Luna Bliss Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 56 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: 1 hour ago, Luna Bliss said: Hmmm...but could be they'll choose a 'game' with attributes they're more accustomed to, just as us 'oldies' seem to prefer what is familiar to us for the most part. The assumption seems to almost always be that younger people are looking for "games," and so don't find SL very attractive because that's not really what it is. I interact with a lot of people in the 17-25 age bracket on a daily basis: a few would call themselves "gamers," more play games on a very casual basis, and a lot just aren't interested in them at all. What does distinguish them from my generation is the kind of online social platforms they prefer. Facebook seems ancient to them. They are using Whatsapp and Instagram and Snapchat, to name a few of the most popular. And SL really doesn't mimic the mechanics of those newer forms of social media very well. (And indeed, maybe it shouldn't.) It's far more like the older social media platforms than the newer ones. I'm not sure it matters (for SL's continued survival) what others prefer in terms of a social media platform, as I don't think SL can really be categorized exclusively as such. Those who prefer SL seem to like entering into a virtual space along with the connection that's part of social media. So I see SL's competition as worlds where one is more immersed -- people who enjoy being able to interact with others beyond mere 'words' -- build, play games. As it is now, the young people who love these types of worlds think SL is "lame", and I suspect that perception will remain even as they mature. When looking out at the virtual landscape it's easy to see SL could easily be left in the dust, much in the same way Active Worlds was during the migration from there to here. I hope this isn't the case, and that LL can make changes, but in reality LL can only do so much as virtual worlds evolve. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qie Niangao Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Beth Macbain said: Why does SL need to appeal to younger demographics? It doesn't. Not necessarily. On the other hand, we know SL is just amazingly "sticky" for users after they're hooked, and we also know it's only a tiny percentage of new users who get hooked. With such hard-won users, it's more profitable to catch 'em while they have longer to stick around before they (we) die off. Still, as baby boomers age, the older demo expands. To make that good business, SL must be acquired by each newly old cohort, like AARP cards, not just a feature of one aging cohort, like... I dunno. Fox News? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 41 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said: It doesn't. Not necessarily. On the other hand, we know SL is just amazingly "sticky" for users after they're hooked, and we also know it's only a tiny percentage of new users who get hooked. With such hard-won users, it's more profitable to catch 'em while they have longer to stick around before they (we) die off. Still, as baby boomers age, the older demo expands. To make that good business, SL must be acquired by each newly old cohort, like AARP cards, not just a feature of one aging cohort, like... I dunno. Fox News? As a person who is aging, as well all are, I would literally rather curl up and die than be forced to watch a nanosecond of Fox News. Death would be much less painful. That's hyperbole for the people who don't like me and want to try and pick apart my words... I think maybe what I was trying to suggest is that a platform like SL is maybe a natural progression for people as they age. Yes, SL has to capture that demographic, and it's certainly not the entire demographic... and maybe it's all wrong anyway because in the grand scheme of thing this is really new territory. We're talking about people who did not grow up with computers, and how those people are aging and responding to things, versus people who've never known a world without computers, and how those young whipper-snappers are going to age and respond to things. It's really sort of uncharted territory. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessy Taffler Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Until someone comes out with a better place to play barbie doll dress up with the kind of options available on SL I don't see it going anywhere. You can pretty much get the exact look you're going for here, I'm not aware of anywhere else better for character creation. People still making new mesh bodies, clothes and hair coming out like crazy, still a lot of money being spent apparently. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexandriaBrangwin Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 The most frustrating thing I've found about getting new people into SL is the "Mistaken for something else" problem. As in you ask them what they want...and they describe SL to a tee...but then say they don't use SL because it "doesn't have what they want".🤨 Like saying "No thank you I don't drink cola...do you have any Pepsi?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bent Luik Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 (edited) Here's a little fun song to cheer all of you up, after all that talk about death and dying. Edited October 17, 2019 by Bent Luik 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orwar Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 4:29 PM, raa21 said: Share your thoughts....... Yes. Everything must die. Is SL dying in this very moment, though? No. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aemeth Lysette Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 In its "end" years, I don't think anyone should be upset over a more prevalent Lab-run store with regular releases of clothing and etc though, because that might be how we end up keeping SL's dedicated devs paid. I feel the Linden will lose dollar value later on to the point where most creators cannot pay their rent though here anymore. I'm already seeing this with some stores that have been around for a long time. If you create virtual goods in-world, it might be a good idea to start expanding your skillset and framing your career as a game developer. That is what you do, even in SL. You create virtual content for people to enjoy, and that can very easily shift over as the gaming industry evolves. Somebody out there will wanna hire you at a company for what you do here! This isn't to say you can't keep creating in SL. Definitely do that. Just keep your bases covered! One of the best things I ever did was branch out from SL and into rl work. Now I freelance while dabbling here too. It's really nice to be flexible with whatever comes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoverMain Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 SL is alive and well in my opinion ❤️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sassy Kenin Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 (edited) Yes it will. it might hold on for many years from now, whats important is enjoying it while its here and how it improves your life and you as a person. Edited October 19, 2019 by Shansi Kenin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Solo Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) On 10/16/2019 at 12:44 PM, Beth Macbain said: Why does SL need to appeal to younger demographics? Well, for starters fix the last name nonsense. Everyone who has entered SL in the last 9 & 1/2 years wears a Resident badge that isn't exactly the greatest. Any club you join, you go through a period of establishing yourself. SL is special, in that if you joined in the last 9 & 1/2 you still wear a noob tag. Edited October 21, 2019 by Erwin Solo 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake1 Nightfire Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 10:29 AM, raa21 said: so i have been gone for like 5 months and many things changed Many socials islands are closed or others are dead, Many people got banned from social islands My old friends are gone because of this decision I used to run a store and was making around 20k lindens per months and now not many people buying. Even my landord sold all of his land. I guess they are promoting Sansar more and more....not sure but SL used to be a very coool.... User activity is decreasing... SL needs more social placed where people can meet and greet I guess they are going to close (or merge) SL and will promote Sansar.. not sure Share your thoughts....... Stop stop stop stop stop... You made 20K a month selling 5 tattoos? They arent promoting Sansar over SL.. Good lord, why do these FUD threads keep popping up? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 11 hours ago, Erwin Solo said: Well, for starters fix the last name nonsense. Everyone who has entered SL in the last 9 & 1/2 years wears a Resident badge that isn't exactly the greatest. Any club you join, you go through a period of establishing yourself. SL is special, in that if you joined in the last 9 & 1/2 you still wear a noob tag. What does that have to do with the question I asked? And do you really but think that avatars created in the last 9 years are considered new? I certainly don't. I have my viewer set to only show display names since that's what people want to be known by and couldn't give a crap if their username ends in Resident or Smith. I get that people want last names again, though I'm not sure why it's really necessary when we have display names. Are people really that snobby about avatar age? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake1 Nightfire Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 On 10/16/2019 at 9:31 AM, Luna Bliss said: Do you guys have any idea what might make SL more appealing to younger people? Or do you think this is impossible? This is definitely important for the survival of SL. My kids have watched me, i dont want to use the word play here but, play SL since they were small. They grew up watching SL. They grew up wanting to do/make things in SL. They are both taking Blender in school as part of the graphic arts program. many of their friends also are interested in making things for SL. The biggest complaint is they have to make things out of SL for SL. If Blender or something like it were available in SL itself, it would bring in more young people. More and more movies are being made about virtual worlds. hell, Ready Player One ring any bells? Transcendence, Her, The Matrix, Tron, Ghost in the Shell, these are movies that teens are watching today as VR becomes more and more mainstream. Now SL doesn't need to go the whole VR route as it is VR in its most basic form. But making it easier to build complex shapes, rigged clothing, hairs and the like WITHIN SL would help immensely to bring in younger users. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Voxel Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 Funny story: My meme is 87, uses Facebook, pays her bills online, etc. She’s pretty computer savvy for an 87 year old. She’s independent, still lives in her own house, has a tenant. I’m going somewhere with this (don’t worry) A couple years ago, I was visiting her and she told me she was having problems with her PC. Then she told me her tenant’s Teenage daughter comes by hangs out with her and uses her computer. What could possibly go wrong with letting a teenage girl use your computer right? So I go on her computer. What’s the first thing I see? The girl installed SL and was coming to hang out with my grandmother AND play SL! I had to be nosey. I logged in....it was a regular profile. She filled out her profile, average profile, nothing weird. She had one of the new starter Avis, no crazy objects. I logged off satisfied, cleared a couple caches, told my grandmother she was good. I didn’t say anything to the girl about SL, it looked like she was just exploring. But I was surprised a 16 year old kid found and was on SL. I wouldn’t be surprised this is quite common. The next time I visited my grandmother, SL was still on there. The time after that it was gone. It could’ve been that my grandmother is using a 12 year old Dell and she got her own newer PC, maybe she got bored with SL and stopped logging on, maybe my grandmother said something to her. Kids are finding SL. I’ve seen it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Macbain Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 5 minutes ago, janetosilio said: I wouldn’t be surprised this is quite common. The next time I visited my grandmother, SL was still on there. The time after that it was gone. It could’ve been that my grandmother is using a 12 year old Dell and she got her own newer PC, maybe she got bored with SL and stopped logging on, maybe my grandmother said something to her. Kids are finding SL. I’ve seen it. It's making me laugh to think of your grandmother and this kid playing together in SL. Going shopping, exploring, playing dress-up, your grandmother shaking her booty in some club... or maybe they trolled together! Went to sandboxes and fussed at people. "Pull up your pants, young man!" "Would your nana approve of you leaving the house dressed that way, Miss Hotty Pants?" ... giggles ... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Voxel Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 21 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said: It's making me laugh to think of your grandmother and this kid playing together in SL. Going shopping, exploring, playing dress-up, your grandmother shaking her booty in some club... or maybe they trolled together! Went to sandboxes and fussed at people. "Pull up your pants, young man!" "Would your nana approve of you leaving the house dressed that way, Miss Hotty Pants?" ... giggles ... That actually was what I was afraid of when I first saw the SL icon! That my grandmother was on SL in some MC or something or playing some young Thotty. My heart dropped for a minute! I asked her about it and she said it was a video game her tenant plays. Then I logged in! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequoia Sojourner Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Drake1 Nightfire said: But making it easier to build complex shapes, rigged clothing, hairs and the like WITHIN SL would help immensely to bring in younger users. Totally agree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Ziplon Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) I don't think Second Life is going to die all the time it remains profitable. Sansar will have zero influence over what happens with Second Life as Sansar is not meant to be Second Life. Sansar is all about experiences opposed to interaction. I'm not saying you can't socialize there, as you can, but as an environment it has little in the way of interaction unless you are creating the experiences, It does have superior graphics and the experiences are very well made, but I certainly got bored with it very quickly and consigned its viewer to the digital bin. Sims come and go, they always have done. It is largely due to the running cost. I think most Second Lifers have no inkling just how expensive it is to have a region, which is why I always donate to any I use on a regular basis. In terms of your store, I don't know what you sell, so can't comment. You were obviously doing well, but with any store, there are only going to be so many buyers. Last time I logged in, I think the viewer reported there being roughly 40k users online, that is still a significant number, even if you exclude the bots and alts, it is still going to be a lot of people. Those numbers alone would suggest it is not dying. When you think about it, Second Life has no viable competition and please nobody mention "Open Sim", as that could never compete with Second Life due to the lack of content available for it. So no, in my opinion it is not dying. It's a shame the places you enjoyed disappeared, but take comfort in the fact that there will always be alternatives. I wish you well with your store and hope things pick up for you again. Edited October 21, 2019 by Frank Ziplon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Ziplon Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 18 hours ago, Erwin Solo said: Well, for starters fix the last name nonsense. I've never understood why people are so bothered by having a last name, I mean when there were last names, there was a limited pool to choose from anyway. If last names return, it would be good, only if people could choose their own last name. My only real annoyance with names, is when people use ridiculous characters which make it impossible to chat with them by name in local chat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingrid Ingersoll Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 6 hours ago, Drake1 Nightfire said: If Blender or something like it were available in SL itself, it would bring in more young people. But making it easier to build complex shapes, rigged clothing, hairs and the like WITHIN SL would help immensely to bring in younger users. I always wished they would have done this but to be fair 3d programs are pretty heavy. Not sure if it would have ever been possible. I used to love tinkering in a sandbox with friends and chatting. When the creative aspect of SL moved out of in-world, it was huge change for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Ziplon Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 5 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said: but to be fair 3d programs are pretty heavy This is true, plus I imagine integration would be fairly difficult too. That being said, just having the ability to extrude or make loop cuts, would make a great addition. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Solo Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Frank Ziplon said: I've never understood why people are so bothered by having a last name, I mean when there were last names, there was a limited pool to choose from anyway. If last names return, it would be good, only if people could choose their own last name. My only real annoyance with names, is when people use ridiculous characters which make it impossible to chat with them by name in local chat. Well, there are certain combat games in SL in which after downing someone, you have to tie them up, and to do so you are required to type a ten word line of text including their name. The point being, that the objective of the unreadable name is to have an unreadable name. The countermeasure is to have legacy names enabled, and type that. The counter counter measure to that is to have an all numeric legacy name (like 9473209834 Resident). The counter counter counter measure is .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucianoLamento Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) On 10/18/2019 at 6:41 AM, DiscoverMain said: SL is alive and well in my opinion ❤️ Its going to die due to LL Neglect! Period! SANSAR is taking preference - which is draining the cash-cow SL - which is lagging users to death! NO HOPE REALLY! Edited October 22, 2019 by LucianoLamento 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raa21 Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, Drake1 Nightfire said: Stop stop stop stop stop... You made 20K a month selling 5 tattoos? They arent promoting Sansar over SL.. Good lord, why do these FUD threads keep popping up? i was a custom tattoo artist..... FYI....need more proof ? Edited October 22, 2019 by raa21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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