I’m pretty late to this party, but I’ve just started checking out Second Life.
I’m looking into it for possible use in an academic setting, providing students with a platform for creating educational and business related games, and possible for creating an online presence for our college.
Technically, Second Life isn’t anything more than a lot of other online multiplayer games have already done. But from the start, they’ve focused on player created content and the economy.
The result is that many people make more money on Second Life than in their real jobs. An artist friend of mine is planning on opening a shop to sell her artwork. Digitally created media seems to do quite well in the game.
The current in the game is Linden Dollars, L$. There’s a very real exchange rate for converting to and from L$. When I just checked, for one U.S. dollar, you can get 186 L$. You use L$ in the game for purchasing other player made content, for buying land of your own to open a shop on, or whatever.
Big name companies have gotten into the act, too. An entire island can be purchased for $1,675, with a $295 monthly fee. Perfect for someone like IBM to hold online meetings.
Second Life is free to sign up and play, but you start out with no L$. You get that primarily by buying it at the current exchange rate.
Anyone have any great successes marketing in Second Life?