A pretty interesting economic look at the Linden dollar and Second Life economy. Where is the money coming from? Who is it distributed to? How does it resemble, or not resemble, a Ponzi scheme.

Here's my own takeaway. Most other games cost money to purchase or play. People understand that they are purchasing a product for entertainment. In the case of Second Life, the possibility exists that one can make money, in world, by exercising their creative abilities. Furthermore, Second Life is often promoted as "not a game" but a "virtual world," so there is sort of this presumption that everyone will be able to build wealth.

It's that "everyone building wealth" point that the article's author is really calling into question. With Linden Labs exchanging L$ for US$ -- money that was contributed by game players -- it's obvious that not everyone can cash out.

Submitted by jason - 2007-07-25 21:13:37
Channels - general metaverse
Tags - money secondlife economy linden ponzi capitalism

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