Making Money In Second Life

From 2006 to 2010, it was very possible to make pretty good money in SL.  Many creators were making enough $L's to actually quit their real life jobs and create in SL full time.  Shopping Malls were crowded and in-world stores flourished.  Land fee's were less expensive and buying sims, then dividing them and renting parcels was a cash cow.  Buying a sim and creating an ocean view or mountain view community with rental houses and group activities and adding a nice shopping mall, was a great way to make money back then.  The beaches houses were always occupied and the stores at the malls were all rented.  Most would make not only their land fee's but a good chunk of pocket change.  We saw a decline in sales by 2011.  Land fee's went up, buying lindens went up as well as Marktplace commission fees.  Sims were abandoned by the dozens and shopping malls became ghost towns.
For those of you that are new to SL and heard story's of it's glory days for merchants and want to start making real money in SL.  It can still be done, but don't quit your day job just yet.

Making Money in SL

Property Owner
In my opinion, buying whole sims on the cheap and renting parcels is still the best way to make money, especially if you buy multiple sims.  You must have investment money and terraforming experience.  Landscaping is very important. Dividing the sim so that each rental property has access to the water and a beach is my most popular rentals.  I include a nice beach house with deck and a dock on the beach which is optional.  If they want to rez their own house they can simply return the beach house to me.  Or you can quarter or halve the sim and rent them as is.  They won't sell themselves.  You have to advertise in everything you can.  In search, classifieds, groups, etc.

Content Creator
Depending on what you plan to create, you can make some serious money or just some extra spending money.  The marketplace is saturated with content ranging from excellent to "hmmm".
Mesh body's are a top seller.  One creator admitted to making over $1000 USD a week. Best advice is to learn Blender and other 3D/Mesh modeling programs.  You can learn how to script or create animations with programs such as Poser.  If you have the time and patience to learn and a creative mind, any of the above are great money makers.  Mesh houses and buildings are another big sales item.  Low prim mesh houses furnished with working kitchen, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc. are top sellers.  Clothing always sell's if it is well made, mesh with all appliers, and priced fairly.
Other content ideas are furniture and décor, swimming pools and Jacuzzi's or outdoor furniture and décor.  Vehicle's,  Lawn and garden items, beach décor and furnishings, club buildings and supplies.
Keep in mind that it's competitive, so it's important you create a high quality item that is low prim.  Just remember the best looking product with the lowest prims will always sell first regardless of price.  Most are willing to pay for a higher quality product.

Selling your Content, Animations or Scripts
You have two options.  Selling at a store in-world and selling on Marketplace.  If you own land such as a free 512 parcel with your premium membership, setting up a store is helpful if you can bring in the traffic.  But renting a large parcel for your store may have it's disadvantages.  Unless you can bring in traffic using a Midnight Madness board or giveaway chairs, etc.  You may not even make the tier fee's.  It will take time to build a group following to be able to bring in traffic with group discounts and promo sales.  Your better likely to be seen in a heavy traffic mall.  Renting a store is less expensive.  Make sure that the mall has "true" traffic.  Some malls also have a club that brings in traffic while the stores stay empty.
The Marketplace is where you will see the most sells.  Make sure you list it in the correct category and use as many applicable keywords as possible.  Photo's and vending textures need to look professional.  First impressions can make or break a sell.
* You must have "payment info on file" to open a marketplace store.
* You must follow content creators TOS
* You must list the maturity level of your item correctly. (Nudity, sex items, drugs, alcohol, even  
    cigarettes must be listed Adult or it will get flagged and removed"
* Be prepared, Linden Lab takes a %5 commission from every sell.

DJing or Performing in SL
If you have a large collection of music downloaded and an enthusiastic personality you can make good $L's as a DJ.  Tricks to success include building a following through a group. This is very important.  Send out group notices announcing all your gigs with LM's.  Play the musical genre according to the club or event.  For instance, rock and roll in a rock club, or popular hip hop in a hip hop club.  Make your tip jar large and visible.  Many tips go unpaid because the resident can't find the tip jar. Always take and play requests.  Sell yourself.  Go to clubs and music venues with high traffic and offer your services.  This goes for any group or sim that has occasional events.  Have a notecard and mention your following/group that will add traffic to their event.  I have a DJ friend that is generally booked for 4 events per day, back to back.  He does around $L4000-6000 tips on the average per set.  He has a large group, always sending group invites during his sets and includes his followers by announcing their presence at each show. "I want to thank Kim, Selma, Cherry, and Belinda for always coming to the shows and giving me something good to look at". "And Kyle, Jake, Noonan thanks bro's for always supporting me."

Live Performers:
You don't have to be the best singer, just a good one.  You can sing to tracks you have downloaded or play an instrument.  Just like with DJing you need a big following.  Once you have built up a large group, you can offer your performances to clubs and live music venues.  The bigger you are, the more you can charge.  I have seen a mediocre singer who had at least 20 group followers at every show.  He got booked a lot because of his following and the traffic he brings with him.  Besides a set fee for your live performances, you can also accept tips.

Making Spending Money or Pocket Change in SL
These jobs won't likely make you rich but with hard work they can give you a nice amount of SL spending money or maybe a little extra pocket change in RL.
Club host/hostess
Club manager
Dancer/Stripper
Photographer
Public relations
Sim manager/real-estate manager
Resale affiliate (Resell store or Marketplace)
Model
Graphic designer
Performer agent/manager
Ad agent/Marketing

Getting Your Lindens Turned Into Real Dollars
You must have payment on file.  Go to your dashboard online.  Choose "Manage" from the menu on your homepage. Then choose "Sell".  You will see where to put the amount of $L's you are wanting to sell though LindenX and what your profit is.  Press the Sell button.  You will have to put in your account password again.  After you have done that you will be taken to a page explaining how to process your money.  Click on the small link "Process Credit" and it will take you to a page that will ask you where you want your money sent.  Your options are, in a check through the mail, though a Paypal account or Skrill.  Paypal is the fastest way.  Once you have set up your paypal account, you will need to put in your log in information again for security.  LL will then send your money to your Paypal account.  This takes time.  You can look on "Process History" from your home page and it will show either "Processing" or complete.  It has taken up to 10 days for me to get money in my Paypal account.  Paypal however takes from 2-3 days to reach my bank account once I have transferred it.
It has always cost a flat fee of $1.00 for processing since I started SL, but as of April 5th, 2016, LL has changed it to %1.5 of the transaction value. With a minimum of $3.00 USD and a maximum of $15.00 USD.
# Note: As of April 5th 2016,  purchasing $L's increased from $0.10 cents to $0.30 cents per transaction.

Modeling in Second Life

There is a lot more to SL modeling then just having a nice looking avatar. Being able to take direction from the photographer and knowing how to adjust your avatar with a moments notice takes practice, organization and skill.  I sat in on one fashion photo shoot and was impressed with the technical aspects.  The photographer directed the model to look into the camera, then to look to the left.  To change clothing, then change hair, etc. "That shade of lipstick is too dark for that dress" and " With that outfit I need you to wear a hair style that is shorter but not an updo" I was amazed at how quickly the model could change her look and follow directions. I thought if it were me, I would still be digging through my inventory looking for the right hair and how do I force my eyes to move to the left or look straight at the camera.  Then I was invited to go behind the scenes of a fashion show and I was blown away at the amount of work that went into it.  I left with a tremendous amount of respect for the Second Life models.
Luckily there are modeling schools that can teach you everything you need to know to become a successful SL model. 

L'Amour Nexus University of Fashion is a high end modeling university, production and model management company that has an impressive curriculum of courses. From styling to runway walking and posing. And advanced classes that teach self branding, organization, creating an AO, editing your poses to your outfit and even photography and runway productions.
After graduation, you are added to the roster of models for L'Amour Model Agency if you chose to join.

I have copied part of L'Amour Nexus University's "Mission Statement" below that explains why L'Amour is more than just a modeling school.

 L'Amour Nexus University of Fashion (LNU) has a mission to develop each student to become the best they can be in the SL world of modeling.  We will  provide each student with the proper skills, resources and knowledge needed to enter the competitive world of SL modeling and much more.  LNU students will graduate with the necessary skills to manage, coach and be self-sufficient and self-reliable as part of any group being artistic and/or managerial.  We expect them to go out into the modeling world upholding all that this school stands for.  Expectations for them is to give 100% commitment, be honest, ethical, supportive, and to put forth their very best when representing our brand.
          We offer comprehensive programs with intuitive courses that are designed to accelerate the learning process with the guidance of a professional team of experts, who will work together to ensure that each student receives a well-rounded, thorough, and meaningful education.   We will always be there for each and every student.  This is a lifelong commitment not just through their course work with LNU, but as a supportive hand during their career.

For more information about L'Amour Nexus University of Fashion, contact Ava Jhamin CEO and Dean of Students. Or stop by their headquarter for an application and curriculum at
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Playa%20de%20Amadores/3/64/22

L'Amour Nexus University of Fashion and L'Amour Production Company

 

L'Amour's  Mr. and Miss Model International

The world of SL modeling is very competitive.  There are store models, runway models, fashion models and nude to semi nude models.  They pose for designer's vendors, fashion shows, blogs and magazines.  We interviewed two very successful models.  Lolly Starr - Fashion and runway model and Tatiana Alexandra - Fashion and nude model.

Lolly Starr- Fashion and Runway Model

ISL: What got you interested in fashion modeling and how long have you been doing it?
Lolly: " I was interested in modeling from the start.  I saw the beautiful models on vendor posters in clothing stores and when I went to my first fashion show, I knew that was what I wanted to do.  I attended and graduated for CWS modeling school in 2012 and they helped me book my first modeling job. I have been modeling ever since."

ISL: What are the challenges of fashion modeling?
Lolly: " Always updating your look to the latest trend and organizing your inventory."

ISL: Who have you modeled for?
Lolly: " I have worked for several modeling agencies like Elite, Magnum, Models Inc and Calla's.  I have modeled for a lot of designers. Redgrave, Coco, Scuderia, BabyDolls, Apple May, KoKo, Bella Couture, Alli&Ali and many others and have done fashion shows for Suta, Couture Co., House of Haute Couture, just to name a few."

ISL: What was your favorite fashion shoot or fashion show?
Lolly: "That's a hard question because I have had so many fun and exciting shoots and shows, but if I had to pick one it would be the Back To School fashion show for Couture Co.  The set was made to look like the inside of a classroom and instead of chairs, the audience was seated at school desks."

 

 

 

 

Tatiana Alexandra - Fashion and Adult Model

ISL:What got you interested in nude modeling and how long have you been doing it?
Tatiana: "I primarily started with Playmates Magazine when I was chosen for Playmate Of The Month July 2015."

ISL:What are the challenges of nude modeling compared to fashion modeling?
Tatiana: "Nude modeling is a bit more involved. Poses ,Lighting, interaction, body form where fashion modeling is more emphasis on clothes ,blogging etc."

ISL: What publications or media's have you modeled for?
Tatiana: "Playmates Magazine, Foxtails Magazine, Something New Poses, Unique Phaze , Pornstars & personal work on Flikr."

ISL: What was your favorite photo shoot?
Tatiana: "I would have to say my shoots with Ima & Playmates.  My favorite would have to be the Masquerade shoot and the Winter Shoot with ImaHotOne - Photographer. And the Playmate Of Month Shoot with Tommi Waydelich

ISL: Which do you prefer, fashion modeling or nude modeling and why?
Tatiana: " I prefer nude as its not limited creatively, fashion is fun but the focus is the clothes and not as much freedom."

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in modeling in any form, you need to go to a good modeling school, (we recommend L'Amour Nexus University of Fashion).  You have to invest in the top of the line skins,  hair, mesh body and avatar enhancements such as Slink Hands and Feet and be organized enough to be able to change hair, make-ups, poses, clothing quickly.  It is hard work, but with determination, you can be a top model and make some lindens or receive free clothing from fashion designers. 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Explore Second Life

One of our favorite SL activities is exploring new sims and destinations.  Our group members are often sent information from new sim owners, clubs, galleries, etc to write about in our blog and we love to go check out interesting destinations.  If you are a SL explorer and are looking for great places, your first stop should be "Expedition Central".
Expedition Central is an explorers club dedicated to seeking out cool new sims and sharing them with like-minded individuals.  Everybody is welcome --no exceptions.  There is an Expedition Central group, a clubhouse and a blog.  Join the group to receive weekly sim reviews.

In the clubhouse is a library of 132 interesting Second Life locations.  Each location is represented by an image.  Click an image to receive a landmark to that location, and occasionally a explanatory notecard or a free t-shirt or whatever we have for it.  The locations are constantly being updated

The clubhouse is shaped like a big beer can and has several floors.  There is a semitransparent platform halfway up so you can see all or most of the locations at once, a lounge/map room above that and a rooftop observation deck with hang gliding available!  There is also an orientation area up high.

You can right-click the teleporters or just fly straight up through the hole in the ceiling.  This is a flight-friendly facility, however we are at 3500 meters, so watch your step.  There are free flight feathers on the bottom floor, also free maps and free vehicles. 

The Expedition Central group is open enrollment and anyone can invite others into it.  There is a teleporter to the Chilbo Sandbox on the bottom floor of the museum. 

For more information please IM Cyrus Hush. Or use the link below to teleport in-world.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chilbo/135/78/3502

ISL Fashion Awards Winners

All of the nominees are SL's top of the line designers.  Just to be nominated by our resident polls, says a lot about the popularity of these brands so they are all winners.  The last stage of our resident surveys and focus groups have been completed and the results are:

2016 Fashion Award Winners

Women's Everyday Casual
Pink Pearl

Women's Upscale Casual
Ghee

Women's Urban Wear
Gothicatz

Women's Formal Wear
Hypnose

Women's Intimate Apparel
Dirty Princess

Woman's Costumes
Junbug

Women's Shoes
N-Core

Women's Hair
Soonski

Men's Everyday Casual
Utopia

Men's Upscale Casual
Gizza

Men's Urban Wear
Razor

Men's Formal Wear
Adam Edelstein Couture

Men's Costumes
The Forge

Men's Shoes
Flite

Men's Hair
ARGRACE

Jewelry
Chop Zuey

Congratulations to all our winners!

Innovative Second Life 2016 Fashion Awards Introduction and Nominees

The Innovative Second Life Awards were designed to give recognition to all the innovative ideas and hard work from the talented creators in Second Life.  The past few months our group has been preparing for the 2016 Fashion Awards.  Our nominee list was compiled from resident surveys that were demographically focused.  Our responders were first given several screening questions for qualification purposes.  They had to be a resident for at least 2 years.  They had to have purchased at least 4 outfits or clothing items per month and could name 3 of their favorite stores or designers in 4 or more of the categories on the survey questionnaire.  They were directed not to answer any questions that did not directly pertain to them.  Respondents were given a small monetary compensation for their time.  The survey's were then tallied and the top brands were listed in no particular order up to 12 nominees per category.  We are in the process of round two of the surveys with respondents looking through the nominees Marketplace and/or In-World stores and choosing only one in each category. After those survey's are tallied and narrowed down, we will begin the final round of surveys with a focus group to determine the winner's. (Note: All spots are filled for this project.  Thank you to everyone who applied.  If you did not receive a survey folder, you will be contacted first for our next project)
This process was coordinated by a marketing research firm.  It is not a scientific approach to determining the best fashion designers in Second Life but it is a common method used in business to find out what consumers like.  If your favorite designer is not on the list, we apologize.  We did try to target residents from different communities, groups and lifestyles to represent.  However a survey is answered by opinion.  Respondent's were not screened for their advanced knowledge of fashion nor a measurement of their good taste. Simply what their preferred style was and did they love to shop.
While our Innovative Media and Publishers Awards are judged by qualified professionals, our fashion awards are judged by residents opinions.

The 2016 Fashion Award Nominees

Women's Everyday Casual Wear                       
Pink Pearl Designs
R.icielli
Blueberry
Ghee
Dead Dollz
Gizza Creations
*CK* Crazy Kitty
Reign
Mistwallow

Women's Upscale Casual Wear
Vero Modero
Sabre Style
Gizza Creations
Posh Pixels
Lavian
Blueberry
Ghee
Lapointe and Bastchild
Hypnose
R.icielli

Women's Urban Wear
Gothicatz
Insanya
Alter Ego
Poised
Lethal
Cynful Clothing
Razor
Custom Inks

Women's Formal Wear
Wild Orchid Haute Couture
Hypnose
Le Forme
Valentina E. Couture
Utopia
Kelini Haute Designs
Purple Moon
Sabre Style
Paisley Daisy
Snowpaws

Women's Intimate Apparel
Mon Cheri
Juicy Lips
Dirty Princess
Wild Orchid
Erratic
Black Lace
Le Forme
Big Beautiful Doll

Women's Costumes
Karu Karu
Dirty Princess
Insanya
Costume Creations
Curio Obscura
((COOC))
Fetish Doll
Junbug

Woman's Shoes
Candy Doll
Slink
Baby Monkey Shoes
Elysium
Hucci
Reign
Promagic
N-Core
ROC
Pure Poison

Men's Everyday Casual
Gizza
Utopia
Fatewear
Redgrave
Ronsem
SF Design
Dead Wool
FashioNatic

Men's Upscale Casual
Kai Rau
Hoorenbeck
Heth Haute Couture
Araenido
Lapointe and Bastchild
Ispichi
::ZED:: Designs
Ruca Tease
Vero Modero

Men's Urban Wear
Gizza
Gothicatz
Razor
Dead Pool Fashions
Ronsem
Delirium Style
Legal Insanity
Deathrow Designs

Men's Formal Wear
Kauna
Utopia
Gabriel
::Zed:: EVK
Heth Haute Couture
Adam Edelstein Couture
Lybra
Lotus and Lapointe
Lapointe and Bastchild

Men's Shoes
360
Gabriel
Deadwool
Flite
2Real
::ZED Designs
Hoorenbeek

Men's Costumes
Dark Profit
Fallen Gods
Fateplay
The Forge
Costume Creations

Women's Hair
Amacci
Anolog Dog
Catwa
Damselfly
Truth
eXxEsS
Soonsiki
Exile
Wasabi Pill
Iconic
Magika

Men's Hair
Action Hair
{INK}
boon
Truth
Dura
Damslefly
ARGRACE
Redgrave and Dean Ashby
eDeLsToRe Hair

Jewelry
Infinity
Finesmith
Chop Zuey
Mandala
Earthstones
Alyssa Bijou
Zuri's Jewelry
JCYN
Max Glossamer

Congratulations to all our nominees and good luck to you all.  Winners will be notified and posted mid-March.

Second Life Photography - Tips & Tricks For Great Photo's

There are great photographers in Second Life that have produced some of the most breathtaking and amazing photo's I have ever seen.   But even the most accomplished photographers started off as beginners with little or no knowledge of the tools and technics available in SL.  Below is a guideline to help you get started.  I have included both simple and advanced viewer tools, in-world photography HUDs and photo editing software tips.

Using the photography tools available within your viewer is the least expensive way to start.  To use some of the more advanced tools, you will need a computer with a good graphics card or you will experience extreme lag and crash.  Make sure your computer can handle the graphic heavy settings.
You don't need to run out and buy a new computer.  With a little knowledge, you can update your old computer for half the price by improving the CPU/GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) A few suggestions for good graphics cards are;  Radeon R9 290.  Nvidia GeForce GTX 680.  Radeon HD 6990. Nvidia GeForce 960
Or you can purchase a new computer that's specially made for gaming. 
For around $2000.00 you can buy the "Digital Storm" with an Intel Core I7-6700K processor, 8GB RAM with a Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 graphics card.
Or for around $600.00 - 700.00 you can get the "AlienWare" with an Intel Core i5, 8 GB Ram and a Nvidia Geforce 960 graphics card.

Even if you don't have the best computer, you can still take great photo's.  Explore different windlight settings with different effects. These can change your landscape from dark and mystic to a beautiful Monet painting. Then use your environmental settings.  Open and experiment with the sliders in your sun settings.  The best way to focus on a subject is by sitting or standing on a poseball or item, right click something in the center of the scene you want to photograph and choose zoom to selection.  Then you can move forward and back until you get the distance you want.  Hit the snapshot button and save the photo to your hard drive in your pictures folder.

Using your viewer tools
These instructions are for the Firestorm viewer but most can also be found in the SL viewer as well.
In your Preference tab go to Hardware Settings. Check Anisotropic, Enable Open GL Vertex Buffer Objects and enable Streamed UBOs.  Set the Antialiasing to 16x (you may need to set it lower depending on your computer specs) Then slide the Viewer Texture Memory Buffer (MB) to 512.

Then open your Graphics settings in preferences. Under "Render Quality" You see Low, Med, High and Ultra, slide all the way over to ultra (this is where a good graphics card comes in so you may crash using this setting)

Under "Shaders" check all fields except Field of Depth.  If you are taking landscape or outdoor photo's you need to check this, but if you are taking indoor or studio photo's leave it unchecked.
Under LOD Level of Distance, push all sliders all the way to the end. except Objects & Sculpts LOD.  This you may need to experiment with depending on your subject but a good place to start is 3.000.

Under "Shadows" Select Sun and Moon Projectors (This allows objects to cast a shadow or have shadows cast on the object.
Enabling "Ambient Occusion" will cause the darkening shadow effect.
Under "Avatar Rendering" check all.
Point lighting-Full
Terrain Default - check High

Open your "Advanced" drop down menu
Check all of these; Limit Select Distance, Disable Camera Restraints, High Res Snapshot, Show Develop Window and Quiet Snapshot to Disk.

When Lighting and Shadows are enabled you can go to your "Build Tools" using Texture Chooser and Light Chooser that creates projections so the light projects the selected texture.

Using an in-world photography tool
There are several on the market in SL.  There are studios with lighting options, background and pose options but they are limited. These have to be rezzed in order to use, but they are good for profile photo's or fashion shots.  The best option is an all in one photography tool.  The best of these is the LUMIPro.  It's a little pricy but it will seriously be the only photography tool you will ever need with automatic updates several times a year. With the LUMIPro, you can take photo's anywhere in SL, even places that don't allow rezzing object or scripts. Everything is controlled through an easy to use HUD.  With wearable lights and projector, you can move them around yourself or model to get just the right shading, lighting and shadows.  The wearable pose ball allows you to choose the poses and move your model around to where ever you want the shot. The Eye Gazer tool allows you to position your models eyes. The HUD offers many options from highlighting points, casting shadows, lighting color, soft focus and much more.  Customers rave about the LUMIPro and it won the SL Avi Choice Awards for the best photography tool in SL.

Using photo editing software
Photo Shop can do everything from casting shadows to subject enhancements.  It can fix any photography flaw and add some amazing photo effects.  It is also an expensive program and fairly complex to learn.  There are several free photo editing programs you can download that are easy to learn and have many of the same tools as Photo Shop.  Gimp is a free program that is easy to learn. Smooth jagged avatar lines with the smudge tool, blend in flaws, add a colored tint to a photo, shadows and lighting, saturation and contrast and more.
The saturation is how harsh the colors are in a photo, by lowing the saturation, you can even out the colors and eliminate harsh skin colors.
When a model has pointy elbows or other parts, use the smudge or blur tool to even it out.
Use the blur tool to even out face lines and under eye.
Use the Burn tool to brighten eyes or add darker lines to the model for subtle shading.

1st photo done with a windlight setting and sun settings.  2nd photo was enhanced with a red tone added in Gimp.  3rd photo was taken with LUMIPro.

Second Life 2 AKA "Sansar". Is this the end of Second Life?

There has been much talk and speculation about the new virtual world project that Linden Lab has been developing.  Many insider interviews were vague, simply stating that it will be a better and more advanced platform then Second Life.  From what we have researched, this new virtual world will be called "Sansar".  However, I don't believe this is the official name yet.

Here is what we have learned about Sansar.

 Sansar will not be Second Life 2.  It will be a totally different platform. LL is building a whole new rendering engine and advanced in-world tools for content creators with more options.

Sansar will be Oculus Rift compatable

Linden Lab's CEO, Ebby Altberg was quoted as saying in an interview with Derrick Schneider "“we’re turning the concept inside out and thinking of it as a platform. We want to make sure that every experience that creators make can be directly entered into from the outside world.” While you’ll still need to download a client, imagine going to a web page that goes in-depth on a given topic — Mayan temples, say — and then says, “here’s a VR experience that gives you another view” in the same way you might see an embedded video today. There will also be ways to find other experiences once you’re inside the ecosystem. “Consumers of the experience have a relationship with the creator,” he says, “but you can discover other experiences from there.”
“We want to lower the barrier of entry for VR experience creation,” said Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab. “Project Sansar will do for virtual experiences what WordPress has done for the Web: empower a broad range of people to create with professional quality and reach global audiences. By greatly expanding who can create virtual experiences, Project Sansar will also extend the value of VR to a wide variety of use-cases — from gaming and entertainment to education, architecture, art, community-building, business meetings, healthcare, conferences, training, and more.”

Following that statement, some residents were concerned that Sansar will be a gaming platform where developers can create games without having to create an infrastructure needed for most MMO;s.

Another change is that all sales will be taxed.  This is a concern because creators will need to charge more for their products to cover taxes. Plus, it leaves to question how things like tip jars or donations will be taxed.   Where Second life made revenue through land sales, Sansar will make revenue through sales taxes.

It won't be a blank canvas like Second Life was.  SL began as an island with nothing but trees but as more residents joined, houses, building, parks, etc were built and more regions created.  LL has invited the "chosen" few creators and content partners will be invited to "test" and they will create content using Autodesk Maya Software and importing their content to the new platform.  They will add new content to the platform as the testing expands.  As I understand it, the "chosen few" will basically be dominating the market in Sansar before it's even open to the public.

Linden Lab claims that Sansar will be a social platform first and foremost.  They are selling it as the Word Press of virtual reality.  They aim to both democratise VR and make it much more diverse than if the future of the medium were decided by say, the games industry and Hollywood. They want Sansar open to not only PC's but mobiles and may other virtual reality devices such as PlayStation.  They want Sansar brought into the real world through social media's such as Facebook.

Avatars will be created using 3D scans of actual people, giving a more realistic look with the pixel resolution of the Oculus Rift.  They are also working on more advanced facial expressions.

Sansar promises to be lag free by creating a platform that supports more people at one time.

Many have ask why not just improve Second Life instead of creating Sansar.  And the answer is that it would be impossible. Sansar is a different platform that won't rely on multiple servers with limited space and coding.

With Sansar, LL is building their own version of a HTML5 virtual world which is basically web pages with 3D objects. They have already created "High Fidelity" in the same format that also uses HMD's such as Oculus Rift and hand controllers for movement, much like Wii games.

Does this mean the end of Second Life?
In our opinion, no. First off, the fact that creators have to use Maya or Blender outside of the platform means that only the most skilled creators will be making content.  Also, since only the chosen few will be creating or "testing" on the new platform, means that new residents will have to purchase everything from clothing to homes and property from the chosen few to start.  Also the sales tax will be factor with creators of smaller or less expensive objects.  The rumored $30.00 USD monthly fee will keep many from even coming to Sansar altogether.  There still is no word on whether SL inventory can be migrated into Sansar, which leads us to believe that it will not.
Where as LL promises advanced and easier to use building tools in Sansar, they will not be available at first so anyone trying out the new Sansar will be disappointed if they plan on creating and don't know Maya or Blender.  LL will introduce those tools in time but how many people will leave Sansar in the meantime?  It seems that all the Linden favorites such as those who have been involved in the early slim days and those who's creations and ideas have made LL very rich will be the only ones who will benefit from this new modern world. If they can pull of more realistic avatars that are better looking and have facial expressions.  They may have several SL residents that move over to Sansar but SL has well established clubs and hang-outs, friends and families.  Homesteads and sims that took months and years to build.  Where SL may see a slight decline in new residents due to the large advertisement campaign planned to launch Sansar, and may lose some residents to the new improved world.  I don't believe there will be nearly as many SL residents willing to leave SL for a few shiny baubles. Only time will tell.

We will keep our readers informed of new developments and news as soon as possible.