Linden Lab's Payouts to Residents Exceed 1.1 Billion in Total

 

An article by Venturebeat has gotten attention in recent days. In part, it's because of the amount Linden Lab has invested in Second Life over the years, 1.3 billion US dollars. But it also mentioned something the residents would find more interesting. It's paid out a total of 1.1 billion US dollars to the residents.

It would be mentioned in a letter shared with some residents by Brett Linden

The formal numbers are:  Linden Lab has officially surpassed $1.3 billion invested in building our world and $1.1 billion paid out to our incredible creators. These milestones speak volumes about the vibrant economy and thriving community that we have worked together to build over the years.

Fun fact: Creators in Second Life are 100x more likely to earn over $10K annually compared to Roblox - as highlighted in this VentureBeat article detailing how Second Life remains a shining example of a creator-first metaverse.

This achievement underscores the power of Second Life as a creator-first metaverse and the dedication of our vibrant community.

 

While Roblox does pay it's users for content created, they don't make as much in comparison. They give content creators about a 70 percent share. In contrast, Linden Lab allows Second Life's content creators a 90% share of what they make, taking in ten percent in fees. 

An article in New World Notes would get into this further. According to it's sources, of the 21,152 people that made money in Second Life in 2023, about 30% or 6,446 made over $1000 USD. 1580 would make over $10,000. 138 would make over $100,000. And 14 would make over a million dollars US. 

 

That's quite a bit of money from what some would dismiss as a "game."

 

In contrast, only 0.2%, a fifth of one percent of Roblox users make more than $1000 USD. Venturebeat compared it less than favorably to Second Life, "the business of Roblox today consists of a few winners and more losers, kind of like the triple-A game business today, where the odds of any given person’s success are pretty low."

Hamlet Au would call the businessmen and women of SL about four percent of Second Life's monthly users, about 500,000 in number. While the big moneymakers in the past were land barons such as Anshe Chung, it was his opinion that today an increasing number were in the mesh avatar and accessory business. 

On a personal commentary, there's no statistics available for those who made a little less than a thousand USD, but it's not hard to imagine someone who makes several hundred dollars a year DJing or small-time content creating or some other inworld income, and while one might not be able to make a living that way, a few extra bucks in one's pocket can make life a little more comfortable.

 

Sources: Venturebeat, New World Notes  

Bixyl Shuftan

BioBreeds Breedable Pets Shut Down

 

Second Life has one less breedable pets company. Last weekend, the BioBreeds company apparently closed down due to a dispute between the co-owners.

I found a notecard in the BioBreeds Advertising group, and the Relay for Life Volunteers group, the latter where I found it first. It was signed "Oz," presumably meaning co-owner Ozzie Drucker, the Group Management and Marketing leader.

I have always been as transparent with you all as possible from the start, so let me explain what has happened.

Our provider last fall informed us that we needed to “migrate” our server to the cloud. And needed to do so by the end of the year. At that time they would no longer provide service if we failed to do so.  Our coder, Bytecode Republic, who also is an owner, refused to do so.  He also refused to move us to another provider. Since then I have attempted a variety of ways to convince him that it was necessary so that we could continue. Then, after I took some additional steps to force a migration, and without entangling you in technical jargon, he shut us down on Friday. And in a way that it cannot be undone. Up until late yesterday I was hopeful that somehow this could be resolved.

But he refuses to re-establish us.

The notecard was in the Relay group on Sunday January 29, but not in the BioBreeds Advertising group, the largest BioBreeds group I could find, until Tuesday January 31. I couldn't find an existing larger Biobreeds group. Trying to head to the Biobreeds sim, it was closed. Their Marketplace page was also closed. There was nothing about what happened on the blog (http://www.biobreeds.com/). Their Facebook and Twitter hadn't been updated in a while.

 

I was able to send an alt to a sim known as "The Farm," which came up when I did a search on Biobreeds-related places. I only saw one to two to three people around and most of the stalls were closed. Talking to someone, she told me the creators were making an effort to preserve the pets still out there. She copy-pasted from a group I wasn't able to find on Search.

[15:30] Ozzie Drucker: Group Notice Sent by: Ozzie Drucker
Free Food Plus
DO NOT BUT FOOD!

 Around midnight tonight We will  be rezzing vendors for you to be able to use to get free food and free medkits.

Hope this helps some.

I would go by later, and there were some food and medkit packages available for free at the main building. They were at The Farm (172/207/21).

 

The notice I saw in the Relay for Life Volunteers group was a bit panicky, saying the animals were in danger of dying. Checking with a friend, her Biobreeds permapet was just fine and her regular one was sleeping but otherwise okay. She told me it was a shame BioBreeds was closing as it was her impression they were one of the few companies that tried to keep prices reasonable. 

 

Biobreeds was created on February 5, 2010, the company closing just days before it's thirteenth anniversary. 

This isn't the first time a breedable pets company has closed. In May 2017, Ozimals closed down due to a "cease and desist" order from a lawyer, the result between a dispute between the script builder and the company. 

There will likely be more details as information comes in.

 

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Farm/172/207/21

 

 Bixyl Shuftan

More on Linden Lab's Deal With JP Morgan And Tilia (News and Commentary)

 

 On Tuesday, Linden Lab announced that Tilia had "secured a new strategic investment from J.P. Morgan." Also, "Tilia is also working with J.P. Morgan Payments to further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services." So just what does this mean?

 

Well, it's a little more complicated than to just call it a deal between Linden Lab and JP Morgan.

To begin with, Tilia was created over three years ago in 2019, announced in July and going active in August. The service had been created to avoid future problems with the US Government concerning changing Linden dollars for real-world currency. At first, only those cashing out Linden dollars into real world currency had to keep it in mind. In May 2020, it was expanded to cover both the buying and selling of Linden dollars. Following Linden Lab being bought up by the Waterfield group, Tilia would be involved with not just Second Life transactions, but other places online, "virtual worlds and metaverses, online games, and NFT marketplaces" such as Upland.

So why the deal? Well, the Waterfield Network's motivations are easy to understand: quick cash in exchange for sharing further profits. In the statement from Tilia, Brad Oberwager, whose position at the service was Executive Chairman, stated, "Virtual economies represent a huge financial opportunity particularly for game, app and virtual world developers. J.P. Morgan Payments, a worldwide leader and recognized innovator in payments, is the right partner as we continue to expand capabilities in line with these rapidly growing creator-based economies."

JP Morgan's motivations? As a bank, obviously their motivation is to make money, in this case over the long term. But considering Second Life's golden age was over a decade ago, why would they be interested in this kind of deal now? In the statement from Tilia, the representative from JP Morgan stated, “We believe that contextualized commerce - such as virtual economies within games and virtual worlds - is an area perfectly positioned for innovative payments solutions to play a critical role in the coming years." He would call Tilia, "a market leading provider of software gaming payments tools, to develop solutions for these new and exciting marketplaces.”

In the Second Life forums, there was a thread with two news articles about the deal on the first page, from Forbes and Venturebeat. The Forbes article called Oberwager the acting CEO of Linden Lab. The Venturebeat one stated that Tilia would no longer be under Linden Lab, but now it's own company under the Waterfield Network. Tilia would use the money from JP Morgan "to expand its business and go into new markets." So it seems Linden Lab probably won't be getting much of the money, at least not directly. The article would say the deal took about a year to negotiate. Oberwager was quoted as saying, “They invested in us and they solidified a really big partnership. We’re like the tip of the spear for the metaverse. They’re a good partner with a lot of credibility.”

He would go on to say, “This is a good thing when creators can make money. There are people around the world who make their living by building things in Second Life. ... Here’s why I think it’s so important,” Oberwager said. “These universes are social economies. If you don’t allow people to make money, if you don’t allow this economy to happen, if you don’t support creators, you’re going to have to rely on an advertising model to make your world work. That is a disaster. That would be the worst thing that could hit our society — an advertising-based metaverse.” He felt such a virtual universe would operate on companies tracking people so they could better target ads, "That's not a world we want to live in."

There is some irony in the Tilia deal. It was a year ago that Facebook announced it was going to make a major effort into virtual worlds, saying it would become the "Metaverse," even changing it's name to Meta. It's owner Mark Zuckerberg was acting like Second Life never existed. Since then, things have not gone well for Facebook/Meta. The company has lost a LOT of money and investor confidence shaky, "some analysts say that they aren’t even sure what Facebook’s core business is anymore — or if it even has one." Horizon has also performed far short of expectations. Despite Facebook's huge base of users, a Wall Street Journal article reported the number of people using Horizon has been much smaller than Second Life, with a smaller ratio of women to men, with reports of some of the men behaving badly despite the lack of legs on avatars (while in SL about 80% of the entrepreneurs are women according to Oberwager), and most areas never being visited by anyone other than their creators.

With Horizons and Facebook/Meta faltering while Second Life is flourishing and indirectly attracting attention of the largest bank in America through Tilia, Linden Lab has proven not only can it outdo Zuckerberg with virtual worlds, but also on attracting big money investors. While "The Zuck" can pretend our virtual world doesn't exist, in private he sure can't deny we do.

Sources: Forbes, Venturebeat, Petapixel, Ryan Schulta/Wall Street Journal
 

Bixyl Shuftan

Lab Announces Deal With JP Morgan, "Strategic Investment" On Tilia

 

In the Second Life blog yesterday, Tuesday October 18, Linden Lab announced a business deal concerning JP Morgan. 

We’re excited to share with the Second Life community some news about Tilia LLC, the all-in-one payments platform that powers the metaverse. Tilia  was originally built and continues to support the Second Life economy.

Tilia today announced that it has secured a new strategic investment from J.P. Morgan Payments. In addition to the investment, Tilia is also working with J.P. Morgan Payments to further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services.
Read the full announcement at Tilia.io

Wikipedia lists JP Morgan as the largest bank in the United States and the largest bank in the world "by market capitalization." 

More on this story later.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Lab Responds to Coronavirus Crisis: Cuts Prices For Nonprofit And Eductional Sims

In real life news, the number one story is the global Coronavirus epidemic. A few months ago, it was limited to China. But in a matter of weeks it has spread around the world. The result has been no shortage of panic and confusion. Travel bans are being set up, and major events are being postponed or canceled. "Social distancing," or avoiding large groups of people, is the best way to avoid catching and spreading the virus. But this means that schools are being closed, as well as charity events. So people are asking how do you educate people and raise money for charity if you can't meet up?

It's a question that those familiar with Second Life have long answered: take it online. And on Friday March 13, Linden Lab announced that it would "Expand Support and Reduce Prices for Education and Nonprofits."

We’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about how Second Life can help organizations, events, and conferences continue to safely and efficiently operate during the coronavirus outbreak.  

Many individuals and organizations are being affected by this unprecedented public health crisis, and we recognize that Second Life can provide an important and valuable way for people to stay in touch with their friends and co-workers amidst new social distancing protocols, mandated remote work requirements, and other precautionary measures.

The Lab has cut the tier for sims that qualify for education and nonprofit discounts down to "a flat $99/month." This "limited-time" offer is effective immediately as of last Friday.

The Lab is also letting businesses, colleges and universities, and charities know that, "We’re also here to assist you if your organization is exploring options in Second Life for new remote solutions for conferences, events or classes. Our support team is standing by to answer questions about how to get quickly started with a new private or public meeting or event space in Second Life. "

The Lab has set up a new webpage, or "micro-site" as it calls the page, "Remote Work and Event Solutions."

Second Life is the Internet's leading user-created virtual world that's been enjoyed by millions of people and organizations across the globe. For the past 17 years, major companies and education institutions have used Second Life for remote meetings, conferences and collaborations.

There would be a link to a page of videos of "case studies," such as Draxtor Despress' video of Istanbul University.

To view the blogpost in full, Click Here.

Sources: BBC News, USA Today  

Bixyl Shuftan

Flickr Users Cannot Use Free Accounts to Promote Second Life Business

According to an article in New World Notes, those whom use screenshots stored on Flickr to promote their Second Life business will have to upgrade their accounts to "Pro" if they haven't already. When Hayden Pierce asked if using pictures from the virtual world applied to it's rules concerning commercial activity and free accounts, he got the following answer.

For free accounts, linking to a store in Second Life is considered commercial activity. Linking to a blog that links to a store is also considered commercial activity.

If you were to link to a separate place in the blog, it would need to be clear it has nothing to do with purchasing poses, accessories, clothes, etc.

Why is Flickr forcing free users whom use their service to help advertise their wares to get Pro accounts? It seems they've been having some financial difficulties. In December, they were pleading for more users to upgrade their accounts. "We cannot continue to operate it at a loss as we’ve been doing." So it appears the move is to get more cash from it's Second Life users.

The responses to Hamlet Au's article were mostly accepting or supportive of Flickr's move. One commented, "it is only a clarification to all the folks who ignored Flickr's rules on commercial activity. It has been forbidden a while by now and many SL users ignored it. Can't say I am surprised they decided to take action." Another thought clever Second Life business owners might write it off on their taxes as an "advertising expense."

So it seems for Second Life business owners who use Flickr, it's go Pro or go home.

Source: New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Business Around Bellisseria

The new continent of Bellisseria has become the home to many residents thanks to the highly popular Linden Homes. But what is there to do around there? Actually, quite a bit. Gemma Cleanslate looked around, finding a library, a radio station, a HUD game, and more.

Read Gemma's story in Places.

LiaEx Freight and Shipping

Lia (Female Winslet) has been mentioned a few times in the Newser as a holiday decorator, a DJ, and the subject of a few cartoons. She recently contacted the Newser about her latest endeavor: the LiaEx Freight and Shipping Company. Deaflegacy met up with her at the shipping center in Janie's Landing, Avignon to interview her about the business. But Deaflegacy soon began seeing signs the company wasn't exactly a flawless model of efficiency.

Read Deaflegacy's article in Extra.

Petition To Linden Lab on Change.Org About Cashout Fee Hikes

On Wednesday May 29, Linden Lab would announce significant hikes to both the price of Premium accounts and the cashout fees for Linden dollars. The move has triggered quite a bit of discussion among the residents. While some are reacting by canceling Premium accounts, one person calling himself or herself "Second Life Residents" started a petition on change.org, "An Open Letter to Linden Lab."

While the person thanked Linden Lab for retracting their decision to cut back basic account group limits, "We are, however, disheartened by the other changes that you have announced that are scheduled to be implemented this month, specifically the doubling of the processing fee from 2.5% to 5%. While we understand that Linden Lab is a business that needs to profit in order to thrive, we feel it is necessary to remind you that we are running businesses, too. As you know, many of us are more than just hobbyists, we rely on the money we earn in Second Life to pay our bills, feed our children, and survive. Rather than simply protest the changes you have made, we come to you hoping for an open dialogue to both understand your needs to implement such a drastic and high percentage and possibly come up with alternative solutions for Linden Lab to generate profits without punishing those you depend on the most to keep Second Life going."

"if your creators and other earners in Second Life are not kept happy and confident in your decisions, you risk a great loss that would eventually render Second Life obsolete. We believe that the decisions you make should not be done in a vacuum. The voices of residents have given you guidance in some of the best choices you've made in the last several years. Bento, Linden Homes, new default avatars, animesh... all of this was achieved with input from resident creators. We feel there is a place for resident consultations beyond content creation. Second Life residents understand this platform on a level that Linden Lab employees cannot achieve without becoming immersive residents who shop, live, and love. We are the ones immersed. We are the community. We are the culture. We have a keen insight into our own needs and many of us are competent, intelligent, and capable enough to advocate skillfully on behalf of the residents."

The writer would go on to suggest Linden Lab hire consultants, "residents who can demonstrate competence and expertise in various Second Life areas ... and real life practical areas ..." and "discuss the possibility of negotiating the 5% processing fee. We understand that Linden Lab does have a final say, but we have a long list of innovative and insightful ideas of how Linden Lab might increase profits without relying on land and without creators having to bear such a severe financial burden."

The petition had already reached over 1600 signatures as of the writing of this article.

To read the petition in full, Click Here.

Addition, as of 2PM SL time, the petition had reached 1900 signatures.

Hat tip: Lia, Braelove

Bixyl Shuftan

Advertise in the Second Life Newser

Maybe you're starting your small business and want to get the word out. Or maybe you already have a business that's doing okay, but you think you could do better if more people knew about you. Maybe you you're a club owner whom is finding it harder to attract crowds than you thought and you need more people to know about your place and what makes it special. Maybe you're an aspiring DJ whom is looking for top clubs to ask for your services. You need a way to get the word out.

Why not advertise in Second Life's leading newsletter, the Second Life Newspaper. We're a talented team with years of experience with writing about the people, places, and events about the virtual world, and can help get the word about you to the thousands who read our publication. For the price of 1000 Linden dollars, we will do an advertorial article and show what your location and/or business has to offer. We have had numerous satisfied clients over the years, and will be happy to include you among them.

For better value for your money, why not consider a sponsorship? For 15,000 Linden dollars, your name will for three months appear on a banner near the top of the front page where readers will see it when they get their first look at the paper. The banner will link to the webpage or article of your choice. Secondary sponsorships are also available. For a 5,000 Linden dollar fee, the banner will appear near the top of one of the other sections besides the main page, such as "Places," for a three month time period.

While we do occasional advertising for adult-themed vanues, all advertorials must be "workplace safe," and we cannot show nudity or use profane language. Charity events, such as the Relay for Life, are normally written about free of charge.

We look forward to doing business with you, and helping you spread the word about what you have to offer to the exciting wider world of Second Life.

Advertise in the Second Life Newser

Maybe you're starting your small business and want to get the word out. Or maybe you already have a business that's doing okay, but you think you could do better if more people knew about you. Maybe you you're a club owner whom is finding it harder to attract crowds than you thought and you need more people to know about your place and what makes it special. Maybe you're an aspiring DJ whom is looking for top clubs to ask for your services. You need a way to get the word out.

Why not advertise in Second Life's leading newsletter, the Second Life Newspaper. We're a talented team with years of experience with writing about the people, places, and events about the virtual world, and can help get the word about you to the thousands who read our publication. For the price of 1000 Linden dollars, we will do an advertorial article and show what your location and/or business has to offer. We have had numerous satisfied clients over the years, and will be happy to include you among them.

For better value for your money, why not consider a sponsorship? For 15,000 Linden dollars, your name will for three months appear on a banner near the top of the front page where readers will see it when they get their first look at the paper. The banner will link to the webpage or article of your choice. Secondary sponsorships are also available. For a 5,000 Linden dollar fee, the banner will appear near the top of one of the other sections besides the main page, such as "Places," for a three month time period.

While we do occasional advertising for adult-themed venues, all advertorials must be "workplace safe," and we cannot show nudity or use profane language. Charity events, such as the Relay for Life, are normally written about free of charge.

We look forward to doing business with you, and helping you spread the word about what you have to offer to the exciting wider world of Second Life.

Man Buys Google.com For $12, Rewarded by Company

This Internet news story is several weeks old, but still worth talking about. It seems Google briefly lost the ownership of it's Internet domain name to a man in India, albeit for just a minute.

"I was learning more about the Google Domains interface," Sanmay Ved of Mandivi India would write in LinkedIn, "and typed google.com and clicked search domains. To my surprise, Google.com was showing as available!" He then used his credit card to purchase the domain, documenting his transactions on screenshots, and his transaction was confirmed, making him the new owner of Google's web domain.

But his ownership was brief. A minute later, he received an email stating his purchase was canceled, which Google could do as they owned the registration service, unlike a similar incident with Microsoft and it's domain in the United Kingdom. Some days later, he was contacted by their security team, stating he would get a reward for finding the error. Ved requested the reward go to charity, an educational group that runs 400 schools in India, "providing free education to more than 39,200 children in the slum, tribal and rural belts where child labor and poverty are widespread." Google agreed and doubled the amount.

"I can't shake that feeling that I actually owned Google.com," he was quoted as saying.

Reprinted from "Food on the Table"

Sources: LinkedIn, Business Insider, BBC News, PCmag.com

Bixyl Shuftan

Bright Canopy Resumes Service

Earlier this month in an inworld conference, the Bright Canopy team explained their new viewer aimed at allowing Second Life to be accessed normally through tablets, as well as older computers, had been hit with technical difficulties. A few days ago, they announced they were back in business.

Bright Canopy has been down now for almost a month. We have done our best to be transparent and communicative during the downtime. ...
We have been working with Frame on a new pricing plan that will allow us to offer the service immediately. We will continue working on options that will improve our costs on the backend and allow more  flexibility in the future.

Their pricing plan is $17 a month for 20 hours of use, with additional time at two cents a minute with a "30 minute minimum for sessions," or 60 cents minimum. For those using "10 hours or more of additional minutes, that will be charged immediately, otherwise additional minutes are charged at the beginning of the next month."

So if you use 5 additional hours during the month, you would spend $6 more . This would mean your credit card would be charged $21 at the beginning of the next month.

If you use 10 additional hours, you would be charged $12 now and $17 for your monthly subscription at the beginning of the next month.

Bright Canopy calls this a "fresh start," so everyone has to re-register at brightcanopy.com , even if they already have.

One can read more at their blog here, or email then at support@brightcanopy.com .

Hat tip: Daniel Voyager 

Breaking News: Linden Lab Orders Third-Party Linden Exchangers To Close By August

In a reversal of it's deal with third-party Linden exchange services wanting to stay in business two years ago, Linden Lab announced in it's blog that it was "Concluding the Authorized L$ Reseller Pilot Program."

In 2013, we introduced a pilot program for Authorized Linden Dollar (L$) Resellers. This pilot program was designed to give Second Life Residents additional options for purchasing Linden Dollars, particularly for those based outside the US.

Since then, we have expanded the payment options for Second Life users, and today, you can easily purchase L$ in more countries than ever before, using a credit card, PayPal, or Skrill, which supports a wide range of payment methods. We’ve found that these options support the vast majority of Second Life users, and we have therefore made the business decision to close the Authorized Linden Dollar Reseller pilot program.

We are contacting program participants directly to detail the next steps for them, and they will have approximately six weeks to sell off their L$ inventory.

As of August 1, 2015, the Authorized L$ Reseller pilot program will be closed, and the LindeX will be the only authorized place to purchase L$.

Among the Linden Exchangers is Podex, a long-term sponsor of Second Life Newser.

More details to come later on this stunning news development.

To view the announcement in full, Click Here.

Real Life Businesses in Second Life (2008)

In our looking back at Second Life Newspaper today, we see how it took a look at a trend that many residents today would find odd: real life car companies trying to use Second Life to advertise their automobiles. This was a time when the virtual world was much more popular in real life media, and with the public's attention here, some felt there was money to be made. In March, Dana Vanmoer wrote about her and James taking a look at some of the cars being offered by real life automakers. So what did they think?

Read the 2008 article in Design.

Tales From Podex: Money After Mardi Gras

By Bixyl Shuftan


It was a fairly typical mid-February day in the Podex Exchange. Even though it was winter, people still had a need for Lindens, whether for clothes, a new look, or just tipping the local DJ. And so they kept coming. And this being February, there was another reason: Valentines Day. Men, and some women came by to get Lindens for the purpose of getting something for their sweetheart, whether it be flowers, jewelery, or renting a private place for a day or two. They made some good business up to and during February 14.

But Valentines Day wasn't the only reason people were getting Lindens. There were fundraising events, such as the Second Life science-fiction convention which collected cash for cancer research. Then there was the big party that took place shortly after Valentines Day: Mardi Gras. Coming so soon after the day associated with romance, Some were calling it the singles' counterpart of the better-known holiday. And people would spend money for fancy outfits, or in the case of the guys for beads.

It was at one point that the attention of the tellers was drawn to a couple visitors at the door. Both were women, but one didn't have any feet but instead from the waist down had a serpentine, snakelike body, wearing a black and red dress. The other was a bit more normal, having legs, but was covered in white fur with a tail and rounded ears. She was shorter, wearing a purplish dress, and a lot of beads.

"Um, can we help you?" one of the tellers asked.

"Yes," spoke the shorter lady, "We're going shopping to get dresses for tonight's party, and we're likely to need a few more Lindens."

"Certainly, Ma'am. Just fill out this short form, and we'll make the trade through Paypal, Ukash, direct bank transfer, Bitcoin Wallet, and a number of other ways ."

The two stepped over, the smaller lady walking and the taller using her tail to push herself over.

"So what currency will you be using to exchange for the Lindens?" the teller went on?

"British Pounds," the white-furred lady answered.

"Certainly. Just put down the ammount you wish to exchange for, and the transfer should just take a few minutes."

"I have a bit of currency in another virtual world," the taller woman asked, "I don't suppose I could bring some of that over?"

"We can transfer and exchange with several other virtual world currencies to Second Life Lindens. We added the Adult Grid, Mobius, and Lost Paradise not long ago."

It didn't take long at all for the exchange to be made, and the two ladies soon had their Lindens.

"There you go," the teller told them, "Please come again soon."

"We probably will. Too bad no one will throw us Lindens like these beads earlier."

"From a Mardi Gras parade?

"Yeah. One of the floats pushed me into the water. I had to take of my shirt to wring it dry, and all of a sudden the guys nearby started tossing these beads at us."

They had a good chuckle, and the women went on their way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Coda sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO. Besides Second Life Lindens, it deals in the currencies of nine other virtual worlds.

Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Bixyl Shuftan

Tales From Podex: Nickles for the New Year

By Bixyl Shuftan


It was a fairly typical late December day at the Podex Exchange. The month had brought in many residents coming in to buy Lindens for presents to give friends and virtual family. This wasn't all, though. Some had bought them also for the Relay for Life Christmas Expo.

Between people coining in, the staff would talk about the numerous Winter and Christmas displays they had heard of and talked about seeing those they hadn't yet.In the middle of the conversation, a figure walked in. He was dressed in formal whites, with a black top hat with a "Happy New Year" sign on it. He himself was covered with black and white fur, with a large bushy tail with white in the middle of black.

The tellers looked his way, one saying, "Can we help you?"

"Yes, spoke the visitor, "I've had to spend my Lindens on Christmas presents, and before I can get any money back, I get talked into hosting a New Year's Party, decorations and all. So I need a bit more cash."

"Of course Sir, we sell Lindens for a variety of international currencies. We've also began accepting Litecoin and Dogecoin virtual currencies, in addition to Bitcoin."

"I did pick up a few Dodgecoins after some talk about them at Luskwood. I could use those to pay."

"Certainly Sir. Just fill out these forms and you'll get your Lindens."

"I've been traveling to InWorldz time to time. Is it true you have an office there?"

"Yes Sir we do, we also have offices in Avination, Virtual Highway, Zandramas, Adult Grid, Lost Paradise, and Mobius Grid."

"Neat, though at the moment, my income in InWorldz is higher than my expenses."

"Well Sir, in InWorldz we can now buy it's local currency, also known as 'Izzies,' from you there. Regulations prevent the direct trading of Izzies for Lindens, but you can use the US dollars, Euros, or several other International currencies, as well as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin, from any transaction there to buy Lindens here."

"That's good news! Though in the meantime, there's the party."

It only took a short ammount of time to fill out the paperwork, and the exchange was soon made.

"There you are Sir. Thank you for your business."

"You're welcome. I guess my Dogecoins helped me 'doge' a bullet."

They had a good chuckle, and the visitor went about his way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Code sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.


Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Tales From Podex: Trick or Treat

It was Halloween day at the Podex Exchange. October had been a rather active month, with events such as the Burn2 festival taking place, in addition to many Halloween parties and haunted houses. Longtime residents came to get Lindens to buy costumes, and the events attracted some newcomers to the Grid, and needing cash they would come here for reasons related to this months events, and others. And of course between customers coming in, the tellers would talk about their own trips to these places. One had also gone to Luskwood's birthday celebrations. He'd thought he'd stand out like a sore thumb, but as it turned out he was welcomed.

During a break in their talking, their attention was drawn to the door. They saw not one visitor, but two. One was noticeably much smaller than the other. He was wearing a small white sheet over his head, and had a bag in his hand.

"Trick or treat!" the smaller visitor greeted the tellers.

The tellers saw this and chuckled, "Happy Halloween," they greeted back.

"Hyuk. Y'all 'll hafta pardun mah nephew," the taller visitor told the tellers, "He insistud thar'd be treats heah, not jest th' houses 'round heah."

"Booooooo!" the younger visitor went, "I'm a ghost."

"Not a problem Sir," one teller told him, "we're prepared for any eventuality," and he held out some lollipops.

"Weeee!" The youth went over to collect his prize.

The older visitor looked around, "Mebe as long as ahum heah, I should git me some more'o them thar Lindens."

"Certainly Sir," the teller told him, "We sell Linden dollars for a variety of international currencies."

"How 'bout jess good 'ol Uh-mericn' dollars?"

Certainly Sir, just sign these forms and you'll be all set."

It didn't take long for the paperwork to be long, and the cash was exchanged.

"Thanks fellers," the customer told them, "Ah guess we'll be on our way, hyuk."

"Certainly Sir, hope you both have a Happy Halloween."

"We will!" the younger visitor told them, "My neighbor's told me this place had a lot of 'spirit,' so I came trick or treating as a ghost."

They all had a good chuckle, and the visitors went on their way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Code sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.


Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Tales From Podex: Surf's Up

By Bixyl Shuftan


Each month seemed to offer something different to the tellers of the Podex Exchange. In June, the people coming by were talking about the Second Life Birthday, including a few more people than usual new to the world after hearing about it and coming by. In July, there was the Relay for Life weekend, and people coming by to buy Lindens to donate for a favorite team, or to the Relay funds in general. By the time August came around, the Relay was winding down, and there were more college-age residents hoping to relax a little before it was time for the next semester the following month. Between times customers came in, the tellers would talk amongst themselves about various happenings, such as the final Relay event on August 31st, the Lovecraft festival, or something that had seemingly come up from out of the blue: the "Ice Bucket Challenge."

In the middle of one such discussion, someone walked in. He wasn't wearing much, just a pair of swimming trunks. His body looked like it was made for the water, his blueish skin had a few stripes in places with fins in places on his arms and legs with the largest one on his back. He had a long thick tail that poked through the swimwear in the back. He carried a surfboard with him.

"Um, can I help you?" One of the tellers asked.

"Yeah dude," the trunked visitor asked, "I need to get some extra lin-dios to grab a spot at this bodacious place that just opened up a surfer spot, Sunny Beach in the Sunweaver Estates, man. It's real epic."

"Um, sure. Well, we offer the best rates of third party Linden exchangers, and will sell Linden dollars for a wide range of world currencies."

"Cool beans dude, but I'll just be usin' good ol' Ameri-can dollars, man."

"Certainly Sir, just fill out this form. If you've never been here before, new clients are limited to 25,000 Lindens in purchases."

"Whoah dude, I don't need that much man. I'm jess getting a few parcels, not half a freakin' sim."

"No problem, just fill it out and you'll get your Lindens."

The visitor soon took care of the form and the electronic transfer was quickly done.

"There you are Sir, all done."

"Sweet! Now I don't have so far to travel to Sunny Beach, man."

"That's good, plan to be hanging ten soon?"

"Yep, though they keep suggesting I need a new gun or somethin.' Half the time I'm out there with people, this red fox keeps sayin' 'we're going to need a bigger board.'"

They had a good chuckle, and the visitor went on his way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Code sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.


Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Tales From Podex: In the Black, and White

By Bixyl Shuftan


It was a day in late July at the Podex Exchange. Customers came in as usual to purchase Linden dollars for whatever means they wanted. Some chatted with the tellers a little, talking about getting some swimwear for the beach. Others talked about the big event this month, the Relay for Life Weekend. People from across the Grid would be gathering at the over forty sims around the American Cancer Society area, with numerous exhibits up. Between clients coming in, the tellers talked amongst themseves, some saying they too would be checking out the Relay area after the weekend when most of the people were gone.

It was while they were talking that someone walked in. He was dressed only in a simple pair of shorts, but his appearance wasn't so simple. His hair was white, with his body covered with a coat of fur. It was mostly black, with a white chest and stomach, but his large fluffy tail was mostly black with two distinct white stripes going down it's length.

The tellers stared at him. "Stinky the Skunk?" one finally asked.

The monochrome visitor chuckled, "I'm not him. He's slightly shorter, has a higher-pitched voice," he paused, "and doesn't wear pants. I get out a bit more, and some places require them for anything with opposeable thumbs."

"Oh, well, what can we do for you?"

"The same as everyone else who comes here I imagine, getting a few Linden dollars."

"Certainly," spoke another teller, "As a Linden exchange service, we offer reasonable rates. Have you been a resident of the Grid for less than thrity days?"

"Well no, would there be a problem if I was?"

"Newer residents, those whom have been here less than thirty days, are limited to 25,000 Lindens of purchases per week."

"Oh, well it's not quite that high."

"Just fill out this form then. You'll need to chose which of several international currencies you intend to purchase the Linden dollars with."

The client filled out the forms, and soon the transfer was made.

"Great, well, onto the Relay."

"So you're headed to the Relay for Life?"

"Yeah, that's why I needed the Lindens, to support my friends there. I'd offer to be a builder, but my construction skills, well, they stink."

They had a good chuckle, and the visitor went about his way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Code sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.


Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Bixyl Shuftan