Although 3-dimensional looks are nothing new to the social networking arena (as the Sims experimented with this previously), a company called Second Life has created an environment that is not only fun to be in, but also profitable as well.
(Fox News) Created by Linden Lab in San Francisco, Second Life is the closest thing to a parallel universe existing on the Internet. […]
More than 900,000 users have signed up to build homes, form neighborhoods and live out alternative versions of their lives in the 3-D, computer-generated world. Players spend around $350,000 a day on average or a rate of $13 million a year.
After creating a profile I was presented with the opportunity to upgrade to a premium account. Unfortunately I declined and discovered the law of supply and demand to be in effect as I landed at a beach with no clothes on.
One great feature about Second Life is that you can create and sell items to other users online and eventually convert your “Linden dollars” to real money, although the exchange rate may be inflated against you.
Although minors can sign up for the service (13 years and up) they may (or at least their parents) be in for a shock to find out that Second Life often mimicks reality, which may setup the company for future lawsuits of indecent exposure (and other things I will not go into here).
Second Life seems to be taking social networking to a new level, although if more sites like these continue to push the edge, will we all end up living in the Matrix?
Note: There is no spoon.
