New World Notes

14 Second Life Creators Became Real Life Millionaires Last Year -- And Other Surprising Economic Stats Linden Lab Just Revealed

Originally published on my Patreon

Linden Lab just publicized a trove of impressive Second Life economic data through a new VentureBeat article which headlines the most impressive stat: Linden Lab has spent $1.3B building Second Life and paid $1.1B to creators.

Yes: The company has taken very little profit from Second Life over the course of the virtual world's 21 years, instead re-investing it into the platform, while giving the lion's share of in-world earnings to its grassroots creators.

This is great, though not completely surprising: As I reported in 2017, SL's grassroots creators were likely earning more money from Second Life than Linden Lab itself. Now we know the company is earning slightly more.

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi frames these revenue splits in comparison to Roblox, which has vastly more users than SL, yet still shares far less earnings with its creators. (See chart above.)

Further, Linden Lab gives 90% of in-game transactions to user creators, while Roblox only shares roughly 30% of transactions with theirs. Philip Rosedale told me something similar in 2022, but it's good to see the company publicizing this story to a major tech business outlet.

Anyway, the economic meat that's likely to interest SLers most is much further down in the article:

New on My Patreon: SL Brand Advice from Aardvark & Scarlet Creative!

In the latest installment of my ongoing Patreon series on the most successful Second Life brands, we’re spotlighting two very different creators: Aardvark, home to hilarious attachables, and Scarlet Creative, seller of stylish and cozy homes. It's a trove of inspiring and practical advice, such as:

Have items ready for last-minute event openings to secure sudden empty booth opportunities at events.

"That advice helped me secure several opportunities by filling empty booths last-minute, sometimes just hours before an event opened," as Aardvark's Dash Phantom told me.

Subscribe to read now here for as low as $2/month! (I call that tier "Prim Level".) And ond miss part 1, featuring Cold Ash and Bad Unicorn, and part 2, featuring Blueberry/KiwiCo and Dutchie Design.

Why SL Brands Should Focus on Their Mainstore More Than Events -- and Other Expert Advice from KiwiCo & Dutchie Design

Now free to read on my Patreon: The amazing Gizem Mishi of Blueberry and now KiwiCo fame (read my profile of her here) and Froujke of Dutchie Design share expert advice on how they turned their Second Life content creation into full-time careers. For instance, Gizem makes the compelling case that an SL brand's mainstore is a better revenue driver than selling at events:

As much as I love the events, try and build out your mainstore audience. That's the most profitable way. I keep screaming this from the rooftops, the road to maximum profitability is to prioritize mainstore releases, and that helps you build out a personal brand. I can tell you right now that an asset that I put out at an event is not going to perform as good as if I put it in the mainstore...

Join my Patreon to read the rest here. And yes, the pic above is the new KiwiCo mainstore -- click here to teleport.

What New-ish Second Life Brands Should New World Notes Feature This Month?

Last month, New World Notes readers selected Aardvark and The Discord Experts as favorite new-ish SL brands. For November, I'd like to profile one or two other brands!

If you'd like to nominate one, please post details in Comments. Here's info/criteria to include:

• SL brand must be 5 years old or younger
• Include brand's Marketplace listing and/or mainstore SLurl
• Include brand's social media feed (Flickr, X/Twitter, FB, etc.)
• Include a short explanation about why the brand is unique/interesting/worthwhile

Please post nominations by this week! And yes, self-promotion is fine.

Zooby Puppies Have Arrived in Second Life. Here's a 20% Discount Offer for 10 Readers! UPDATE: The Discount Offer is Over!

Zooby, popular creator of virtual babies and animals in Second Life, just birthed a new species in the virtual world: Puppies! And puppies particularly puppy-ish purportedly:

"Zooby Puppies can sleep in beds, poop/pee on puppy pads, relax on love pillows, chew on bones, snuggle with toys, and eat from food bowls," Zooby owner Carrie Tatsu tells me. "[They] can walk/run/fly while attached to you and while in travel mode they can be taken anywhere in SL."

Yes, fly: Watch the trailer above.  

Built with hundreds of animations based on real puppy videos (" my animator really loves dogs"), they are also programmed with an elaborate movement system to avoid obstacles, randomly wander, trot, run, and (again) fly. Ms. Tatsu is also attempting to make them a much more social experience than previous virtual pets in Second Life:

Aardvark Amazes: From a Bouncing Balloon Unicorn in Second Life to Building a Better Real One

Aardvark from Dash Phantom was the very most popular new Second Life brand in my reader survey, and that's no surprise: It's the purveyor of hilariously charming items including (as above), the explosively adorable Mini Pig-Unicorn. Which as it happens, you can now get today at the Uber event: Click here to teleport.

"The name for Aardvark came from my goal to not take things too seriously—especially in our Second Life," Dash tells me, explaining his choice of brand name. "I knew I wanted an animal name, and aardvark, meaning 'earth pig,' was something I found really funny. I didn't really know what items I was going to make at the time but I knew it was going to be a variety. I wanted a brand name that immediately put a smile on people’s faces. Plus, aardvarks are such funny-looking creatures, it felt like the perfect fit."

As it happens, Aardvark's very best-selling item is also ridiculously unicorn-related:

Second Life Doesn't Have Official Discord Integration, So Peter Stindberg Created Bridging Apps. Up to 10% of Active SLers Already Use Them!

The Discord Experts from Peter Stindberg is one of the very most popular new-ish Second Life brands in my reader survey, and that's no surprise: As the name suggests, it connects Second Life to Discord, the most popular messaging app for gamers worldwide.  (Now with 150 million monthly active users, according to the company's own stats.) While Linden Lab hasn't yet launched an official SL-to-Discord API, Peter has been adding numerous bridging applications to his Marketplace, including the one above: An add-on which enables you to track visitors on your Second Life region from Discord.

Already quite popular (more info down the way), the Discord Experts brand began in 2019/2020 by happenstance, Peter tells me:

Second Life Pro Tips: Expert Advice & Insights from KiwiCo & Dutchie - Now on My Patreon

This week for my Patreon subscribers, I'm highlighting insights from the owner of Dutchie, a leading brand in furniture/home decor (with a sexy twist), and KiwiCo, the new brand of legendary Blueberry creator Gizem Mishi Akin. (Don't miss my interview with Gizem here.)

Subscribe and read it all here!

Survey: Which New-ish Second Life Brand Interests You Most? Choose Aardvark, [ADD], The Discord Experts, Dope Pixels, Limited Addiction, Luova, Manikin!!, NeutralTones, RudeGirls Shapes, or Star Quake Shapes & Beauty

Take survey on desktop/laptop PC with mouse or tablet for best results

Thanks to readers who recommended their favorite new-ish Second Life brands over the last few months! Now please take this survey to choose the brand you'd like to see featured in a New World Notes post. Use a laptop/mouse for best results, and first check out all the brand links and descriptions below.

In alphabetical order, they are: Aardvark, [ADD], The Discord Experts, Dope Pixels, Limited Addiction, Luova, Manikin!!, NeutralTones, RudeGirls Shapes, and Star Quake Shapes & Beauty.

Again, info and links to all of them below. If the survey results are close, I may cover the top two-three, so please be sure to share this survey far and wide!

The New Second Life Shoes of Hanna Lindberg Tell Two Amazing Stories

When I first saw these new shoes by Second Life creator Hanna Lindberg, I had to lightly gasp. After she had told me how she made them, I had gasped several times more.

The first story of these shoes, you can discern by looking close. Among her first creations using PBR lighting, the detail in the shadowing and reflection, evident down to the fine texture of the leather, is amazing. Since Linden Lab launched physically based rendering to Second Life last Summer, content creators have been frantically working to update their product line with PBR to stay ahead of the competition. The market for avatar fashion is massive across numerous platforms, and dominates the Second Life economy in particular. (And not just clothing items like shoes: A creator of customized virtual feet, for instance, earns six figures a year.)

To modernize her mesh-making skills to create in PBR, Hanna watched tutorials like these. It took her 1-2 days to understand the basics.

"Starting to learn something new and unusual is always difficult and scary," as she puts it to me.

So that's one story about the Second Life shoes of Hanna Lindberg.

The second story is possibly more scary: