greve
|
23. febrero 2007
|
about:
Fun , Hypes
Stefano has been rather curious
about Second Life (SL) in his
blog, and much of the press seemed to be buzzing about how SL was
going to be an economy of its own and how there were millionaires
in the making.
Based on my experience of IT as a hype-driven industry of sorts, I
was somewhat sceptical about all the promises of Second Life. Seems I
wasn't the only one. The Register now has an article "The
phony economics of Second Life" in which the claim of 3.1 million
residents is examined with some healthy scepticism:
Typically, there are only around 15,000 clients logged in
to Second Life at any one time. In other words, this economy has a
population about the size of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, or Troutdale,
Oregon. And each business has the prospect of a market of no more than
100 people in one place - a number easily accommodated by a church
hall. [...] So, from the three million residents who, we are told,
are living the dream of a virtual economy, we arrive at a figure of
around 3,000 economically active users at any one time - most of whom
are turning over only a token sum.
This sounds much more realistic to me, and if anyone was hoping to
get rich quick in that Second Life, heed the following statement by
Linden Labs, the makers of Second Life:
"Linden Dollars are not money, they are neither funds nor credit for
funds. Linden Dollars represent a limited license right to use a
feature of the simulated environment. Linden Lab does not offer any
right of redemption for any sum of money, or any other guarantee of
monetary value, for Linden Dollars."
The shocking conclusion: Second Life is a game, and a game that some people would even describe
as stupendously boring. Which is probably why most people still
seem to prefer their "First Life" (FL).
