The Network - Events in Second Life

Other Indicators of Robust Business on Second Life?

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Article Link

In case you were looking for indicators that Second Life business might be undergoing a recovery, there are many avenues we could take to examine that question, of which most are interesting and topic into which many of us are willing to dig deeper. However, this post contains one topic area that most of us had likely hoped to avoid. One major indicator that something significant is happening economically is none other than the taxation people sniffing around searching for their cut of the revenue.

Yes, the tax people are coming back to Second Life, and while the following article specifically has ramifications only for UK citizens, once one tax person finds some success, you can be sure that others are soon to follow. Seriously though, if you live in the UK, have an SL business, and you want to be prepared if the tax authorities do tap you on the shoulder, this might be a good thing to attend.

Here, are the particulars:

A year ago The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) went into Second Life to inform residents about the tax implications of trading in cyberspace. The
CIOT has come back to update residents interested in these matters and of any developments since the previous event.

You might think that what happens to your avatar in Second Life(r), or in any other virtual world, has no relevance to your real-life tax bill. You may be wrong, particularly if you are a UK resident, and especially if you are making money in-world in a systematic way.

Establishing the true position is not always straightforward, and it is a good idea to consult a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) or other qualified UK tax professional for advice if you have any concerns. He or she can advise you based on your specific circumstances, whereas this event will only be a general introduction.

Join Tax Anderton and the Editor of Taxation Magazine to discuss various tax issues that affect people in Second Life.

The event will be hosted by depo consulting ltd and is to be held on the depo business park on Tuesday 2nd December at 3:30pm GMT / 07:35am PST.

The SLURL to the exhibition is:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/depo%206/147/138/37/?title=Chartered%20Institute%20of%20Taxation%20Event

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Art in Second Life

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:01:57 -0800

From a press release:

A virtual artist who goes by the moniker AM Radio will bring his environmental installations to the art gallery on the University of Kentucky's island in Second Life. The artist, whose work is among the most visited and talked about places in this virtual world, will unveil his new installation on UK's virtual island on Nov. 15.

This exhibition of AM Radio's work promises to be another landmark event for the Second Life art world, and most certainly for the UK Department of Art gallery on the UK island. The new exhibit will also mark the hiring of a curator for the virtual facility.

"Beneath the Tree that Died" is an immersive environment set on a stretch of road in rural Vermont, based on an illustration done by AM Radio in 2005. The work incorporates a NOAA weather feed and particle attractor visualization so that every visitor sees something slightly different. "Beneath the Tree that Died" opens to Second Life users at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 and will run through Jan. 1, 2009, at the UK Department of Art's virtual gallery, located on University of Ky Island in Second Life.

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Second Life $10,000 Prize Contest Starts Today

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:16:28 -0800

Linden Lab has announced the opening of the second annual $10,000 usd (yes Sparky, that is correct, USD) prize competition for best innovation in world over the past year. Of course contests like this are difficult to assess from the outside in terms of what factors will influence the judges. Nevertheless, this is a good contest for several reasons.

First, it creates a scenario where people are looking for the positive aspects of Second Life. Second, it generates buzz. Third, it gives one the sense that Second Life is healthy and still relevant. Whether or not you are one who is a believer in the future importance of virtual worlds, or one who believes it is all a bunch of hogwash, one thing is true: $10,000 USD is real money and a tangible example of being rewarded for developing and organizing a "bunch of pixels on the computer monitor."

Here's some of the relevant info:

The Linden Prize will award one Second Life Resident or team with $10,000 USD, paid in Linden dollars, for an innovative inworld project that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world. The award is intended to align with Linden Labâ€™s company missionâ€“to connect all people to an online world that advances the human condition.

We invite all Residents to consider applying for the award. A panel of judges will choose finalists, and ultimately a winner, based on the following criteria:
Work in Second Life that also achieves tangible, compelling results outside of Second Life.
Distinctive, original work using Second Life that clearly demonstrates high quality, execution, function, aesthetics and technical sophistication.
Work that has the capacity for inspiring and influencing future development, knowledge, creativity, and collaboration both inside and outside of Second Life.

Key Dates

- Applications open today.
- Applications close January 15, 2009
- Finalists and the Winner announced no later than April 30, 2009

For the full details, click here.

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BMW Leaving Second Life

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:38:16 -0700

Click for SLurl

BMW announced today that they will be leaving Second Life. They have had a presence in Second Life for nearly two years, and were an early enthusiast about the potential for Second Life and virtual worlds. Their reasoning for leaving is that the platform itself is not yet ready for complex B2C scenarios.

According to Munich Express, who made the announcement to a group this morning:

we felt and still feel that virtual worlds have a big potential, not only in terms of marketing, but a lot of work and development remains to be done. We are convinced that the combination of 3D environment, global communication in real time, the 3D wiki functionality and the creative element can lead to a fascinating experience.

However for a B2C company like ours some elements need to be developed further. An automobile is a rather complex product - at present it is not possible in sl to do a static and dynamic product presentation that you would expect from a company like ours.

From a pure marketing perspective the user base is not big enough yet, then there are the usual copyright issues that you're all aware of. So at this point in time we felt that stepping out from a marketing perspective is the right decision. We leared what we wanted to, we think we have defined the issues that need improvement and we will of course contnue to watch the development because we believe in the potential.

Munich Express went on to say:

If sl develops further in the right direction, there is no reason why we wouldn't come back. Our strategic goal was a bit different, the goal was not to compete with the 'party islands. We wanted to learn how this virtual environment works and to see where possible future applications lie, [and] there is much more than marketing involved in the long run. ...a solution that would enable us to have something running on our own servers.

Photo from the conference:

Click for Fullsize

What all this points to is that SL is probably not going to be the enterprise 2.0 solution, but rather OpenSim will develop as the enterprise class solution. Linden Lab cannot continue to expect that B2B and roleplay can co-exist on the platform without some architectural changes made, however the train has already left the OpenSim station and for Linden Lab the window of opportunity is closing... fast.

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Second Life Fifth Birthday Farewell

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:32:22 -0700

The Second Life Fifth Birthday Celebration is over. A group of the artists got together and did a final farewell:

Click Here for Full Size Image

SL5B: Giant Shoes

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:52:54 -0700

Click for Teleport

Okay, this one is filed under "cute" and "fun." One of the SL5B exhibits are a set of gigantic shoes. These things are really made for giants, if giants existed in SL, although I have to wonder what would happen if these things had bling enabled.

Anyway, it's a fun exhibit.

SL5B Report

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:36:29 -0700

The Second Life Fifth Birthday event (SL5B) is now in its third day. If you have not taken the time to visit the exhibitions, I highly recommend that you do. The sheer volume and quality of the exhibitions is breathtaking, and this truly represents the creative positive side of Second Life.

This morning I attended a demonstration of the Toxian City exhibit, where they had a couple of "monsters" attacking a city and RPG'ers defending against the monsters. All in all, this represents a new way of thinking about SL. Here are a couple of pictures from the event:

One of the "monsters"

One of the "defenders"

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BeateNetworks SL5B Exhibit

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:33:10 -0700

We are proud to announce that we will have two exhibits at the Second Life Fifth Birthday event. The first exhibit opened today, and features a collection of custom artwork. We recently opened a gallery called Studio 72 in Second Life, and we will feature works from the galley at the SL5B event. The gallery exhibit will be on display for two weeks starting today. Works cannot be purchased at the SL5B exhibit, however, if you should be interested in purchasing something, we will make them available.

Next week we will add an educational exhibit to the SL5B festivities, and will provide more information at that time. To get to the art exhibit, click this the following SLurl:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SL5B%20Rebake/144/194/23

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Linden Lab and the DMCA

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:19:33 -0700

Linden Lab Article

The current crisis with technology is not so much which sector will be the big thing that will keep silicon valley moving forward as it is the area of IP rights, especially the area of copyright. We have the RIAA continuing its practice of suing people based on questionable information, the Associated Press using the DMCA to prevent bloggers from quoting articles, the Des Moines Register using the DMCA to tell bloggers to remove embedded videos, and the list goes on and on and on.

While copyright is something we support, it really seems that the current battle is a winner take all proposition, with the losers either being copyright holders or fair-use proponents. In the end the public is the loser because information and creativity are stifled. I don't pretend to have all the answers to this current crisis (although freely distributed content and advertising is emerging as one winning model), but one thing is clear, copyright owners are risking a huge public backlash by using draconian measures to attempt to enforce copyright. We haven't reached the tipping point yet, but if we do, those organizations that are deploying the "shoot first, ask questions later" approach are in a precarious position.

Now we have a slightly new twist to the DMCA saga. It seems that business owners have figured out that they can use the DMCA to shut down competitors, and while this is a risky move, it has gained traction in Second Life:

Beyond the residents whoâ€™ve legitimately purchased content they didnâ€™t know was stolen losing their property and money, beyond residents who have been harassed with frivolous DMCA notices finding that LL turned over their real life information on counter notice (RL infoâ€“ the freaking staple of all untouchable knowledge in SL), itâ€™s now come down to this, residents using the DMCA to abuse people they dislike, competitors and others. Because now on receipt of DMCA a store ownerâ€™s entire line suddenly vanishes not just from SL itself but also their inventory and their customersâ€™ inventory and so on and so forth. And yes, you can counter file, and potentially open yourself up to LL-facilitated RL harassment when the original filer gets hold of your name, address and phone number, but beyond that when LL returns the content, itâ€™s in an unusable format that no longer shows you as creator, has everything youâ€™ve had taken away from you in a disjointed, broken array, and rests on you hoping youâ€™ve somehow backed things up just to get your store and your content and time and creativity in-world again.

This describes the crux of the problem quite well. If you invest significant time and money developing products for distribution in Second Life, you can have have your business ruined by fraudulent DMCA filings by competitors on one side and straight out theft on the other. This clearly shows where the weaknesses are with the DMCA.

The preceding anecdote is not hyperbole. Itâ€™s fact. Itâ€™s the reality of what has happened to at least one content creator, a friend of mine, who for months has been harassed by a competitor trying to stress her out of business. Itâ€™s the reality of watching her discover her store half destroyed suddenly, and then ten days later receiving a bunch of unusable junk. Itâ€™s the reality of hearing her say she was on the verge of tears and thinking of just quitting entirely because whatâ€™s the point of stressing out over it?

This isn't hyperbole. I too have seen this type of activity first hand. I've seen copyright holders who have all their original source files and properly filed copyrights have DMCA notices served against them and had their businesses taken down in SL. While some have recovered, others have not. The point here is not to critique Linden Lab, but rather, to show that there is something very wrong about a process which is supposed to protect IP holder rights and actually does the opposite. On the flip side, where does fair use come into play?

The area of copyright is badly broken, and it is getting worse each day. We need to rethink all of the approaches and try to get a new model in place that works for everyone, content owners and consumers.

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Forming Product Focus Group in Second Life

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:14:00 -0700

I am forming a focus group to review a web based product which will be integrated into Second Life. If you are interested in participating in a focus group, which will meet inside Second Life, please send me an IM in world (Allison Selene) or go to the contact page by clicking here and using the web form to send me an email.

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SL Health Growth Measurement: euroSLEX Reports Robust Growth

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:03:40 -0700

euroSLX Reported Growth

euroSLEX is the European Second Life Electronic Exchange and is growing in popularity as a method for businesses and residents based in Europe to exchange Lindens for Euros, British Pounds, and Swiss Francs. (Americans are out of luck, dollars are not accepted). In any case, it is reporting "robust" growth, which is seen on the graph to the left. It attributes this growth to a 33% growth in registered users. Unlike Linden Lab user stats, this stat would seem to be highly reliable given that it is dealing with currency exchange. euroSLX reports they have 1650 registered users at the time of this publication.

Why is this important? Basically it is one barometer into the health of Second Life. If currency exchanges in SL are growing, then cash flow is growing. Of course that is only one part of the puzzle, but it would seem to run counter to the "sky is falling Second Life is doomed" mantra that has been popular since SL fell out of favor with the mainstream press.

In any event, we'll continue to monitor and report on various measurements of the health of SL. Here's some of the euroSLEX details:

euroSLEX continued to ride on a path of strong growth: Registered users grew 33% to 1,650, and trading volume of these users grew at an even faster pace, up from 14.5 million Linden dollars in April 2008 to over 22 million Linden dollars in May (+53%).

"This puts the total amount traded since the start of our service to over 50 million Lindens" says Iliana Suppan, managing director of Virtual World Services GmbH, the company behind euroSLEX.

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In World Event: Mother's Day special sales!

nospam@example.com (Alice) — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:12:14 -0700

10 L each new heart-shaped present box! Special sale offer! 10 L each flower! one flower ensemble for free! full permission flowers and flower deco for your gardening fun and to make beautiful presents and Impress your virtual mom! 15 different textured heart-shaped present boxes await you in the Alli&Ali Designs mainstore. Builders versions with full permissions for sale! Scripted box-shaped present boxes are available too! Join the Alli&Ali group for the weekly design news and goodies. If you have any questions, please contact Alice (Alice Klinger in world).

Click here for a link to the in world location.

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Forming Product Focus Group in Second Life

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:14:00 -0700

Second Life Non-Profits Respond to the Daily Show

nospam@example.com (Allison) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:27:12 -0700

Click for full article

Last week we had a posting which includes a video of the Daily Show segment that takes on Second Life. The video is amusing, but has hit a nerve with the non-profits who are lampooned in the Daily Show segment. So they have responded with a video of their own, and it is light hearted but also sheds some light on some of the issues they are taking on by using SL as platform. Here's their response to Jon Stewart:

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Second Life Outage: Blame AT&T?

nospam@example.com (Weekender 2.0) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:02:01 -0700

As many know by now, Second Life suffered a major outage starting late Friday evening and extending into the day on Saturday. While the usual response is to blame Linden Lab, this time it appears that they are not the culprit. The outages were apparently related to problems with AT&T and Comcast:

My wife, who never likes being without the web, called in to Comcast, and after an excruciating 40comcast.thumbnail.jpg minutes listening to the 20-second hold music loop, got a tech rep who said that the AT&T backbone is down for all of Pennsylvania. It does seem like a backbone problem, since I am able to get out to a few sites including Blogger, but even my Comcast mail host is unaccessible.

There is a two day old story link on Google News about upgrades being made by AT&T and Comcast â€” apparently in preparation for Comcastâ€™s new super premium 150 Mbps service â€“causing outages, but I canâ€™t actually retrieve the article. All in all, Iâ€™m not thrilled if such a long outage has been caused in order to make way for a service that certainly wonâ€™t be available in my comcastcardinside.pngarea - even if I was willing and able to foot the $150 per month tab. It is especially annoying since a weekend morning may be a good time to interrupt business service, but it is prime time for residential service, and an outage this long and far reaching, without any news, has at least a strong odor of a planned interruption.

We will stay on top of this, but the reason for the SL outage is sounding like it might be an AT&T and Comcast planned issue.

Link