Pose Fair 2011

A friend asked me recently, “Gogo, why do you ask so many questions about how much designers are making on Facebook?”

Yes, I ask a lot of questions on Facebook. I’m on pretty much all of the social media sites for Second Life, but people are especially chatty on Facebook, and I’m always trying to get a temperature check on the SL economy. Are people still making money? Are they making less than they used to? Is Second Life going to survive long enough for my Lifetime Premium Plus accounts to pay off, or will SL die before I’m profitable? So many questions.

I think about the SL economy probably more than the average resident does. Besides being an SL nerd, I’m also a bit of a finance enthusiast, and I love reading about the economy in RL and apparently analyzing the SL economy too. I think it’s smart to know when something is still worth your time and when it’s time to move on. If you’re no longer making the money you used to make here, there’s nothing wrong with finding somewhere else where your time and talent are worth more.

Another reason I ask these questions is because despite some designers doing very well in Second Life, I often see some saying they’re on the verge of being evicted or facing some other financial emergency nearly every week. There’s always a Second Life GoFundMe, and sometimes it’s from designers I would consider fairly successful from a distance. They’re talented, they have a recognizable brand, they have customers, so why are they still living paycheck to paycheck?

I’ve watched a lot of designers come and go over the years, for all kinds of reasons, and I actually think there’s something admirable about knowing when it’s time to leave. If you used to make good money in Second Life and you’re no longer making what you need, why cling to it until you’re completely broke? Find greener pastures. Maybe that means another virtual platform, maybe it means taking your skills and working for a company in real life, or maybe it means doing something completely different. At some point, if something is no longer working financially, you have to see the writing on the wall and bounce before you’re broke. There’s no prize for hanging on the longest.

Jian Pets announced last week that they’re leaving Second Life, and you can read their farewell message here. I think it’s smarter to move on and explore other opportunities than to cling to something that is no longer serving you. Second Life has been around for more than 20 years, but that doesn’t mean every successful SL business needs to stay here forever.

Speaking of being financially well, I went to the FLF Bday Bash and came home with a bunch of goodies for FREE! Gogo may be loaded in SL, but I still love freebies. I didn’t grab every single gift, but out of the ones I picked up, these are my favorite things:

• Movement – Ladies Handbag
• ALT3 – Afterparty FX Shine
• Exile – Jordan Hair, Birthday Confetti Edition
• Glam Affair – Manu Skin (Summer Special L005) – The rain on the face is awesome!
• Half-Deer – Neon Rainbow Wall Light
• Octubre – Cielo wall decor