Your2ndPlace

Tonight I was chatting with Fugazi about prospects for the future. A company or business? Eventually an IPO? While we were discussing these prospects, something became extremely clear to me: In my 5ish months in Second Life, I've learned some great ways to 'avoid' making money in Second Life. I'll share these in 'Letterman-esque' "top ten" style. Ready?

10. Slingo: This is a wonderful game...if you're the owner of a gaming parlor. DONATE to the piggy, we'll take a huge cut, and you'll have a chance to win a prize. Since most gaming parlors have a policy requiring that you return a portion of the winnings (usually 20-30%), you'll typically walk away with 50L$. Of course, the establishment takes a cut of the winnings you "re-donate." Decorum requires that you tip the host/hostess 10-20% as well. Like I've always said when it comes to gambling - if you walk away dead even, you win.

9.Slingo Host: Remember when I said decorum required a tip? Yeah, people don't tip. And you'll usually make anywhere from 50-100L$ per hour, but most hosts end up using these funds trying to spice up the pot. Redundant gestures/poses will find you further in the red as you scrape up money to find a shrink.

8. Restaurant owner: Amusingly enough, I've seen this tried over and over again. Problem is...you guessed it: You don't eat in Second Life! Cafes can be pretty cool if you can get acts, but if that's your angle, try a nightclub.

7. CEO of a WSE-listed Investment Fund: Unless you're investing in a market outside of WSE, withdraw all your lindens (or "WICS") from the WSE, and keep an up-to-date record of shareholders, you're a bipolar episode away from being crucified while your shareholders end up the newest batch of victims in the WSE Tantrum Fund (WTF).

6. Virtual Exchange Investor: I see promise in the virtual exchanges, but unless you're a share-flipper, you're probably going to lose your ass to one, or find your investments have vanished when the CEO turns out to be an alias of one infamous schemer or the other. Either that, or your investment will be converted to worthless shares. And the dividends? Well, regardless of what my friends advise, here's my rule: If you're investing 15.00 per share in a container-creating company that promises a .005 quarterly dividend, Konner McDonnell is worried about you.

5. Anshe Chung Clone: Anshe did it before it was done. And now she's doing other things too. Don't duplicate the act, follow the philosophy.

4. Second Life Blogger: If you're writing because Adsense is l33t, then you're crazy. This goes double if you're an intellectual writer that caters to intellectuals. Intellectuals don't click google adsense links >:) The one thing I like about the fact that I won't make a dime from writing on Y2P is that it keeps me honest and quasi-credible. Then again, how trustworthy is the spikey red-haired guy in the virtual cheese line (virtual cheese takes up 2 prims btw)?

3. Camping: If you're the average guy that leaves your computer on while you go to work, camping seems like a feasible pursuit, I guess. But you forgot about the guy who has 9 avatars and spends his entire day repositioning them. What's his motive? I'm thinking he's getting his party-on with some exchange rate straight out of Eurotrip. If you pay for an electric bill, pass on camping. If you're a student not in an environmentally conscious environment that might shun you for wasting barrels of oil to make $3.50 USD a month, camp on.

2. Begger: "I just need 5L$" said the NPIOF schmo in the newbie skin. Back home, I once gave a guy $5.00 when he told me he was broke and ran out of gas. I had just won a few thousand at the casino, and you know, pay it forward! The guy thanked me. Then I watched as he just stood there, and a minute or two later he told someone else he needed money for gas. Point? Do you really want to be the person that causes individuals to lose their faith in humanity? Is it really worth two bucks a day?

1. Cynical Victim: Yeah, you probably thought that begger and camper would be in the number 1 spot. Alas, victims are the folks that sit around and do nothing when they're taken advantage of, exploited, cheated, or robbed. You can usually spot these people because they're anonymously commenting on one news blog or the other or they're flaming/whining on some group or the other. This isn't to say I'm heartless. Trust me, if I didn't care, I wouldn't have put myself through half the garbage I have in the last month or two. What this IS to say is that passive aggression and flaming doesn't get you any attention. What it does do, is get you muted. Victims that rise up and take collective action end up provoke change. They take their woes to the source(in SL that's LL folks) or to the media, they organize public protests and establish organizations to spark outcry. What do cynical victims get? I'm guessing they get shares in the WTF.

Now you may be wondering: "Konner, if that's where the money isn't. Then where IS it?" Three words: Anti. Idle. HUD.

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