Economic pressures are taking their toll on surf sims in Second Life and it seems certain that more surf sims will close during the coming months, according to the Second Life surfing blog SurfWatch. Rezzable, one of Second Life’s leading sim owner/developers, announced the closing of Surfline Aloha and Surfline Epic sims at the end of June, just a couple of months after completely redesigning and relaunching the surf sims.

“When the the bulk of the surfing community is spending time at only a couple of surf locations in Second Life, those locations that don’t see traffic will close down,” said ATown Fall, owner of TCH Estates and one of the entrepreneurs behind a massive Second Life watersports development called Broadwater Antilles. “There is no reason to offer something that is expensive to run when people are not using it. For the record, TCH Epic Surf zone will remain open and fully operational.”

Surfing community sources blame the Second Life economy and the difficulty of making consistent revenues via surfing sims. However, this hasn’t stopped sim owners launching new surfing sims and, whilst some surf sims close down, several new ones are opening. Radical Twang, co-owner of Reaction Pro has just opened an innovative new surfing beach called the Boneyard next door to his flagship Reaction and Reaction Girl stores. Combining surfing sims with other economic activities certainly seems to be the key, “I certainly wouldn’t have a full beach sim without my store to cover the costs,” says Radical. “I foresee more closing due to financial issues, not everyone can afford to provide something so expensive, without any real return.”

Picture credit: Dharma Austin
Submitted by Barchan Paderborn

People download the program Second Life (SL), create an avatar and after learning all the basic movements and technical stuff, quite often arrive at the SL mainland and ask ‘What do I do now?’ I have heard this said many times from avatars a day or two old who are wandering aimlessly around. Some never understand things and quit after a few days. Most people, before they join the virtual world, think it is a game with rules and targets, so it’s no surprise that they are a little lost once they are ‘in world’. I suppose that’s why some of the ‘gamers’ who join turn their hand to griefing, as they expect a win or lose situation and have no social skills.

Many, however, soon realise that the beauty of SL is the social networking, allowing you to meet and talk to people from all over the world, and the possibilities to create an actual ‘new life’ career are endless. I have been fascinated by the way some people have actually combined SL with RL to make a business or show their skills at creativity in whatever form they specialise in.

One person who intrigues me, is avatar Cher Demonge. Cher is a very talented graphics artist in real life and shows all the talents of being an outstanding entrepreneur in SL. Therefore, I have been watching Cher’s SL career develop with interest.

Cher is an absolute powerhouse of ideas, his artwork is unique and outstanding and SL has given him a chance to display his work in a way that real life has never done. He even has his own gallery to display his work. Cher first bought a small parcel of land to build a meeting place for all his friends, he jokingly called it ‘Murray Rehab’, using it as a place we could all use to get away from the griefers at Murray.

However, within weeks Cher had sold up and bought a large parcel of land at the ‘Ministry of Media (35, 162, 21) Neon Nights Complex’. He soon installed a nightclub, ‘Neon Nights’, inviting people to dance there to earn Lindens, and within days he had expanded the whole of the area into a shopping precinct as well.

Because of his artistic skills, Cher designs his own products and builds them himself, anything from designer handbags (so lovely I bought one!) to household items and clothes. One of his main successes has been a range of designer kitchens, using vivid, strong colours, they would make an outstanding feature in any SL home.

I asked Cher how he started off, he said that he bought a piece of land to build on ‘just to see what he could do’. He had opened a few businesses in real life, but they were secondary to being able to let his creativity run free, creating his own individual world, which you don’t get to do in real life!

He admits that, like a lot of people in Second Life, he has got addicted to the building side of things. He said that he builds something and then thinks, ‘I could build a gallery to show my art’, then thinks about building something else as well. Cher says, because of this, he thinks his place will always be evolving. He is building rental properties at the moment, smart houses to rent out, and he says he would like to create his own ‘Neon Nights Community’.

In real life Cher has created lots of pieces of artwork and has a graphics degree. However, his real life work doesn’t really allow him to pursue his creative side, so Second Life gave him that opportunity, he has had lots of positive feedback from the other virtual residents ‘in world’ as well.

For those of you who are wondering why I have a picture of Cher as a beautiful girl avatar, Cher says that he appears most of the time in Second Life as a girl, although he is a real life guy. He says that he always used female characters in computer games and says he finds women very interesting and it’s a ‘different view’ on the way people treat you. He told me that as he knows what it’s like to be a boy in real life, being a girl SL gave him the opportunity to try something far removed from his real world. Well all I can say is that Cher’s av puts mine to shame, as he has created a really glamorous looking girl, wearing all his own designs as well.

Just like real life, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and to set all this up, Cher has invested a little real life money into his Second Life adventure. But there is the crunch, if you are willing to invest a little, work hard and market your product successfully, the world may be your oyster in SL. The day you created your avatar, like a new baby, you came into the virtual world with nothing, accept the challenge and see how high you can climb!!!

Teleport to Cher’s place at Ministry of Media (35, 162, 21) Neon Nights Complex and be inspired!

Posted by JaneyBracken

As SL’ang Life Magazine, it is our great pleasure to invite you to the special event, a presentation of Portuguese Second Life Community. Our aim is to present the most interesting activities of Portuguese Residents and join the celebrations of the Portuguese Communities Day (June 10th). SL’ang Life magazine strives to actively participate in promoting initiatives leading to the creation of a community in SL. Thus, we offer space on our island and on pages of our magazine to present local activities to new public. A transcript of all presentations will be available at SL’ang Life magazine’s website, and a report from the meetings will be printed in our magazine. Such events are a chance to start a cooperation and to learn about similar projects from all over the world. We would like to thank Ibrahim Bates, member of Portuguese Community, writer, our reader and most of all our friend, without whom this event would not be possible Please, join us as we welcome Portuguese Community to SL’ang Life. Kind regards, SL’ang Life Team ô€€ ô€€€ Portuguese Community presentation schedule: http://slanglife.com/center/events/?id=319 Day 1 (June 5th) ~ exhibitions openings ~ Day 2 (June 6th) ~ Welcome party ~ Day 3 (June 7th) ~ Portuguese university researchers in SL ~ Day 4 (June 8th) ~ Portuguese creators presentations ~ Day 5 (June 9th) ~ Portuguese sims presentation ~ Day 6 (June 10th) ~ Portuguese Community Day ~ During the whole event you are welcome to vist the info kiosk area in the southwest part of the island, displaying Portuguese Residentsts’ activities. —– SL’ANG LIFE - PRINTED MAGAZINE ABOUT SECOND LIFE. Available FOR FREE for all SL Residents. All you have to do is to make a subscription at http://slanglife.com/
Posted by Muza Waco

Monogram Virtua Entertainment is proud to sponsor their first annual Second Life Erotica Expo. Hundreds of Erotica collectors from both the cyber and real worlds are set to arrive in Second Life May 31st to see both the erotic, sensual, sexual and exotic in cyberworld art and novelties. The Erotica Expo opens at 11AM Pacific Time at the convention center on Monogram Tria (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Monogram%20Tria/146/127/23) where Monogram Virtua???s co-founders Harold Whaley (SL name Hdub Shepherd), Randall Rubin (SL name Dubble Rokocoko), and Marketing Director Andrea McCloud (SL name Anakalia Catteneo) will be in attendance. An small entrance fee will be charged to attend the event.
Visit Monogram Tria (205, 110, 22)
Posted by Anakalia Catteneo

Caption: Playboy Managers Kimberly Laughton and Kattatonic Yates discuss how to handle the latest violation.

At Belle Belle Furniture and More (171, 126, 21), customers can pick up a free animated sunbathing towel with the Playboy logo. But is it legal? Not this time. On May 2, two managers from the officially-licensed sim teleported to the Belle Belle store to investigate the free towel display. Trademark infringement is still a major problem in Second Life, especially for real life companies that don’t have an in-world presence to police the situation. Many RL businesses are fed up with the blatant logo theft, including one of the biggest RL players in SL, Playboy Enterprises.
Posted by MincedMedia Clip

JohnLe Fukai Kirkby (Linden Island) Business owners of SL protesting against Linden Labs for the recent service failures. They wear the group tag: “Screwed by LL Inc”. Say group has 188 members in less than a week.
Visit Kirkby (144, 222, 45)
Posted by JohnLe Fukai

Author Barry Moltz met with Second Life Entrepreneurs Club to speak about starting and running a business in a down economy. “I believe that the only way to develop true business confidence is to have resiliency,” said Moltz. “Be able to celebrate the good times, transition through the bad times and let go so we can take action that positions ourselves for another success.” Moltz serves up advice for entrepreneurs in his two books, “Bounce! The Path to True Business Confidence” and “You Need to Be a Little Crazy: The Truth About Starting and Growing Your Own Business.” Barry’s site is at http://www.barrymoltz.com. For more on Athena Isle, go to http://cybergrrloh.blogspot.com/
Visit Future (213, 227, 24)
Posted by Cybergrrl Oh

A two-day educational live seminar, Experience the Future Now, will mark the highly anticipated launch of the virtual mega convention center, Virtualis, on April 23-24, 2008 (9 am – 3 pm PST). Virtualis is the largest and most meticulously-designed convention center in the revolutionary, computer-generated world of Second Life. Mirroring lavish real-world convention centers, it boasts state of the art facilities with educational breakout rooms, a grand ballroom, and an exhibition hall. Guests must RSVP by April 20, 2008 to experience Virtualis firsthand and be a part of the thought-provoking, free seminar. Corporate decision-makers and event planners who attend Experience the Future Now will gain cutting-edge knowledge about the Second Life culture and economy and discover the overall value and ease of planning and attending events in Virtualis. The scheduled presenters include some of the most prestigious entrepreneurs, event planners, educators, and attorneys in the U.S. who will cover diverse topics such as “Virtual Event Design and Management,” “Beyond Recycling: Ten Easy Steps to Greener Meetings and Events,” “Emergent Technologies,” and “Negotiating International Contracts.” Planning and executing an event in Virtualis also mirrors real-life work strategies and logistics. With more than 29,000 square meters of meeting space, a grand ballroom for general sessions or special events, and a spacious exhibition hall for full-fledged tradeshows, the visually appealing Virtualis has the facilities to truly make meetings of all sizes successful. The flexible meeting rooms, complete with advanced video, lighting, and audio capabilities, can also be customized for appearance or ambiance to meet clients’ needs and comfort level. To further ensure your meeting’s success and efficiency, Virtualis is the only Second Life meeting facility managed and operated by award winning and experienced hospitality and meeting industry professionals. Guests must RSVP by April 20, 2008 and sign up for a free Second Life account (www.secondlife.com) to attend Experience the Future Now by contacting Dan Parks at cpudan@mac.com or 1.800.493.2545 ext. 201. Members of the media can schedule a preview tour of Virtualis and/or an interview with Dan Parks, Virtualis Founder, during the week of April 14, 2008 by contacting Latoya Vezia at Latoya@LV-PR.com or 404.483.8995.
Posted by LV Zabaleta

The debate over the use of bots in SL is a passionate one with many different points of view. Anyone can read the blogs at http://www.blog.secondlife.com (search for “bots”) to see that for oneself.

These pictures were taken by me and a trusted friend. When we discovered the bots on Echo Island I did not know that I would be reporting this story and I do not have my pc’s interface in the pictures. You can trust me, however, that I am telling the truth and reporting facts in this report. I have no reason to make up something that is not true.

The facts are as follows:

1) Echo Island - I stumbled upon these bots on February 29, 2008. The traffic count on that day was 57,000+. The bots in the black skybox were positioned over top of “Still Life” furniture store. Most of them were made on 12/15/07 and they all had empty profiles. This skybox also contained a rather large monkey that was holding a Pandora’s Box. I have copied a pasted what was displayed in chat when I clicked on the Pandora’s Box: [2008/02/29 14:22] Pandora v1.0: Echo Still Life Bots: http://www.slpandora.com.

The bots in the white sky box were positioned over top of “mold” store which sells male and female shapes and skins. These bots were made in September and December 2007. As the bots that came before them, their profiles were empty.

Today I tried to go to the skyboxes prepared to take better pictures this time and was immediately teleported back home with these messages: “[12:42] Have a Nice Trip: Access Denied [12:42] You have been teleported home by the object ‘Have a Nice Trip’ on the parcel ‘ECHo Island - Organic Island Living with Beachfront Views.’ [12:42] You have been ejected from this land.” [12:42] Teleport completed from http://slurl.com/secondlife/ECHo%20Island/1/194/73. (Although I have my preferences checked to show the date with my logged time stamps, it is not doing so today. Figures.)

2) THEhood & Capital Mall on Robin Hood Island - I found a skybox full of bots at approximately 820 meters in the sky on April 3, 2008. Just as I was about to snap a picture of the bots I was ejected from the land. I was never able to get close enough again to attempt another picture of the bots. The green object under me in the picture is the skybox housing the bots. On that day, THEhood ranked at number 7 on the list of SL’s most popular places with traffic count at 127,780. (Today they rank 5th on the list of most popular places).

3) Tropical Temptations on Temptation Island - These bots were discovered on April 3, 2008 by my trusted friend. They were hidden behind some kind of invisible box. It appeared as though he was looking at the sky but when he kept angling his camera around looking for the green dots that were showing up on his mini-map, he noticed that avatar names were partially emerging from behind their cloak of invisibility. With some difficulty, he was able to maneuver his camera view inside of the invisible box. These bots were all made on 8/13/07 and all profiles are blank. As you can see from the picture, they all belong to the group “TT Value Camper. Today Tropical Temptations rank 8th on the list of most popular places in SL.

4) Flawless Shapes by Kira in the Flawless sim - I found these “models” because of the green dots they represent on the SL map. I checked the profiles of 25 of the “models”. 23 of them were made on 3/24/08 and two of them were made on 3/26/08. All profiles were empty. Today, the traffic count for Flawless Shapes is 62, 415.

Bots increase traffic numbers and spare owners from having to pay campers to camp on their land in order to drive up traffic numbers. Increased traffic numbers result in businesses/places ranking higher on the Search tool. This in turn results in people being drawn to those businesses/places because the high traffic numbers lead one to presume that they are popular places (with lots of folks to meet) and that the products and services are actually purchased by large numbers of people because the goods offered are of good quality.

I am closing this article with a few questions. What bots should be allowed? Should ANY bots be allowed? What about the “models” I found at Flawless Shapes? Do they serve a legitimate purpose? They do indeed model the shapes and skins that are for sale there. Is there a difference between these “models” and the obvious bots that have been found before them? What about camping? Camping drives up traffic numbers as well. What’s your opinion?
Submitted by FairyWinkler