Rene Erlanger

Doesn't encourage anyone to invest in Second Life with such shabby security. I would use 3rd party exhanges like Virwox....LL could learn a lesson or two from those companies.

I think Rodvik joined either Dec 2010 or Jan 2011

Madeliefste Oh wrote::matte-motes-big-grin-squint: I don't see the advantage of getting all and everything in my received items folder. I don't see the problem with the current system where notecards come in the notecard folder, scripts in the scripts, textures in the textures and so on. Why mess up the current system, for what purpose? What problem does it solve? None, for me, it will only give me extra work. Why must I drag all received things by hand to the folder where they belong? My most important question is: will I be able to answer a notecard that is in the received items folder? Or must every single customer request for support be dragged into my notecard folder first to be able to answer it? I fear the latest will be the case. Good post...that's the way i feel about it. I want my notecards to automatically go to my Notecards folder. I set filters on my "Recent Items" tab.....so that it effectively becomes my "To do " list. I don't want everything hitting the "Received" folder.....for many it will just end up like an over-bloated "Objects" folder over time!

I would say getting into Destination Guide would now yield the best results in terms of In-world traffic....when compared to the Search Engine or Classified Adverts. A decent customer group and or one covering that market (e.g Fashion Consolidated for fashion.) is also very effective. it's a sad state of affairs when the most effective In-world marketing tool is in the hand of the Game Gods....and they decide who makes it into their exclusive listings.

Graphics and animations on another level!

In my opinion, It's certainly not as good as Second Life in any shape or form. I have an account overthere. One thing IMVU have over Second Life....is a very smart management team, a CEO who knows how to market their product to the maximum. How long have you seen IMVU banner advertisements across the Internet? 3 or 4 years right....and during a recessionary period, when you need to advertise most. IMVU invested in Marketing & Advertising....and are reaping the rewards. In 2009 IMVU had peak logins around 60-70k.....it has hit 150k in 2011.!! How about Second Life during that same period?

Phil Deakins wrote: Rene Erlanger wrote: It's not just that Kylie....many Merchants are in the process of giving up. I can vouch for that. I know one merchant, not a million miles from this keyboard that I'm typing on, who has been closing down for well over 2 years now, so there's nothing new in that store, and there won't be. Yep...i mean there are Creators that have that energy to keep on creating, keep on marketing, keep overcoming LL hurdles (like Pamela). Mesh will raise the bar for sure, but it's not a game changer.!! Several MMOG platforms have had Mesh content for years, even one of the OS Grids has had it for quite some time.....and they're not exactly overflowing with new sign-ups! All of this updated technology and additional Creator tools.....will mean very little if Linden Lab doesn't market it's product (SL) to the outside world.....and start seriously increasing their userbase numbers. That applies to both to Content Creators & Land Barons. side note** 200 more Estate sims abandoned last week, ignore these trends and data at your peril! .

Pamela Galli wrote: I was pretty prominent on Xstreet, but not on the Markeplace map. If I did not have a lot of enhancements, I don't think I would sell as much as I do -- I can't say for sure because they have removed any data we could use. However, the more enhancements the more likely someone is to click on something, and then even if they don't buy that thing, they will look around my store, and maybe buy something else. Apples and oranges....yours are in a smaller sector to begin with. 1 house sale and you'll cover the cost of most expensive enhancement listing for the month. Ladies fashion, with gradual price dumping over the years...the "popular" garments are generally priced from 10 L to 250 L.....they are going to have to sell plenty of units to cover that same listing enhancement (Home page - L2899 per 30 days). Some Merchants take the gamble ...some don't. My own take is, that if i were selling high priced quality products...in a niche market, i'd probably purchase the Enhancements as i know I just need 1 sale to cover that cost. It's worth it! (I hope).....if i were selling 50L or 100L items I probably wouldn't. Edit> Just read Paula001's comment above....I fully agree and more or less stated the same in my posting. Note to self...should read other people's replies first!:smileytongue:

Faye Feldragonne wrote: Rene Erlanger wrote: Over 2 millions items listed....Ladies Fashion being the biggest sector. Over time it won't get any easier especially with no growth in the userbase! Paying for Enhancements with questionable performance....just leaves the Marketplace Search engine. Maybe buy a lottery ticket instead! LOL. Guess I'll keep joining hunts! Yep, even there....not any old Hunt, make sure you join the quality ones...the ones that are marketed & well organised..

Kylie Jaxxon wrote: This is such a pet peeve of mine! As a consumer, you would think they would want to entice me more, but no...the same stuff It is the beginning of spring, people are out and about redoing their parcels. In garden centers, they should take advantage of this. I have seen quite a few times where the merchants aren't fast enough for me...I like to start early. But today took the cake. I went to a very popular garden center and couldn't believe my eyes. Not only is there nothing new, but the central theme of the region was still Autumn....fall colors and tree, pumpkins lying about, etc. The same old displays and setups. As my title says, at least move things around a bit, give the illusion that you at least check in once every few months and give a crap. Put a little time and effort into it, FFS. Rant over.... It's not just that Kylie....many Merchants are in the process of giving up. When you see shops like that, which are out-of-season without new products for quite some time...that's a sign that closure is not far ahead. Traffic & sales have effectively moved to Marketplace. Most likely a lot of these establishments with large land plots are no longer covering Tiers with their sales. It's deflating for the Creator/ Merchant....creating, creating....and still not being able to make Tier. Look at the Land stats for the last year.....and you'll see i'm not exaggerating!

Avoid any SL related website that asks for your login password....plus beware of websites that somehow install key-loggers....that too can acquire your password.

Meeroos are still top dog! Press "Best selling items" on Marketplace. the first few pages are littered with Meeroo related products.

Over 2 millions items listed....Ladies Fashion being the biggest sector. Over time it won't get any easier especially with no growth in the userbase! Paying for Enhancements with questionable performance....just leaves the Marketplace Search engine. Maybe buy a lottery ticket instead!

Wow that is wacky.....even wackier are the nutjobs that participated :smileysurprised:.

2nd that....MystiTools is worth purchasing at some point in your SL Life. I never leave home without it! :matte-motes-wink:

Getting ready for work...early morning BBC news was on at the time.....and there was a mention of an Avatar making a million dollars in a virtual world (i.e Ahnse Chung). 2 weeks later i created an SL account.

Yep, those Terrain surrounds can cause that (Mountain ranges etc)...it effects sit.

They had a case a couple years back, when a skin was hijacked from Renderosity....and brought into SL by a leading Skin creator. She got rumbled badly....and effectively closed shop thereafter. Her reputation was tarnished forever. I dare say she has re-surfaced with a new avatar and product line. The Renderosity artist was informed by SL players, and the whole affair was publicised on a well known Bloggers website.

That's why i said "different content" which would not be sold in Second Life.

Pamela Galli wrote: Don't tell the professional mesh designers, but SL is not nickels and dimes :-) I have been dragged kicking and screaming into the wonderful world of learning Blender, so I can make mesh. I have now become a professional mesh designer. I still have a lot to learn, but some of my stuff looks good enough to sell on Renderosity -- but I don't want to do that. I want to sell in my store! My prayer is that LL will thrive, will not kill SL, and not leave me to sell stuff on some 3D website. How boring! No reason why you can't create for both mediums with different content. At the end of the day, it's another source of income, if this is your full-time work. I would hate to place all my income potential in the hands of Linden Lab.....a couple of bad SL strategies and that future income could be blown apart. Nikel & diming is just a phrase i use....describing the majority of SL products priced lowly in their game currency (relying on volume sales to garner any worthwhile income) . You sell Houses (& Furniture)...single units that sell for several $dollars per item, so probably don't fall under that banner.

WADE1 Jya wrote: Yes I have eyes on this same info Rene, which is one reason I'm quite insistent now for Lindens to continue releasing their quarterly figures, with usual profitability statement. I know they mean well, but not nice to keep people in a darkness. My little pet shop survives inworld but I must consider how Second Life is doing overall & where Linden future might be 6 months from now, such going-on has ambiguous appearance. If sales are down perhaps diversify as Linden CEO does. Mesh is an open door and a way to let no walls stand in your way as creator. Thank you Lindens, Second Life has been like a school to me. I came here knowing nothing & now I feel I have graduated. What to do around the old schoolyard now? :catembarrassed: Best of luck to everyone in these times of bad realworld economy. We are all under attack from plutocrats. Be agile and smart. Let's hope Lindens survive (I think they will) & that WWIII does not begin also with all our "world leaders" engaged in the crazy war talk. Hi Wade If you have invested the time in learning how to create Mesh products.....the Internet is your oyster. In your position i would not keep all your eggs in one basket.....with those skill sets, look to sell your future products on other platforms or digital content websites like Daz3D. All the best...I'm sure you'll make it! PS. I think LL diversifying into non-SL products is the way forward in terms of their future profitability and survival. I know SL might suffer on the one hand (neglect)....but the flip side might lead to SL survival if LL has a sounder financial base (stronger Balance Sheet).

Medhue Simoni wrote: As far as what LL is doing that contradicts your theory, just look at MESH. How about Pathfinding? LL know's that for SL to move forward, the content has to get better, and more efficient. This will likely bring in more professional content creators, who are definitely going to expect to cashout. When I stated earlier that LL made a conscious decision to market Land more, I was not implying that they were maliciously hurting merchants. I don't really think LL can comprehend how the things they do hurt the merchants. Plus, we basically had 1 CEO in charge when everything was destroyed, and now we have another that doesn't know anything about how things were before. Firstly Mesh and "Pathfinding capabilities" and all the rest of the little shinies...will not necessarily lead to improvement in retention rates...which are the core of SL problems. Mesh is not going to be the saviour of Secondlife.....it's overblown and overhyped scenario! Other MMOG platforms have had Mesh for years! (e.g IMVU), I do believe one of the OS Grids has had it working successfully for quite some time now. A Professional Mesh product creator is not going "nickle & dime" themselves in SL, when there are so many outlets (e.g Daz3D, Renderosity etc etc) to sell their products for significantly more dollars ...which bears some relation to their time spent in creating those products.

Anaiya Arnold wrote: Luna Bliss wrote: What I'm saying is that I think LL believes it's more advantageous for them to attract a lot of people paying tier vs a few businesses paying for full sims and taking a lot of money out of the game. ........ Most sim owners probably never need support unless something is wrong on LL's end, in which case they'd still have to do something whether it's a private sim that has gone awry or an area holding 40 homes of users who all have access to live support. The only difference there is whether they have to deal with one single, probably technically astute or SL-familiar owner, or 40 probably very confused, probably very SL-unfamiliar, and probably rather newish accounts all with access to live support. I own a bunch of Sims and i rarely need to contact Live Support......maybe once every 2 months and it might not be Sim related....it could be regarding billing or being charged more for Search fees or a Classified Advert that i had stopped..

Ilyra Chardin wrote: As for LL's push towards MP over in world stores, t hey're getting a cut of every sales transaction. MP is set up so that just about anyone can put products out as long as they have a spot to put their magic box (which could be a linden home, a rental plot or their friends' sim. And a lot more people have entered into that market than had ever set up in world stores because they can be a merchant on MP with little investment - more so because there is little to no governance of MP. There is a percentage of merchants who are not content creators at all and are merely selling those freebie full perm (or at least copy / trans) items that they've picked up along the way. If you do the Maths like I've done on repeated occasions...Linden Lab strategy to move shopping to Marketplace makes no sense at all for the company's profitability. Firstly Land/ Sim Tiers are paid in USD and are taken as income at source....whilst Marketplace commissions are just another "Sink" earnt in Linden dollars that cannot be taken straight to income. Sinks and sources are used to balance the Lindex and money supply of the SL economy. Secondly even if you hypothetically count MP Commissions as LL income it would not begin to compare to the Tiers lost from commercial land & Sims abandoned over the last year. Approx $4.75 Million USD Tier income has been lost over the last year....a certain percentage of that figure relates to Sims/ Land that had Commercial activities. MP commissions current run rate is around $80-100 k USD p/mth (if it were converted and taken to Income) so it does not compare....it's a lot less!

Madeliefste Oh wrote: A point is also that you have much more competition now then five years ago. I did a bit of research on this and found these figures: 2007: total businesses in SL 42.597 2010: total businesses in SL 64.651 More recent figures are not available, but I guess the number of businesses is still growing, while the hours spent online by all residents are declining. The number of items for sale grows and grows. When every merchant releases one item per week and it comes in for example 3 color variations or permission variations, this means about 200.000 new items available per week for customers. In this pile of new goods your item is burried soon. Not even to mention the items that are available already and that have gained visibility on the marketplace or by being rezzed in many places in world. I agree SL businesses has grown overall in number.....but would say it is definitely shrinking In-World, as witnessed with all the sims and land being abandoned over the last year. However those giving up an in-world store, still maintain their presence on Marketplace.......some of those Merchants probably constantly updating with new products, whilst others just leave old stock listed and don't add any further to them. Even Merchants that have moved over to Inworldz Grid, would still have their products on SL Marketplace too. (it makes sense and costs them nothing!) Marketplace will eventually become too over-crowded to make a RL income from it.....with the exception of a handful of top-selling Merchants.