Second Life Usage Seeing a Resurgence of "Oldbies"?

Interesting post on /SecondLife started by /neuromancer72:

Mine is a familiar story - very active in SL from 2006 to maybe 2009-10, then dropped off for years only to return in the last year or so. I've met many people since my return who followed a similar route - left years ago and have now come back. Posts to this sub show others doing the same... If it is a thing, any ideas what might be driving people to give SL another go?

Yes, I think it is a thing that I've also noticed. In absolute user numbers, Second Life concurrency hasn't noticeably spiked upward -- but then, if a few thousand oldbies are jumping onto the grid more regularly, it might not show up in the data, but still be significant.

Assuming there is a resurgence, what's driving it? I'd point to two key factor:

Social media and new content: The oldies are still friends with more active SLers on Facebook, Twitter, and so on, and are seeing great new Second Life content in their feeds -- most especially the new extra-articulated avatar skeleton Bento technology. Inspiring them to see this new stuff for themselves.

SL and the new SL: Somewhat paradoxically, all the media attention over Sansar (which invariably includes frequent mention of Second Life) is likely inspiring oldies to wonder "Whatever happened to..." as they log back in after an absence of years.

Some macro trends, but probably best to open the mic to readers: If you're an oldbie visiting SL more regularly in recent months, what brought you back, baby?

Comments

[Alicia Chenaux]

The first day they opened Sansar up to people, I ran into several SL Oldbies who just wanted to check it out. And many said they felt like logging back into SL just to see what was new, which I think is awesome. I'd love love love to have some old friends come back!

[Wrath]

I really should log in sometime to make sure THOSE DARN KIDS ARE STAYING OFF MY LAWN! /shakes fist/

[glen]

They are back in SL simply to delete their inventory and tie up any loose ends before deleting account.

That's what I did.

-Glen

[Han Held]

Glen,

I'm reasonably sure that if you delete your account, LL holds things for 30 days in case you change your mind, but after that it's wiped.

I know when I fished out my 2005 account in 2010 it had been wiped. And they even tell you so (or at least used to, in 2005).

[Michael]

If anybody has a early 2006 or earlier avatar they want to get rid of I would like to talk about transferring it. It is legal to do so with LL permission.

[Loquacia Loon]

I took a break of a couple of years. Curiosity and missed friends drew me back. So happy to see how much mesh has improved avatar appearance, and fashions have improved so much which is a big draw for me. Still re-finding my feet though because many of the friends I looked for appear to have moved on and most of my favourite haunts have disappeared.

[Rachel Boram]

My avatar is over 10 years old. I returned recently because of Horizon land. I am able to pay 5$ usd for 750 prims (after the initial 100$ usd purchase). The newer mesh items are way less primy these days. If they can ever get the sim fee down to 50$ a month, I would by a SIM and encourage more friends to return.

[Lelani Carver]

I turn 10 next month. I had taken an extended break (about a year and a half) yet always felt the pull, though didn't have the time to put in. When I did log back in and get into group chat, it seems I wasn't the only one to show up in more than a year. Everything looks so good now, that all my older household items are hopelessly dated, and I forgot much of what I learned in Blender. Hey ho! It's been fun getting back and freshening stuff up.

Now to remember the password for my blog...

[Sii]

I've been gone for awhile just due to working with other technologies, but find that I always enjoy coming into SL and seeing what kind of unregulated creativity exists within the virtual world. I was surprised to see four people I've never seen online in over a year. The few I asked just felt now was a good time to come back after having been gone for so long. I don't think anybody ever forgets their time in SL, for both good and bad! Personally, in a world where you are increasingly charged more and more for less, in terms of both creative freedom and service, I've always found SL's creative anarchy refreshing, which is why I'll keep coming back.