Economies of Virtual Worlds discussions: Blogs etc

Millions of us - Virtual Worlds, Real Brands

http://www.millionsofus.com/blog/

Q&A with P. Rosedale (in Computer Power Users)

ao of Linden (by Philip Linden)

http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/07/25/the-tao-of-linden/

JIRA Case Study: Linden Lab

http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/casestudies/linden.jsp

Terms of Service:

http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php

Economic stats for Second Life

Daily summaries from Second Life Insider:
Yesterday's Money -- totals spent, exchange rate, market buys and sells, and news about same.
Today in Second Life -- new signups, peak concurrency, grid stability index, and daily comments about same.

http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy_stats.php

"The Marketplace"

http://secondlife.com/whatis/marketplace.php

Links to official Linden statements and info on:

• Economy
• Economy Graphs
• Economic Statistics
• LindeX Market Data
• Business Opportunities
• Businesses on the Web
• IP Rights

Official Linden blog entries on the economy

http://blog.secondlife.com/tag/economy/

Second Life Wiki Market Data Portal

https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Market_Data_Portal

Includes:

• "Market Data Demographic Studies"
• "2007 Second Life Market Data Project"
• "Market Research Suppliers"

Second Life Economic Metrics (WebMetricsGuru.com)

http://www.webmetricsguru.com/second_life_key_metrics/

The TechCrunch Second Life Census

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/02/10/second-life-census/

Linden Labs comments

More info can be found by visiting the Second Life forums and searching for "Ginsu" to find posts by Linden Labs attorney Ginsu Linden.

"Are Linden Dollars Real Money?"

by Ginsu Linden, Linden Lab attorney

http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=139675  (must log in to view)

"....possibly the central question you pose is: Are Linden Dollars the same as real money? I can answer this quite clearly:

"Linden Dollars are not real money. As noted in Section 1.4 of the terms of service, Linden Dollars represent your limited license right to use an aspect of Second Life, i.e. the aspect that simulates a real-world economy. Linden Lab does not provide any right of redemption for Linden Dollars - you cannot demand that Linden Lab provide you any sum of money in exchange for your Linden Dollars. Linden Dollars are a software license right, not money.

"I should note here that there appears to be some confusion about Linden Lab's position as to whether Linden Dollars have value. It is undeniable that people are willing to pay money for Linden Dollars. People buy Linden Dollars from us, they buy Linden Dollars from each other - obviously, value can be attributed to Linden Dollars. In this sense, Linden Dollars obviously have value.

"But this is a completely separate issue from whether or not Linden Lab will ever provide a right of redemption for Linden Dollars. We do not provide any right of redemption of Linden Dollars for monetary value. Along with Section 1.4, Sections 5.2 and 5.3 of the terms of service make clear that Linden Lab will not provide or guarantee any value for any data (including Linden Dollars) residing on our servers; and the service of Second Life is provided on an "as is" basis.

"As you must know, the value of the transactions taking place in Second Life greatly exceeds the revenue provided to Linden Lab - that is the whole point of Second Life: to provide a platform on which users can create content and benefit from the content they create. There is no financially rational way that we could provide a guarantee of value for all of the content in Second Life. I would encourage you to review the terms of any hosted software service available to a general consumer base over the Internet - you will find nearly the same terms regarding the value of data and the "as is" nature of the service.

"Now, none of this provides definitive answers to questions about whether you must provide royalties on your activities in SL, or whether you need to pay income taxes. These questions would arise whether "Linden Dollars" were called "Acorns" or "Gold Pieces" or "VirtuaBucks" or what have you. They would be the same questions raised if you conducted all of your business activities using Pez dispensers as your unit of trade. All of those things have market value and can be traded for money at market value. None of those things are money. But that does not mean that the IRS or any other party would not examine whether you have made money, or some other measure of value, in a manner for which they have some jurisdictional purview or IP or contractual right. Here, as you note, you are well-advised to consult your own competent legal or tax professional if you desire advice."

Linden response to Unlawful Internet Gambling Act

by Ginsu Linden, Linden Lab attorney
http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=140841