the continuum to make common cause.

[Medhue Simoni]

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

---

Medhue Simoni wrote:

Personally, I feel that if a merchant is not making a major portion of their income from SL, they should have no say in how things should be changed to benefit every1. It is more likely that people who do earn their living in SL will have a much better grasp on what the real issues are. It is also more likely that the advice given by these merchants will have a more positive impact on all businesses.

 

---

*Sighs*  So only a select group of merchants (and it has been mentioned, shown, demonstrated, etc., etc. many times that the number of merchants who earn a RL income from SL is extremely small) are the only ones to have any say in policies that affect all SL merchants. It is not more likely that only these merchants have advice that will have a "positive impact on all businesses."  I have said this so many times I am blue in the face but there are merchants with a wonderful grasp on business, great customer service, wonderful products, etc. who either don't have the time to devote to making their SL business their RL income or who prefer to maintain a smaller business and enjoy other aspects of SL as well - with a myriad of other situations falling in between.

Please tell me you did not actually say that, Medhue.  This hasn't been a great day and I really don't want to get into a debate with you...lol.

---

I do not mean to offend, but I understand how it can be offensive. In no way am I inferring that all smaller merchants are incapable of giving good advice, but that it is unlikely that most have enough data to be able to discern between those issues that affect every1 and those that only affect their field. Forums like these are where a smaller merchant can voice their opinions and test out their theories. I don't think many understand the damage they do to every1 when they scream for changes that they have no clue what the whole of the ramifications are. Myself included. Even I have to stop myself from supporting changes that might seem good in the beginning, but after deep thought, are obviously bad for the whole of the economy.

Even tho I've always been interested in economics, when I eventually got to the point where I quit my day job, I had lots of time to study economics. 1 of the things that I found fancinating is how merchants in every market, SL or not, seek to restrict entry into their field. It is a very natural thing, and when merchants groups are formed, this is usually the purpose or eventual outcome. Why do people in RL need a license to be a plumber, or an electrician? These aren't very complicated jobs to learn. Why do we have the Actor's Guild, or teacher's unions. The sole objective is to limit the entry into those markets, pushing prices up or holding them at a certain level. So far, in SL, this has not happened, but only because of LL, which could be said to be their greatest achievement. lol

So, the intend of my statements is to protect those smaller merchants that I seem to be bashing. I could very easily do the opposite and blame all the woes of our economy on these small merchants in an attempt to restrict entry into my market. If 1 looks at my actions tho, I encourage as many people to learn animation as possible and help those people more than any other animator in SL. There are many other pitfalls when merchant groups are formed to promote change, but I don't have time to go into all of them.

[Medhue Simoni]

Toy, I know it is hard to understand completely why I might say the things that I do, but just take 1 look at my actions to see what I really believe. Again, I understand that I can say contravercial things that don't make sense on the surface to many, but there are very good reasons for my opinions. Economies are fragile things, and even the most mundane things can send the whole economy into a whirlwind. So far, LL only has 2 areas that they have major control over, and yet the actions they have made, have had devistating affects on every1. My intent is not to belittle smaller merchants. To me, they are the blood that runs through the veins of our economy. My real point is that you don't let novices dictate change. When I seek advice or insight into something I have no knowledge of, I goto those that I think have a very good understanding  about it.

Plus, If any1 can remember, I've actually called for merchants to get together and try to have some influence on LL. I don't think it is a bad thing, but I see the hive affect as an extremely bad thing. Anytime you have a large group that encompasses a large part of the particular class, the ignorant will far outweigh the knowledgable. Any good aspect will be drowned out by the bad aspects.

[Toysoldier Thor]

So a few things Medhue on your beliefs and position that only Merchants that make a RL Living from SL Merchant sales have the smarts and therefore should be the only ones to have the RIGHTS to have input on the SL Commerce.  You have made some poor assumptions that you base your beliefs on.... as such since your assumptions are incorrect then your beliefs they are based on are also invalid.

Your first incorrect assumption your past post repeatedly made is that you believe that only those that make their primary REAL LIFE LIVING / INCOME from SL are large SL Creator/Merchant operations.  Everyone else according to your posting and beliefs are SMALLER merchants.  Well that is an incorrect assumption.  If you go by size of SL Merchant operations, I know creator/merchants that are very large and complex but still do not consider their SL business to be their primary income.  If you go by the more important factor of actual monthly PROFITS generated, I have been told my monthly profits from SL sales puts me into the top 7% of Merchants.  And I can tell you that I do not consider SL income to be my primary RL income.  Its nothing more than some nice extra HOT MONEY for me to buy some RL toys and tools I want.

Your second incorrect assumption is that you believe that LL created a SL Economy to target and service only those of their customers with the intent to make a primary RL income from it.  In fact, they could care less if you or me or any other Merchant makes any significant RL $ from the SL economy.  The SL Creator / Merchant economy was created as part of the SL enterainment that a huge population of SL residents enjoy. 

It was created so that LL could provide a very strong incentive to create content for their grid.  The SL MP and Commerce and eco-system must serve the interests of the greater population of creators and merchants.  As such, since those Merchants that meet your criteria (i.e. those that make a RL income from SL) only make up a SMALLLLLLL fraction of the Merchant community, it would be completely wrong for only them to have a voice on behalf of the vast majority that use the SL Commerce system for many other reasons.

Third, you make the assumption that only those merchants - like you stated yourself falls into - that have enough time to focus only on the SL economy and navel gaze about it have enough smarts and economics skills to understand how to run a business in SL.  Sorry to burst your bubble but I can safely bet there are SL Creators and Merchants (most that dont fall into your category of full time rl income earners in SL) that know much more about business operations and economics than you or I.  The fact that they dont make a RL income out of SL sales does not diminish their business smarts.

So, if you are to even be able to identify which merchants that use their sales for RL income earning and let only them set direction on SL's commerce, it would often be in conflict with the majority of merchant that are Merchants for countless other reasons.

As such, since these critical assumptions you made are false.... your beliefs are not legit IMHO.

[Medhue Simoni]

---

Heavenly Villa wrote:

Thank you for your support and comments. 

Anyone, including those with PhDs in economics, are welcome to join the group and contribute to what we are endeavouring to do, which is for the benefit of everyone, not just ourselves.

The questions are not meant to reflect the economy, but to gain an understanding of what the issues are for residents, particularly those who do run businesses, big or small, in SL.

 

---

Sorry if I may seem to poo poo your group, but this is the first that I've heard of your group and I have no information about your group other than some vague references about your intents. What's the groups mission statement? What, if any, philosophical beliefs does your group adhere to? To me these are very important things, if you expect others to support.

It almost sounds like your group wants to create products that could try to help merchants. This, I very much encourage. A group offering products has all the proper incentives to do just what you are intending.

[Medhue Simoni]

Never once did I imply intelligence as a factor, or SMARTS. I talked about knowledge, and data. My implication that full time Merchants have a better understanding and will bring better outcomes is based on thier incentives. As Pam pointed out, the incentives of those that don't make a living being a merchant and those that do this for pure enjoyment or others, are vastly different.

Whatever the reasons for the creation of this world, the engine that makes it all possible is the economy. Without it, there would be no SL. This should be obvious, but apparently not to you. LL should care very much, as many successful techology companies thrive because of the economy it creates behind it. Just look at FB. It won't truely make any actually money, outside of investors, until it finds a way for it's users to make money. Possibly, you are right and LL doesn't care, hence why they are in decline.

Where in the heck did I imply LL created the economy only for merchants that want to make a living? That's just you wanting to believe whatever you want about what I believe. How about you actually read my posts. I read yours, despite you using the forums to write novels in.

[Pamela Galli]

---

Pamela Galli wrote:

I see merchants as being on a continuum between those who do not need to make any income from producing content and therefore do not need to place any value on their time,  and those who make all their income from producing content and must therefore ask fair value for their time. Everyone is on this continuum somewhere.  And where you are does not mean you have superior or inferior quality of merchandise or customer service, or are in some way morally superior to those in other locations on the continuum.

However, those at either poles not only have very different goals and strategies, but conflicting ones.  For example, those who have plenty of free time and/or no need for SL income, can afford to earn nothing for their time and can charge very little or nothing for their products, which has driven prices down. This is good for customers, but not good for those who do need their SL income -- often because it is the only earning option left to them --  and must earn something for their time.  

 

Therefore I don't see any way for those at opposite ends of the continuum to make common cause.

---

To add to my post, something I foresaw three years ago when the trend began:  Although in the short term driving down prices is something customers will welcome, the long term effect is that creators will only be able to earn a fraction of minimum wage for their work, and many will abandon the effort. Only those who can afford to do that will continue creating. Already we see many creators scaling back because they can no longer cover expenses -- and not just full time creators but those who have depended on SL income as a supplement. 

 

Bottom line: Short term, driving prices down looks like a good thing, but just as when during the depression farmers stopped growing food* because the prices were too low, in the long term (and I see no way to stop the trend) it will mean that SL will no longer be a good place for many creators to invest their time and energy. 

 

* And poured out the milk they could no longer sell at a profit:

 

 

[Pamela Galli]

I may seem to have veered off topic, but my concern is that most of the business-building advice I see is something like:  let's cut prices more and/or offer content for free.

I have several friends who have chronic debilitating illnesses whose ONLY income -- and only opportunity to earn income -- is SL. Driving prices into the ground has hurt them. Everyone has the right to set any price they want, or give things away free, and I would never want to change that -- but I think everyone needs to be aware of the long term effect of driving prices down to the point where people no longer find it profitable to produce content.

[Medhue Simoni]

---

Pamela Galli wrote:

---

To add to my post, something I foresaw three years ago when the trend began:  Although in the short term driving down prices is something customers will welcome, the long term effect is that creators will only be able to earn a fraction of minimum wage for their work, and many will abandon the effort. Only those who can afford to do that will continue creating. Already we see many creators scaling back because they can no longer cover expenses -- and not just full time creators but those who have depended on SL income as a supplement. 

 

Bottom line: Short term, driving prices down looks like a good thing, but just as when during the depression farmers stopped growing food* because the prices were too low, in the long term (and I see no way to stop the trend) it will mean that SL will no longer be a good place for many creators to invest their time and energy. 

 

* And poured out the milk they could no longer sell at a profit:

 

 

---

Personally, I don't see lower prices as a big problem, as long as government doesn't get involved. In the case of the depression, government put price controls into place, which made it unprofitable for things to be produced, hence causing the shortages. It was government's direct involvement that created the problems. In the case of SL, it is LL's direct involvement in promoting freebies and cheapies on the MP that causes the prices to go down to unprofitable levels. This, inturn, causes merchants to go out of business, which will eventually cause a shortage in quality goods. This lowers the value of all things in SL, especially the land to put those quality items on.

Competition is great for every1. The customers get cheaper prices, more to choose from, and the quality  continues to rise. For the merchants, it makes them have to constantly improve and put out new products. The result of LL promoting cheap products is that innovation slows, as no producers will ever recover the cost of the time it takes to innovate.

[Pamela Galli]

Here BTW is the best SL business advice all in one place I have found:

 

http://mistletoeethaniel.wordpress.com/how-to-do-stuff/sl-business/

 

This article in particular:

 

http://mistletoeethaniel.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/ten-ways-to-jump-start-stagnant-sales/

[Medhue Simoni]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

I may seem to have veered off topic, but my concern is that most of the business-building advice I see is something like:  let's cut prices more and/or offer content for free.

I have several friends who have chronic debilitating illnesses whose ONLY income -- and only opportunity to earn income -- is SL. Driving prices into the ground has hurt them. Everyone has the right to set any price they want, or give things away free, and I would never want to change that -- but I think everyone needs to be aware of the long term effect of driving prices down to the point where people no longer find it profitable to produce content.

---

Whether it is off topic or not, I think it is probably 1 of the most important aspects of what is going on today. It should be debated to no end.

Indulge me a minute, and allow me to talk about the opposite of cheap prices, which is price gouging. Most people would consider this to be completely immoral, especially in the case of a disaster. I will contend that it is the best way to benefit every1 in a disaster. Most of the time, government will step in and prosecute price gougers, but this inflates the shortage even more, hurting even more people and stopping the correction.

Let's imagine there is a massive disaster, and thousands of people are in need of water and gas. Because these items are in short supply, the price would naturally go up. Contrary to popular belief, this is a very good thing. If the prices were kept lower, artificially, then there would quickly be no water or gas for any1. The fact that the price rises makes every1 evaluate how badly they need those items, leaving more supply for those that really need it.

Lets imagine that some merchant decides that he wants to go down to the disaster area and sell water at 10 times the normal price. If government stops him or procecute people for doing so, then there will be less supply for people that need it. If governement doesn't step in, other merchants will see the profitablity and also bring water to sell. Very soon after the disaster, because all those merchants saw the profitablity, the prices will come down to normal levels quickly and the supply will be abundant for any1 that really needs it. Like I said, if government gets involved, they prevent the fix, and every1 is hurt.

Price gouging is not immoral at all, because it is completely voluntary. No person is forced to pay those prices. It is also gov involvement that makes gouging prolific. An example is gov giving patents to drug companies so that the corporation can keep competition out, hencing keeping the prices high on needed drugs.

Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to illustrate that it is always government involvement that causes the problems. The market is always the fix to all problems. What we need is for LL to be part of the market, and not a government that dictates what the prices should be. If LL acted in it's own interest, and created an algorythm that maximized their own profits on the MP, then we would all benefit.

[Pamela Galli]

The thing is that SL is not RL -- for example, in RL you are not going to have someone open up a gas station next to yours and start charging 10 cents a gallon, unless they are very wealthy and can afford the huge expenses of rent, salaries, the cost of the gasoline, taxes, etc.

 

I am not saying every creator is going to be driven out of business -- in addition to those who don't need income, those who make unique content or very high quality content are going to survive as long as LL is in business. But longterm, many others are going to fall through the cracks.

[Toysoldier Thor]

sorry but I do not believe in your libertarians beliefs of the economy. There are countless examples of even minor hints of libertariab practices that have failed the micro macro and even global economies. Lack of government involvement and removal of regulations and involvement to control full out free market economies is why the usa and even world economy is in the shambles its on now. When the primsry driver is to male as mich profit as possible, unethical practices and corruption is assured. Do you not recall the savings and loan scandal? Do you not recall enron? The countless wallstreet corruptions that took the world economy the brink of global collapse. All the jink bond scandals. The pyramid schemes.

 

All these are posterchild examples of the results of libertarian philosophies only partly experimented. Reganomitics.

 

Sorry bit libertarian economies would very quickly corrupt itself.

 

But I hope you do stop promoting your rl eco political beliefs on these threads. Its not becoming and not an appropriate placeto promote your beliefs.

[Medhue Simoni]

For 1, the US has never been close to a Free Market in any way, shape, or form, except in it's very early years. If you think it is, you are not looking at the evidense, but rather the rhetoric. There might be small pocket of markets that operate in a Free Market, but as a whole the US ecomony is as socialistic as any. In every single banking scandal, or corporate corruption case, it was government regulations that allowed them to happen. If people were forced to actually research things before they invest in them, then none of these economic disasters would happen at all. It is directly the result of people trusting in corrupt politician that cause the problems. People actually believe that regulations are created to stops corruption, when the reality is that the regulations are simply the corrupt corporations paying off politicians so that they can commit crimes against the public with impunity, and also restrict competition in the marketplace.

Yes, in a completely Free Market, there are people that get burned. These people are usually those that don't do their research and they are isolated to small pockets of people. We see this in SL all the time, but people learn and eventually check things out before they dump tons of money into something. It is only in a government controlled system where massive corruption can happen, and nobody involved gets prosecuted. Disasters at the level of Enron, or the housing collapse could never happen in a Free Market. The people that engage in such things would get sued out their ashes and never be able to commit their crimes again. Instead, in our government controlled market, these criminals get bailed out and go off to the bahamas to sip margaritas, while we and our children pay for their crimes. Where do you think Ken Lay is? Not in jail.

Libertarian philosophy promotes market based solutions that are sustainable and give no favortism to any1. Market based solutions are a moral way to solve problems, vs the force that governement solutions provide. Using force to implement anything is never a good long term solution, which inturn means that all government solutions are bad long term solutions that will inheritly be corrupt. It is easy to know who to pay off when you have 1 regulatory agency.

[Medhue Simoni]

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Pamela Galli wrote:

The thing is that SL is not RL -- for example, in RL you are not going to have someone open up a gas station next to yours and start charging 10 cents a gallon, unless they are very wealthy and can afford the huge expenses of rent, salaries, the cost of the gasoline, taxes, etc.

 

I am not saying every creator is going to be driven out of business -- in addition to those who don't need income, those who make unique content or very high quality content are going to survive as long as LL is in business. But longterm, many others are going to fall through the cracks.

---

Markets are markets, it doesn't matter where they happen. All the core principles apply. Yes, not all the same things elements exist, but the core of all markets have the same principles. SL's economy is not really based on commodities, like RL economies, but it still has productivity and labour based forces, as well as many others that RL economies have. Governing is 1 aspect that all economies have to deal with and are the most destructive elements to any market.