Eight Years of the Second Life Newser

It was eight years ago that Second Life's best newsletter at the time came to a close, and a new one started. JamesT Juno had started the SL Newspaper three and a half years ago, turning it into a respectable blog, and under Dana Vanmoer as editor it blossomed into a true online newspaper. But events in their real lives became to big to ignore, and Dana made the decision to close the Second Life Newspaper. Four of the reporters, Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, Shelly Sands, and myself, made a decision of our own, to start a new paper: the Second Life Newser. And as Dana wrote the Newspaper's final message, the Newser posted it's first article on Saturday June 5, 2010.

Our first few days, we were more than a little scared and uncertain. Were we up to the task? But it wasn't long before there was serious news to report on, with Linden Lab laying off nearly a third of their staff. Soon after, CEO at the time whom was disliked by many of the residents stepped down, leading to some impromptu celebrations, and Philip Rosedale would step up as interum CEO for several months. Then "Emeraldgate" hit the most popular third-party viewer at the time, followed soon by it's development team splitting in two, some founding Team Phoenix, which would develop what would become the most popular viewer while a few of team Emerald were banned from the Grid. Then Linden Lab made the decision to close the Teen Grid and merge the older teens with the rest of the population while the younger ones were left out in the cold and some older residents feared this would lead to widespread censoring and possibly legal troubles. Early 2011 would bring in still more big news, such as Linden Lab's new CEO, and the Redzone controversy in which the alt-detector raised privacy fears and was finally taken down and it's creator banned when it was revealed he was on probation for a criminal offense and shouldn't have been online.

In our first few days, our readership was tiny as most of James and Dana's audience had moved on. But as time went on and we proved ourselves up to the task, people began reading. We soon had our own office, courtesy of the Sunweaver/Angel community. And we soon had our first cash sponsor, the Podex Exchange, followed soon by the Steelhead community. And of course we had the praise of residents who saw in us an alternative to tabloids that concentrated on drama and "SLebreties," and fashion blogs that while highly useful to those looking for the latest outfits were of little to no use when looking for news about events, locations, and noted people. We like to show you where you can get a great deal or a very well crafted outfit, when we can. But there's a lot more news going on that affects your Second Life.

Over time, we've continued our mission, to report the news on the people, places, and events across the Grid, big and small. These have ranged from charities, such as the Relay for Life, various builds and builders, art exhibitions and artwork, various events such as the Second Life Birthday, various locations, games such as combat sims, and much more. While we have occasionally taken a look at the adult side of Second Life, most of our articles are about other subjects.

The bulk of what we have shown is how Second Life can be an enjoyable and beneficial place for it's residents. We've show many picturesque and well designed places from replicas of historic places, art displays, natural scenery, and more. We've shown many communities and groups from roleplay groups, both fantasy and sci-fi, to discussions, or just simply having fun at a club. But there's more here than just recreation. There are science discussions for adult education, memorials and memorial events to honor those who passed away, and charity events that raise many thousands for various causes to help people. While the Relay for Life is the largest one, there are many others such as Homes For Our Troops and Team Diabetes. And of course we try to be entertaining as well, showing music videos various performers have done, as well as our screenshot cartoons.

But like real-life publications, not everything is good news. Occasionally, we do report on controversy, such as Redzone, Voodoo, and more recently when someone tricked supporters of a diabetes charity into giving money to them. On occasion, Linden Lab has been the source of controversy, such as the Content Creator mess when a poorly worded change in the Terms of Service led to fears the Lab reserved the right to claim and sell the works of builders. The Newser has had neither the desire or the need to stir up unnecessary controversy or sensationalism. Eventually, real trouble shows up on it's own.

As the creators and owners of Second Life, Linden Lab is the source of much of our news. There's certainly no argument that they've done a great and fantastic theme in making our virtual world possible. But being human, they sometimes make mistakes. And there have been times in which the residents couldn't help but wonder about their intentions. As an independent publication, we'll hold them in account when making a questionable move. But it is also our goal to report when they do something right. And the individual Lindens we've talked to over the years have been friendly people who are happy to interact with the residents.

As we've gone on in time, sadly we've had to say goodbye to some people and places. Shelie Sands, noted for her poetry and articles on the then popular Ozimal bunnies, and Grey Lupindo, noted for her exploration articles on many great places, eventually had to depart the Newser. Podex would be our sponsor for many years, and the subject of a number of amusing adverts, until changes in Linden Lab's Terms of Service for Second Life meant it could no longer do business here. And we've had the sad task of reporting on the end of some good places and the departures, and worse - the deaths, of some good people. But as time has gone on, the Newser has welcomed in new talent such as Klaus Bereznyak and Deaflegacy. We've gotten new sponsors, Farshore Radio, Lorena Chung, Montecito Bay, and recently the Confederation of Democratic Simulators. We've had the pleasure on reporting on some great new places and talented new residents whom have appeared in Second Life over time. And over time, our readership has grown, one month this year getting fifty thousand reads.

So after eight years, where do we go from here? The time in which we started was one in which Second Life's glory days as the darling of the tech media had come to an end, and it's future was in doubt. Since then, the demise of the virtual world has been predicted time and time again. But thanks in part to the devotion of it's residents, it has endured. It's safe to say unless there's some calamity such as an economic depression or a shutdown of the Internet, Second Life will be around for years to come. And us? As long as we're able to, we'll keep on writing about the people, places, and events of this virtual world that has continued to be a source of wonder.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Farshore Radio, Lorena Chung, Montecito Bay, and the Confederation of Democratic Simulators, to the Sunweaver community that have given us a home for all these years, to Linden Lab which brought forth this virtual world to begin with, to JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer for showing us how a virtual newsletter is done, and of course to you the readers without whom the Newser would never have gotten off the ground.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor, Second Life Newser

Newser Gets 50,000 Reads Last Month

While there's no doubt the Newser is the number one newslettter in Second Life, our readership does go up and down a little. Usually, it's around 25 to 30,000 readers a month. In December 2016, we had a good month, about 45,500 reads. Last month, we finally beat our old record, with 50,224 reads for February 2018.

And it's not just English-speaking readers who view the Newser. Last month, we had over 8500 readers from France, over 6,000 from Brazil, almost 4800 from Belgium, almost 3800 from Russia, and almost 1800 from Kuwait.

The Newser hit it's one million mark in total reads in October 2016, and currently has a total of over 1,400,000.

Keep on reading, and we'll keep giving you the best news of the people, places, and events of Second Life.

ONE MILLION VIEWS

If we had a dollar for every time the paper has been read, well, we'd be rich.

When the Second Life Newser first opened in June 2010, only a handful of readers from JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer's Second Life Newspaper, of which we took over after it's folding, carried on with us. But over time, our numbers have grown. In recent months, we regularly get 25,000 views a month, with some months as high as nearly 40,000.

Finally on Thursday October 13, The number of reads the Newser has had in total reached the one million mark.

Special thanks to you the readers for making this milestone possible.

Six Years Ago ...

It's been six years today, June 6 2010, in which the Second Life Newser came to be. For The previous two and a half, there was the Second Life Newspaper owned by JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer. For a while, it did well, covering the news of the people, places, and events across Second Life. But when James and Dana had to go offline indefinately, they made the decision to close down their paper. So four of their writers, Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, Shelie Sands, and myself, Bixyl Shuftan, formed a new paper: the Second Life Newser.

We weren't sure what to expect. For myself, going from one of the writers to Editor was a big step. And while the readers were familiar with our articles, it was James and Dana's direction they had come to trust. But from the begining, we had support. The Sunweaver community gave us a home at Sunweaver Air where a friend build us an office and let us stay there rent free. Soon offers for advertisements and a sponsorship from the Podex Exchange. And we soon had new talent joining our staff.

There was certainly no shortage of events to cover. A week after we were under our new name, Linden Lab laid off a third of their staff and soon afterwards their CEO resigned, soon replaced with Second Life's founder as an interim. Then came "Emeraldgate," the scandal that hit the most popular third party viewer at the time when some in the staff launched an attack on a critic's website using computers with their viewer. As time went on, we would report on the decision to merge the Teen Grid with the main one, the "RedZone" alt detector controversy, the emergence of the pony avatar and community, and others. Besides the breaking news, there were plenty of sims to write about, as well as plenty of people from noted personalities to people whom hadn't attracted little to no attention before. After a year, it was obvious we would be around for a while.

So far, that while has been six years and counting.

We've continued to cover major news events, from the development of mesh, to Linden Lab distancing itself from the residents and then slowly coming back. legal troubles such as Ozanimals versus Amaretto and the owners of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek filing suits against their respective roleplay communities here, The Content Creator and Terms of Service controversies, Linden Lab creating a number of other products besides virtual worlds only to sell or discontinue most of them, Linden Lab installing Rod Humble and then Ebbe Altberg as CEOs of the company, the discontinuing of third-party Linden dollar exchangers, the disappearance and then takeover by Linden Lab of the SS Galaxy, the announcement and development of the next-generation virtual world called SL 2.0 by the residents until Linden Lab gave it the name Project Sansar, and many more.

The Newser has made a number of friends over time, with new sponsors such as The Steelhead community, and new writers such as Netara Landar and DrFran Babcock. And then there is you, the readers, whom have grown to 27,000 who check the paper at least once a month, and from all over the planet coming from every continent except for Antarctica. Sadly, we've also had to say goodbye to some, our best sponsors the Podex Exchange having to close due to being shut down with Linden Lab changing the Terms of Service, and the Steelhead Estates after Linden Lab locked out the account of it's owner. And over time DrFran, Netara and others departed, as has Shelie Sands of our original team.

While we've had a few setbacks, we've also come a along way. We have stood the test of time, lasting almost half of Second Life's history. We cover a diverse variety of subjects on a daily basis of the people, places, and events across Second Life. And on occasion have a little chuckle with a cartoon.

Special thanks to the Sunweaver Estates which have given us a home all this time, to The Podex Exchange and Steelhead Community who sponsored us for so long in the past, and of course you the readers for making this newsletter possible.

Here's to year seven of bringing you the news of Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor and head reporter of Second Life Newser

Five Years of Second Life Newser

By Bixyl Shuftan

Our first anniversary was an important milestone. We had gone through a whole year, sticking to what we do, gaining sponsors, and would be around for quite some time. Our second, it brought back memories of Dana making a big deal out of our predecessor paper's two year anniversary, her feeling that it was being seen as "all grown up." Three years, we had matched our predecessor in time on the grid, at least in the number of anniversaries. Four years, we had accomplished what the old SLN hadn't: a fourth anniversary.

Now ... difficult to say how it feels. I've certainly been doing a lot of looking back to the days of JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer. While we've been trying to preserve some of what was published then, perhaps it's important to look back to not just what you've done while in charge, but also looking back to how you got to where you are.

Five years ago, I wasn't quite sure what lay ahead as our former team leaders logged off for the last time (at least as newspaper owners). A couple months earlier when Dana told me and the other reporters of Second Life Newspaper that the paper would be shut down, it was stunning news. I'd been writing articles about Second Life almost since I began logging in here regularly, and I couldn't imagine going on here without it. I also was part of a team I didn't want split apart to the four winds.

But going from reporter to the head of a newsletter, that was a bit scary. I wasn't as talented as Dana when it comes to leading a team and marketing a business, (probably still not as I never could get the numbers she did). Would those who read Dana's paper follow one under a new editor? Would we get the support of advertisers? Indeed in our beginning the eight thousand readers per day Dana attracted had dwindled down to just two thousand for the whole month. For months, I would rely on the hosting job I had at Mystery to help pay the other writers.

But eventually, the sponsors came. Podex was the first of a number whom over time have helped keep the Newser running, the Safe Waters Foundation and our old friends M&M Creations being our latest ones. Also, the readers came back. The 2,000 readers a month increased to 25,000 by July 2013.

There were certainly plenty of reasons to read the paper over the years. The expression "Timing is everything" may have come into play as just barely a week after we were under a new name, Linden Lab dropped some breaking news with the layoffs of about a third of their staff. This included some popular Lindens whom were sorely missed. Events continued in rapid succession that year with the CEO resigning, Philip Rosedale coming back as interim CEO, the "Emeraldgate" scandal of the most popular third party viewer at the time which would eventually lead to what is now Team Firestorm, the decision to merge the Teen Grid with the main one, and more.

Over time, we have continued to deliver the news about major happenings from Redzone, to CEOs Rodvik Linden then Ebbe Linden coming aboard, the arrival of mesh, real life companies asking their copyrights be respected within Second Life, the arrival of the MLP avatars and pony community, when Linden Lab distanced itself from the residents such as their decision to no longer take part in the Second Life Birthday celebrations, and when it began to interact with them more such as bringing back the Linden Snowball fight, questionable moves such as their decision to ban all third-party Linden dollar exchange companies, then partially reversing the order, the fall of the SS Galaxy, and many more. We've also reported on occasion about other virtual worlds, such as InWorldz, and done a few game reviews.

But there's more to the news than the big out of the blue events on the Grid. We've put the spotlight on many places across the Grid that offer a nice place to relax, exciting things to do, or just simply look cool. We've highlighted events of all kinds, from sim and community anniversaries, to fundraising events such as those of the Relay for Life. And we've given attention from the various movers and shakers of Second Life from content creators to sim owners to community leaders, sometimes just the simple man on the street who wants to express his/her opinion on the soapbox.

While the statistics of our readership are nice to read, what truly encourages us are the messages of praise we've gotten over the years. People such as those from the Relay for Life have thanked us for our coverage of their events. Also are the complements of people whom have been looking for things to do and places to see and found both in the Newser.

Sadly we've had to say goodbye to some people over the years. Shellie Sands and Grey Lupindo have taken an indefinite leave of absence to deal with real life matters. But other talent such as Fritter Enzyme and Ozymandius have come aboard. We're happy to have you as part of the team.

So what does the future hold? Right now, there's been worry about Linden Lab's new virtual world under development, that they'll turn out the lights here to force people to a place with fancy bells and whistles but little convenience or freedom. Such fears are nothing new. In our first year, people wondered if Linden Lab was on the verge of selling Second Life, going bankrupt, or both. Unless there's some major economic or military calamity, Second Life will be around for a long time. Perhaps long enough for yours truly to turn over the Newser to a new editor years from now.

We'll keep on doing what we do best, informing you about the people, places, and events of Second Life, and provide a little chuckle along the way with an occasional cartoon or fun story.

Special thanks once again to the sponsors who fund our paychecks. Thanks to the Sunweaver and Angel Estates whom have given us a home inworld. And of course thank you the readers for keeping us going.

Bixyl Shuftan

Editor and head reporter, Second Life Newser

Three Years of Second Life Newser

It was three years ago when one noted newspaper in Second Life came to an end, and another sprung up to carry on it's mission of reporting on the news across the Grid to the residents. James and Dana had left some pretty big shoes to fill, and it was up to us, Shellie Sands, Grey Lupindo, Gemma Cleanslate, and myself to pick up the pieces and go on. We would be starting small. We had no cash sponsors when starting out, and of the several thousand daily readers of the old SLN, only a few hundred would be reading ours for the first few days.  But we were a team, and we were determined to get the news to the public.

Our first few days soon tested our mettle. We were there to cover two major events in Second Life, the layoff of a third of Linden Lab's staff, and the Emeraldgate mess that marked the end of the first Third-Party viewer and the team behind it and the creation of a new Third Party team that would continue to make the most popular non-Linden viewers. We were there to cover these, and other events in a year, including M Linden stepping down, and Philip temporarily taking over for a few months,  that was a turning point in Second Life's history. And we would go on to cover other major news, such as RedZone, the Relay for Life fundraisers, the copyright owners of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek putting their foot down, and many more.

But we didn't just report on the big news. Our reporters looked around for interesting places that others would like to see, events that people would like to go to, and interesting people whether well known or not. Reporting on the news big and small.

There have been a few setbacks along the way. A few writers of ours had to stop writing when real life interfered. But we've also picked up some fine talent along the way. Grease Coakes and DrFran Babcock have shown to be fine writers, and new writers have come in and have been proving themselves.

Three years and about 2500 articles, cartoons, press releases, and other postings, after it's formation, the Second Life Newser stands as Second Life's premier newsletter. Readership has climbed to over a thousand readers a day, our Facebook page updates over 500 people on the social network to new stories, and has become a force in Second Life's media.

As Editor, I'd like to thank the team for all their hard work, including those no longer with us who left their mark.

Thanks goes out to our sponsors at the Podex Exchange and the Steelhead Estates. Your financial support enabled us to grow and prosper.

Thank you to the Sunweaver and Angels communities, for providing us with our office, and being a great home. We couldn't ask for better neighbors, and friends.

And of course, thank you the readers. Without you, there would of course be no paper. As long as you keep reading, we'll keep writing.

Unless Linden Lab decides to turn out the lights, you can bet Second Life Newser will be there to report on the news big and small.




"And that's the way it is."


Bixyl Shuftan

Editor, Second Life Newser

A Note From The Editor About Recent Articles

I had a few words with a friend on Facebook, who wondered if the Second Life Newser team was losing interest in Second Life. While we've always reported on something related to computers and other virtual worlds on occasion, lately there's been a number of them. Plus, a few of the reporters haven't been as active as usual.

This is for a few reasons. In recent days, there's been a number of developments outside Second Life that concerned at least some residents of the Grid, or which I felt were relevant in some way. For instance, the development of Runescape deciding to involve players in the punishment of offenders I felt would be very interesting to a resident whose favorite sims are plagued by griefers. As for the reporters, some have had real life matters to attend to, and others were busy working away to find and write articles. This weekend I got a number in the mailbox which will appear this week.

If there's something out there you feel isn't getting attention, by all means let us know. And of course we're interested in any Reader Submissions you the readers may have.

Stay tuned for a month full articles of what October in Second Life offers.

Bixyl Shuftan

One Year Later

It was a year ago that Dana Vanmoer and JamesT Juno announced their departure from Second Life, and with it, the newspaper they ran, Second Life Newspaper, came to a close. We the staff had been given some advance notice, and after some talk, the decision was made for one of us to start another paper. Second Life Newspaper’s manager: myself.

It wasn’t a decision I made lightly. We would be starting over again, and there’d have to be a number of decisions made. We would need revenue. We would need some kind of virtually physical presence on the Grid. Fortunately, we had help from the beginning. Sunweaver Air had some longtime friends of mine whom offered a land sponsorship and a building. And so we had our office. It wasn’t just prims. It was a symbol that we were a presence in Second Life. Eventually, we had a cash sponsor as well, the Podex Exchange.

Second Life Newser hit the ground running. It was barely a week old when the “Restructuring” hit Linden Lab, a third of the Lindens, including some popular ones such as Blue and Teagan were given pink slips. We would continue to report on events such as M Linden’s stepping down as CEO and Philip taking charge again for a little while, Second Life’s Seventh Birthday, “Emeraldgate” and the falling apart of what had once been the top third party viewer, Philip Linden stepping down and being replaces by Rod Humble/Rodvik Linden, the RedZone controversy followed by the removal of its controversial product and it’s creator from the Grid, the Relay for Life, and more.

We did more than just report the big news. We reported on smaller more local events from sim anniversaries, to sports events, to combat roleplays, to tributes, and more. We reported on various places, such as the Madpea gaming place, to Book Island, to China Tang, The Shelter, and many others. And of course various people in Second Life from comedian Lauren Weyland, to the kid avies of the SL Kids, the tinies of Raglan Shire, Tuna Oddfellow of his psychedelic “Odd Ball,” to the whimsical “bronies,” and more.

Reporting the news big and small.

We’ve had a few setbacks along the way. A few of our number had to stop writing for health reasons, personal reasons, or real life demanding full attention. But we’ve had another join our ranks.

But Second Life Newser has accomplished much. It has attracted and maintained a widespread following of readers. Much of our readership is outside the United States. Not just Europe and Australia, but we’ve found hits from Latin America, Asia, Russia and the Middle East as well. For instance, from May 9 to June 7 2011, we’ve had 121 hits from Luxembourg alone. Despite it’s government’s censorship, we’ve gotten seventy-three hits from Iran in the same time period.

So where do we go from here? Continue doing what we do best, report the news. Second Life’s Eighth Birthday is just a few weeks from now, and sometime soon comes the much-anticipated Mesh update to the Grid. Then there will be events completely unforeseen at this time. Perhaps another troublemaker along the lines of Team Emerald and zFire Xue. Whatever happens, we’ll be there.

And of course, we’ll continue to write about more local events, and the people and places.

For me personally, it’s been an interesting challenge. It’s been a lot of work keeping the newspaper up. But it’s also been fun. And the praises and complements we’ve received are truly touching.

Thank you for your continued support and well wishes.

Here’s to another year of bringing you the news of Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan