A Second Life; a lot like the first

Economy, Copyright & Business

-My Virtual Life from Business Week

Besides, in one important way, this virtual stuff isn’t imaginary at all. In November, 2003, Linden Lab made a policy change unprecedented in online games: It allowed Second Life residents to retain full ownership of their virtual creations. The inception of property rights in the virtual world made for a thriving market economy…Virtual worlds may end up playing an even more sweeping role — as far more intuitive portals into the vast resources of the entire Internet than today’s World Wide Web. Some tech thinkers suggest Second Life could even challenge Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT ) Windows operating system as a way to more easily create entertainment and business software and services.

-‘Second Life’ mints a millionaire? from C|Net’s Gaming Blog
-Clean It Up! from the Second Life News Network
-‘Second Life’ faces threat to its virtual economy from C|Net
-Does Music on Second Life Infringe Copyright? from WIRED’s blog Listening Post
-Second Life Will Save Copyright from WIRED
-Enter the ‘Second Life’ business plan contest, win an island from C|Net
-Reality pricks the Second Life property bubble from ZDNet
-Crowdsourcing and Virtual Worlds from WIRED’s Game|Life Blog

Viruses, Crime and Griefing

-The Dark Side of Second Life from Business Week (commentary from ZDNet)

It would seem the virtual world is facing a very real-world problem: crime. As more people have joined the global virtual community—it now boasts more than 1 million members—residents are grappling with how to secure property ownership and ensure public well-being….Every society struggles with how best to protect property. It’s especially tricky in a place such as Second Life, where goods are defined by lines of software code. Many citizens make a real-life living selling goods such as clothes and homes for avatars, as the virtual versions of actual people are known. Their income is in a currency, the Linden, pegged to the dollar and openly traded on the LindeX Exchange (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/1/06, “My Virtual Life”).

-A fist full of Linden dollars from ZDNet
-In Second Life, those on ‘Candid Copybot’ aren’t smiling from ZDNet
-Second Life Hit By Massive In-Game Worm from Slashdot (commentary from WIRED’s Game|Life blog)
-‘Second Life’ hit by worm from C|Net’s Security Blog
-‘Second Life’ faces threat to its virtual economy from C|Net
-Second Life: gangs, theft and goo from ZDNet

Bridging the “real” and “virtual” worlds

-Virtual pals ‘soar in importance’ from the BBC

A survey found 43% of online networkers from the US felt “as strongly” about their web community as they did about their real-world friends.

-Big Brother enters virtual world from the BBC
-Dell sets up ‘Second Life’ shop, offers PCs to residents from C|Net
-‘Second Life’ develops education following from eSchool News
-Second Life reaches out to schools with teen version from ZDNet

-Previously from WNM: Virtual news bureau; “real” virtual news, The (virtual) taxman cometh not. Yet., Virtual Retailing. How many “Linden” dollars do a pair of shorts cost?, Second Life the focus for product testing, planning, Second Life: fantasy site a prep for life and Avatars Among Us