Second Life

Official Website

Wikipedia Article

"an Internet-based virtual world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007."

"providing an advanced level of a social network service"

The future of social networking???

"a user-defined world of general use in which people can interact, play, do business, and otherwise communicate"

"over four million accounts have been registered, though many are not active, and some Residents have multiple accounts."

"Second Life has recently emerged as one of the cutting-edge virtual classrooms for major colleges and universities, including Harvard, Pepperdine, Ball State, New York University and Delft University of Technology"



Prices
"It is possible, and quite common, to join Second Life for free. Many activities in Second Life are free, but others cost money, payable in Linden dollars (Second Life's in-world currency; see Economy and real estate). For example, goods and services may be charged for by other Residents — these charges are not set by Linden Lab, and so are not included under membership pricing, but are simply part of the economy of Second Life. There are two types of account in Second Life: "basic accounts" and "premium accounts". Basic accounts have no recurring fee, but lack the right to own land within Second Life. As of February 2007, the premium account fee is set at $9.95 per month, although this reduces to $6.00 per month if the fee is paid annually"




Parody of Second Life, "Get a Life"



The BBC using Second
Life

"The rented island exists in online game Second Life and will hold its first event this weekend with bands including Muse, Razorlight and Gnarls Barkley."





Wired article about people making a living in Second Life

"Within a month, Grinnell was making more in Second Life than in her real-world job as a dispatcher. And after three months she realized she could quit her day job altogether."

"With users now numbering over 130,000, game-maker Linden Lab estimates that nearly $5 million dollars, or about $38 per person, was exchanged between players in January 2006 alone."


Guardian Article


"Second Life's population includes a wedding planner, pet manufacturer, tattooist, nightclub owner, car maker, fashion designer, jewellery maker, architect, tour guide, and property speculator. There is a detective agency, which can be hired to check whether your virtual spouse is cheating with a virtual lover - such cases are reported to have caused marital rows over whether online cheating counts as real-life cheating."