After the recent ban on gambling, Second Life residents have had reduced opportunities on where spend their hard earned (or bought) Lindens (the Second Life in-world currency).
The world of share trading, regarded by some to be actually worse than gambling, has started to make its presence felt in Second Life. I went undercover (see picture) to see if good money could be made.
First Impressions
The World Stock Exchange (WSE) sits on its own Second Life island in a shiny multi-story edifice that just says money.
The trading floor on the third floor presents an initial lobby that includes an ATM machine (players must deposit money to trade stocks), rule boards and advertising for a bank that offers 15.75% PA. Walking through the lobby players are presented with a lounge area and customer service desks. There is usually a WSE representative on hand to assist with inquiries.
No In-world Trading
The trading floor itself is a misnomer as players are unable to trade via the Second Life interface. Company listing boards and IPO information all lead through to the WSE website. A video viewing area is surrounded by price quote boards, although the space sorely lacks a traditional style transaction ticker.
The WSE website is simple enough.. The trading room page allows players to buy or sell shares, with Limit Ordering also available. General information is provided about companies, as well as stock price history and recent trades.
Can You Make Money Though?
There is only one way to find out. After perusing the 30 odd listed companies I made a number of investments which I may revisit at TechCrunch in the future to report on how they went.
For my opening portfolio I bought companies that sounded like they had substance. Hope Capital Limited (HCL) sounded hopeful, and as this is the holding company for the WSE you’d expect good results. Hype String (HYP) may not make string, but hype always rises, right? I expect Spontaneous Rich Investments, Inc. (SRI) to perform well. Ginko Perpetual Bonds (GPB) are all that remains of the funds from the collapsed Ginko Bank. After trading as high as L$26, today’s price of around $L0.19 makes them a steal. For good measure I rounded out my portfolio with the two IPO’s scheduled for August 20, Taft Worsley Enterprise (TWE) and Apez Corp (APZ). I have no idea what either do, but given the history of IPO’s in such markets, I’m confident of a strong performance. More in a week or so, unless of course I’ve made so much money that I’ve retired.
For a quick tour of the WSE trading floor, view below.
Now we will never know if the stocks gained in value based on their own merit, or the “Techcrunch” factor.
buy now, sell within 6 hours if you think Techcrunch has enough influence.
Sebastian
It cant be working, I’m down L$104 already
haha, great post. Informative yet amusing! Keep it up.
A prediction: you’re going to get lots of comments on this post – the whole virtual stock exchange thing tends to get people heated up I find….
Historically, AI has changed they way we live and work and will only continue doing so. In the near future living in Second Life will be more appealing than living in the First Life.
Are we or will be able to keep up ?
Hi Duncan,
Professor Tom Davenport says the SecondLife is a place for virtual sex.
http://www.forb...7/0702/048.html
Also , there appear to be problems with Second Life from a marketing perspective for reputable businesses according to the link above from Forbes.
Gambling is one of the problems.
Mario Ruiz
@ http://www.oursheet.com
PS I sent this comment minutes ago and did not appear. Please delete one if both appear.
Let me say that I love technology. Let me also say that the level of use the word “life” has been getting of late is pretty outrageous. We all know what we mean when we say “live” online. Yet, perfect entertaininig distraction, which the web offers us, is not in fact “living.” So in answer to your question “Are we able to keep up?” and “will be more appealing” I say the distractions will grow deeper and more complete, but to elevate them to the status of a “life” it will take sorrow, loss, hope, and joy in a relational context which, as of yet, seem to belong only to the off-line world.
Say, it’s great you’re getting some skin in with Second Life.
I think that’s about as reasonable a portfolio as you could make; Apez are the people who make one of the top vending machines that all the merchants in malls use.
I have no idea what Spontaneous Rich does, but I have my doubts.
I don’t know if you clicked through all the screens. If you try to sell those Ginko bonds, you will get something called WICs, or World Internet Currency. Then…try to cash those out into Lindens, but there’s a cap on them…well…you’ll find out for yourself.
http://slrecord...-market-sh.html
“ATM machine”? What do you think the M stands for?!
“In the near future living in Second Life will be more appealing than living in the First Life.”
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
For the obese, the unattractive, the socially awkward, and anyone else who finds real life a challenge (plus the SAHMs desperate for a break from the unending drudgery and isolation of childrearing), then of course SL is more appealing than real life. For those of us with lives we’re happy with, not so much.
Scary. You haven’t been following the Second Life stock exchanges, I see.
You really should do more research, even before gambling.
Some reference links for you:
http://www.your...ce.com/node/298
http://www.your...ce.com/node/402
http://www.your...ce.com/node/372
http://www.your...ce.com/node/354
Here’s an idea…
Get a first life!
How can this even be allowed to operate? The aren’t subject to any existing regulatory laws and agencies (sec, etc)?
This whole service is nothing but a virtual ponzi scheme/scam.
All I could think through that video was how refreshing it was to hear an aussie accent in a screencast for once.
I don’t like Second Life. Too much time, too little benefit.
>For the obese, the unattractive, the socially awkward, and anyone else who finds real life a challenge (plus the SAHMs desperate for a break from the unending drudgery and isolation of childrearing)..
and you forgot “and those who enjoy endlessly savaging others on forums for hours and telling them to “get a life”…
>then of course SL is more appealing than real life. For those of us with lives we’re happy with, not so much.
It’s possible to be happy with both first and second lives; they go together : )
confused: Second Life is international, and not within the regulatory reach of any individual national government, at least at this point. As you are investing “virtual” money, on “virtual” companies, all I have to say is Caveat emptor.
I think I need to log into Second Life and start an insurance company. Talk about legalized betting.
Why your at it why not try another one of the markets in SL. even out your odds, lol.
http://www.slcapex.com/
theres a new IPO out called MECH you should read about and try out. its a first of its kind project in SL and brings some real video game play to the SL world once it launches.
Ah, Second Life continues to amuse me. I’m not sure why people would waste time in a virtual world like this. Even the Sims have some features and points to them. Second Life…is just a virtual world of everyday mundaneness. From what I can fathom of it (and yes, I have tried it out, in an attempt to understand the craze), it is the gaming world’s MySpace. I mean that as no compliment.
Amazing! They think of everything in second life. A ‘virtual’ stock game inside of a ‘virtual’ world.