Buying Habits in Second Life Communities

BUYING HABITS IN SECOND LIFE COMMUNITIES

Gustavo Esparza
Genie Luzwick
Alex George-Johnson
Joshua Liu

The economy in the virtual world of Second Life (SL) has been receiving more attention each year since the birth of its existence in June 2003. SL has an internal currency, which is called the Linden dollar (L$), curiously looking like the abbreviation of Second Life backwards. Although this is probably a coincidence, it is not too outlandish to say that the economy in SL, run by Linden Labs, is one of the main drivers of the world’s popularity and evolution.
There are many different ways to make an income in this microeconomy. The easiest and most straightforward way is to buy Lindens with real money through PayPal. The current exchange rate of SL as of 3/16/2009 was L$262 for one U.S. dollar although it fluctuates between 270 to 300 Lindens. Another method is by “camping,” which is waiting for goods to come to you rather than you going to get the goods. One can go seek out free virtual goods in certain areas, such as the Freebie Warehouse or Vienna Freebies. Another huge way is through becoming an entrepreneur; for example, starting your own Steampunk goggles retail store or Rollerskate store. You could get a wage laborer to manage your store when you are not present. You could also be that wage laborer. You could be a part of the, what some call it, unreal estate market by selling or renting land or houses like SL’s “Donald Trump,” Anshe Chung, who has already made over $1 million in assets in the virtual world (Reuters 2006). The average profit as of 2006 has been “less than US$10 per month, and about 90 percent made less than US$200 a month” per person (Reuters 2006). So, one can see, for many, it is not a game to support the funds needed for one’s life. It is first and foremost a virtual world.

Style

Overall, people simply purchase in game what suits their style of avatar. Residents could easily spend their entire time on Second Life and not put a single cent or Linden in this case, and still enjoy their experience. As discussed by Martin (2008) unlike some online communities and games, in Second Life, your avatar does not require you to satisfy any biological functions in order to stay alive, i.e. you cannot die (with the exception of battle simulator regions). “Virtual goods offer an exemplary case of this subsumption because they lack use-value and yet continue to be bought and sold at a rapid rate” (Martin 2008). In other words, though not necessary in the survival of an individual’s Second Life experience, people still spend real life money on clothing and other trinkets. Like the people we talked to in our Second Life research, we too soon found out that though not necessary, buying objects for our avatars to wear and use makes the experience more interesting. In Second Life there are many areas with stores that hand out free objects not surprisingly called “freebies”. But to own something that you actually paid for with Lindens gives you a bit of a social boost. To have money in world, you either have to work for it, as in real life, or just buy Lindens, with real currency on the Second Life website. By doing so, it says something about your avatar and as a person in general. It makes a person less of a “noob” because it shows that they are more dedicated to SL by actually putting your money and time into it; and by doing so, you are buying more virtual goods to stand out more as an individual. Thus to fit in more with your group, be it furries, etc., one “[accomplishes] this task is through the purchase of smaller but no less significant virtual goods” (Martin 2008). By buying objects that reflect an individual’s group in SL they not only look like what they want to be seen as, they become it.
“While buying a sailboat in offline life may allow individuals to associate themselves with sailing, it does not guarantee the skills necessary to safely take a boat out on open water. In contrast, buying a virtual scripted sailboat in Second Life allows the resident not only the feeling of being a sailor, but the ability to be one as well” (Martin, 2008).

Real Estate

Second Life can be a medium for individuals to achieve and own something they may never have a chance to in real life. One can easily own a mansion, a luxury car, a Picasso or two, etc, all for a fraction of the cost of one in real life. Property ownership in second life is a good way to show off an individual’s tastes and skills in building. Some people we talked to spend over thirty-five U.S. dollars a month to rent a plot of land in which to set up their virtual homes. “It is rare that individuals open their offline homes to anyone who wishes to enter, and yet virtual homes are frequently accessible to other users, if not the entire environment’s population” (Martin 2008). Those property owners we met were quick to welcome us to their homes and happily give us a tour. They were proud to show off what they had spent their Lindens on, or what they had spent hours building. One person showed me their four story gothic castle, nicely perched on the side of a cliff overlooking the virtual sea. The plot itself was a generous 8,000 square meters large. The owner stated that in SL she has her own castle and a small forest, but in real life lived in a small two bedroom flat in the “trashy” side of Sydney. The scene she described reminded us of Hiro Protagonist from the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, “Hiro has a nice big house in the Metaverse, but has to share a 20-by-30 in Reality. Real estate acumen does not always extend across universes” (Stephenson, 1992).
Almost everybody Second Life we talked to wanted to own virtual property in game, but affordability was the top reason most chose to remain vagrant. “About ten years ago, when the Street protocol was written, Hiro and some of his buddies pooled their money and bought one of the first development licenses, created a little neighborhood of hacklers” (Stephenson, 1992). One way which people get around the issue is to find friends with similar interests and goals in Second Life, and pool money to own land as a group. This requires that individuals trust each other enough to be financially responsible for their monthly tier (rental cost) contribution to the land. One person failing to pay their part can jeopardize the whole group which can lead to the reclaiming of their land by ether the land owner (whom actually owns the land, just rents plots within it), or the Lindens; thus loosing building rights on the parcel. Trust is important in these quasi-business arrangements, as there is no legal way to hold somebody accountable if they fail to pay their rent or in some cases, run off with the group’s pooled rent money. “It is likely that players in these encounters do not know one another. Players routinely offer unsolicited help to strangers as well as responding when asked… A collaborative atmosphere of “respect” for all players is a desired aim articulated by many guilds and reinforced as players help others, mindful of help they have received” (Nardi Harris 2006). In World of Warcraft, as Nardi and Hariss discuss, helping others is a great way to form positive social bonds; the same applies to Second Life. One way that people help each other is to give another individual Lindens. One person stated that she gives “money to new players to help them buy avatar skins and shapes so they don’t look like such noobs and get treated better by other players who have been playing SL for a long time.” She also jokingly stated that she just didn’t want to see ugly avatars running around, but moved on to state that she found out that if she helped new comers to SL they would be her friends and in turn later help her out as well is she ever needed to borrow Lindens. Thus the golden rule is key to building strong social bonds; treat others as you would like to be treated.

Victorian Steampunk in Caledon

--“I think that novels that leave out technology misrepresent life as badly as Victorians misrepresent life by leaving out sex.” –Kurt Vonnegut (A Man without a Country)

To briefly explain what you are about to get into. Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and sci-fi that became popular in the 19th century. It is typically set in the Victorian era. It is set in a world where steam power is still widely used. This is what the world would be like if steam power won over electric power.
One thing I have noticed about this particular community in Second Life is its lack of sex-related paraphernalia. This fact allows for a more interesting pattern of buying habits. Don’t get me wrong, yay! sex, but seriously, it clutters the space. Anyway, in Interview 2 with Samuel, he told me that his most common purchases within SL have been brass goggles. If you’re not familiar with Steampunk culture, brass goggles alone can make someone be considered in steampunk attire because it is one of the culture’s main symbols in clothing. Samuel went on to say that he also has purchased “airships and boots,” although “[he] makes a lot of his own stuff.” I asked him how long he’s been on Second Life, and he said about 3 years. This makes sense because it takes quite awhile to learn how to make excellent clothing. As far as my eye could see, he had a pretty dashing avatar. Going on with the interview, Samuel explained that newbies typically buy “AVs [avatars], clothes, land, whatever the new fun item is.” JOEJoe, from interview 1, and Susie, from interview 3, thought that the most purchased item was clothing for avatars. Both JOEJoe and Samuel agreed that, although they do make some money in SL through mostly sculpting prims into objects, they do not make enough to cover their RL (real life) expenses When asked if males or females purchase more items, several did not have answers, but Samuel guessed that women spend more on clothes; however, he sees males purchasing quite a bit in Caledon as well.
JOEAll these interviewees agreed in their answers that free clothing could be of really high quality and that one does not need money to survive in Caledon. JOE went on to give me a whole folder of landmarks (places to teleport) of the best freebies he has found during the 2 and a half years he has been playing SL. He explains that all his clothes are modified freebies and that he has only spent “$8 in 2 years… expert cheapskate.” The two items he bought with those 8 bucks was his fox avatar for $3.50 and MystiTool (which is a hud with a bunch of tools on it) for $4.00.
I did not get the best answers when asking random people why they chose Caledon as their place to live. Most of them respond with, “it’s a cool place,” which does not explain too much. However, maybe the concept is that simple. They found a cool place, and they stuck to it. If it’s working for them, why change it?

Sex in Second Life

The sexually active population traverses racial, geographical and age boundaries not challenged by the other clicks of the game. The only criteria needed are to be over the age of 18 (a parameter that seems to be poorly regulated) and be a participant in the erotic community. This participation comes in many forms. The bulk of our research came from interactions with those that actively participate in the marketing of various services, including sex and the selling of sexual products and animations. In asking a series of open-ended questions, we found that the motivation behind many of the erotic dancers and virtual prostitutes varied greatly but their desire for income remained consistent. No matter how great their drive was to gain Lindens, the monetary unit in Second Life, their spending habits were consistent with one of two options. They either spent all of their income on Second Life, keeping the economic cycle within the game running or they turned all of their Lindens into real world money. Although some contest that they partake in such personal acts because it mimics their real life occupation (in most cases, exotic dancers), others state that it is strictly for the monetary aspect. Second life acts as a means of gaining extra income. These claims are contradictory in that when asked “what is the most common use for the money you receive in second life?” The same avatars most frequently responded that the money is put back in the Second Life and used for various clothing upgrades, animations and toys.
On the other hand vast amounts of income can be made through Second Life’s sexual community alone. One gentleman (for the purpose of this argument he will be called Jim) became a millionaire by revolutionizing the erotic industry nearly single handedly. Jim has been lovingly dubbed the Hugh Hefner of Second Life and advanced the sex industry through his creation of numerous stores, selling a variety of intricately carved beds and sexual toys. Although he, as every successful avatar must put money back into the economy but this serves as a testimony this ever-expanding facet of the virtual world. Ultimately, we feel that the use for the money gained from the virtual world is based on the time spent in Second Life and the amount that is originally achieved. While we are not saying that escorts are any less prevalent than the sexual business tycoons, people such as Jim are clearly business minded and devote hours per day on the improvement their companies. Jim, for instance, makes approximately ten dollars per mass produced, and highly customizable bed not including the animations and apparel needed to perform on such an object. This is opposed to the average hourly rate of some of the most popular escorts of about 2000 Lindens (calculated escort business cards from varying locations). Although the prices are nearly the same Jim exhibits items that have a reusability factor, contrary to the escorts. To compensate for this difference many escorts equip themselves with the latest and greatest female and male anatomy and costume articles in order to entice their customers. But is there a factor that determines whether the Lindens gained in Second Life are put back into its virtual economy or spent in the actual world? According to many of the dancers and escorts that we interviewed the cost of the body parts, clothing and animations consumes most of their income. This however is a personal choice. I met an exotic dancer who stated that at one point Second Life paid her rent. She went through a period without it and since the economic recession she has again found Second Life as a means to an end. She earns on average 6000 to 7000 Lindens per night, approximately 750 dollars per month and a decent monthly payment on a home. Thus the decision to invest the money gained online was made out of necessity. I feel that this is a powerful drive. Those that play Second Life strictly for entertainment rarely have a need to convert their revenue to actual cash. They typically make less due to a lack of drive and therefore spend it on petty items rather than saving up for real world consumption. I feel that those that are driven to perform sexually explicit acts already are in dire straits and use second life as a way to make ends meet. There are exceptions to every rule especially in a virtual world. In 2007 the decision was made to move the adult industries to a particular section of the map with a specific tag that represents an 18 and older zone. For fear of the effect on the economy this has been under debate for years. The thought is that by taking the adult shops out of the regular, high traffic areas that it will have a dramatic effect on Second Life’s economy. In our research we found that second life shoppers are very goal oriented. For example they know the item they want to buy, purchase it and move on. This is contrary to the window shopper of the actual world, who roams from shop to shop with a vague idea of the ideal purchase. Because of this idea we do not feel that moving the community would have such a drastic effect as predicted. This in fact might have advantages. By having all the shops of a particular genre in one specific area it would add a level of convenience not currently found in this virtual world. The idea that the services in these areas may be falling on to the screens of the younger generation is a very real possibility. But the fact that the designers of second life are defending the erotic industry says a lot in itself. It acknowledges the idea that sex sells, even in virtual worlds and that the economy would not be the same without it.
Second Life serves as its own economic world and the buying and selling of erotic services are a large part of this market. As there is a demand for anonymous virtual sex and sexual acts there will be avatars, run by real people, willing to supply this need. Many of my interviews tapped on the subject of privacy and the idea that although these intimate virtual acts are occurring, there is no real life information being exchanged and therefore one feels safe to participate without the weight of their inhibitions. Second life creates a market for the naturally sexual human population as well as the introverted shy types. This virtual world offers an environment safe from physical harm, STDs, and gives the buyer and seller a sense of control. If one feels like something inappropriate is happening or unsafe in anyway, all one would have to do is turn off the computer. The erotic services offered on Second Life appeals to all different personalities, which contribute, to its extreme popularity and thriving financial system and fast cash flow among members.

The World of Furries

Social structures and cultures both exist in the real world and in online communities. In the online community Second Life there lives a community of players known as furries, who are either play as anthropomorphic animals or as feral animals. These animals include hybrids, of various animal races, mythical creatures. The furry culture is subcategory of second life society.
In SL we interviewed, conversed, and spend time with various furries to get a better understanding of the culture and to be more specific their economic tendencies in the world of second life where RL, or real world, money is exchanged for digital commodities such as avatars, clothing, accessories, and role playing items. Since 99% of the goods that are available on second life are produced by the players, the money is transferred from one player to another to another (EGC 10). Furries were a population of interest due to their high occurrence in the literature on SL, and that they are part of a population which other than nation of origin does not have a representative population, but has many appearances in cultures such as the Kemono art in Japan, Indian animal spirits, and Greek mythical creatures such as sirens. Our interest originated from modern anthropomorphic art in the mass media where characters such as “Tony the Tiger, Bugs Bunny, Sly Cooper, Starfox” whom are all characters seen in everyday life. To interview furs we began our research off of SL in a furry art community which is similar to deviant art, but the primary users are furs who are posting their own work without the fear of being trolled. Through this site we managed to join a forum and interview two members prior to engaging members of the SL community in SL. After the interviews we continued on to participant observation and informal interviews about the community. This course of action was taken because we were more familiar with the forum setting, and my account on the forums had built enough of a reputation through posting and time on the forums to not be seen as a griefer or a troll by the community. The furry community is primarily an internet based community that rarely congregates outside of conventioneering, and fur suiting due to the negative perception of furs through popular culture and RL mass media.
We have found that the furry community is stereotyped as perverts or furverts as they are more commonly called. I have found this to be a semi truth because most of the furs that I had interviewed were in clean zones where no adult material or adult role playing allowed. While exploring an island there was a specific warning against “yiffing” or having fur sex publicly, having their adult parts on, which are attachable phalluses out in these public areas. Generating these objects was allowed, but they were not allowed on the AVs (avatars). My informants from my multiple interviews did clarify that there is a sexual side to the furry community where one informant stated that “furry simulations are all about sex”, and another informant stated that his income from SL was partially through the selling of digital sex toys such as butt plugs/pony play tails. This informant continued to expand on his market of accessories that he had sold to reap a profit which he had used for his own expenses. The economy of second life has a major market for accessories, avatars, and clothing. As in Snowcrash’s Metaverse your avatar can look any way you want it, through customization and the utilization of various in game features which allows a user to program their own clothing, avatar, accessories and even homes. The Metaverse continues to have similarities where individuals who “can’t afford their own custom made avatars… have to buy off-the-shelf avatars” (SC37). Furries in RL only have the option of becoming their “fursona” their fur’s character by dressing in a fur suit, but in second life the player has the ability to bring out his or her fursona to life through the self customizable and user generated systems that also open a market for avatar, clothing, and object builders. Avatars also come in off the shelf versions which can either be customized through tinkering, or recombination with different parts that are on the market. When purchasing avatars, Lindens, the digital currency of SL, are transferred from one account to store owners account. The avatar that I had purchased was 500L which is roughly two dollars US. This avatar was chosen for me by another fur who wished for me to fit in better and live my SL furry social life as a golden anthropomorphic fox. Although the amount of two dollars is relatively low being in a furry avatar is like the repertoire that I had accumulated on forums by posting. A furry AV made engaging furries much less awkward due to the fear of griefers, and the possibility of being out of character in a role playing environment and being thrown off the island in a cage. The furry community that I had experienced was a very open and friendly environment in SL. All of the furs that I had met were very friendly to other furs and always welcomed a new person teleporting or appearing in the area. There was a good deal of role playing where individuals were shooting guns which took out a life meter in the game and exploded random default wood cubes all over the screen. The individuals whom we were able to come into contact with assisted me in de-noobing myself by adding a profile to my character, and had even given me the locations of places that I would be able to purchase new clothing to fit in better.
The community of furries on second life is growing due to the large population of furs already online and in the game. The ability of furs to express their fursonas in an environment where they truly are not exposing themselves in RL makes SL and the internet a gateway for self expression. The self expressive environment opens a market targeted at the furs in SL. These markets include various body part shops, accessories, animations, avatars, and clothing. Each of these different stores is capable of producing income and the proliferation the economy in Second Life. Although there seems to be a large market and many things that can be done in SL, the most common activity that I witnessed was standing around and conversing in the presence of people like themselves, which was the primary activity that the people we interviewed engaged in when they would log into the world of Second Life.

Conclusion

A big and weighty question in which to ask right about now is if SL’s microeconomy will flourish and become the next “big thing.” If so, why do we not model our real life economy after this evolving system? Sure, it has its flaws, and a lot of those flaws have to do with SL’s server rather than the economy itself. If the server was to crash, transactions could be lost; money could go up into thin air. The government is already benefiting from SL. Although Lindens specifically cannot be taxed, when the money is converted into U.S. dollars, the person who converted the money will be taxed. So, if the government is already taking notice to this online virtual economy, there must be some merit. Bills are in the process of being put through legislation that will put more controls on virtual economies such as Second Life’s. Maybe the microeconomy will not become what we use for our base system, but it is quite possible that it will become an integral part of our whole.

Citations

Reuters, A. “Surge in High-end Second Life Business Profits.” Thompson Reuters, 2006. http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2006/12/05/surge-in-high-end-second-life-business-profits/
Reuters, A. “Anshe Chung battles ‘PR Hype’ with some of Her Own.” Thompson Reuters, 2006.
http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2006/11/29/anshe-chung-battles-pr-hype-with-some-of-her-own/
Martin, J. “Consuming Code: Use-Value, Exchange-Value, and the Role of Virtual Goods in Second Life.” Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. 1(2), 2008.
Ondrejka, C. “Escaping the Gilded Cage: User Created Content and Building the Metaverse.” 2004.
Thomas M. Malaby, Coding Control: Governance and Contingency in the Production of Online Worlds. First Monday, Special Issue #7, 2006.
Freedman, R. “How to Make Real Money in Second Life.” McGraw Hill: New York, 2008.
Harris, J., & Nardi, B. (2006). Strangers and friends: collaborative play in world of warcraft.
Stephenson, N. (1992). Snow Crash. New York: Bantam.