One of the problems with creating a something to do sim, is monetising it to offset tier costs. Many people find USD$295 a month a step too far when it comes to creating an entertaining experience. Old models included selling commercial spaces to merchants. The rise of the marketplace has somewhat negated the need for merchants to have such spaces or invest time in affiliate systems for sim owners to have their own stores selling merchandise for others.
However the affiliate model still has potential, and ideally it could benefit from a royalty system such as Cloud Party has, but we haven’t got that in Second Life yet However maybe sold items could come with two versions, the stand alone version and the resale version, whereby the resale version can be sold with commission going to both the merchant and sim owner.
How this would work would be that you’d buy buildings, props, scenery, accessories etc. for your sim and then they’d be set for sale, so there’s no need for a store as such, but the items can be purchased. A sim owner would receive a commission from sales on their sim, along of course with the original merchant getting their fair share too. This also has the advantage of exemplifying use of said creations, so that people can see how well these items perform in a setting where they are used.
Then there are other areas of collaboration that are under explored. 7 Seas fishing is a good example of collaboration, when you setup a 7 seas fishing area you also get a 7 seas affiliate vendor, it’s a small item, doesn’t take up much space but people who see your 7 Seas area may decide they want one of their own and buy said items from you. I’d like to see more of this sort of thing.
I’m not suggesting stores don’t work at all, when it comes to stores the more old fashioned affiliate shop setup can work, a store in a roleplaying town selling suitable period clothing is a perfect fit for a roleplaying sim. The merchant doesn’t have to pay weekly rentals, just allow their items to be sold on said sim. This can go beyond clothing and onto weapons, avatars, food etc. When people are walking around a sim in items purchased from a merchant, then there’s a business opportunity for said merchant to become the merchant of choice on that sim.
Merchants, like everyone, have limited time, but it would be nice if merchants could engage more with sim owners who utilise their wares.
Second Life needs merchants and it needs places for people to utilise the goods they purchase from merchants. Sims that provide people with something to do have always struggled, this is nothing new, even without the rise of the marketplace.
Years ago we had camping, it was hardly an exciting activity but it could be a social activity. Yes people gamed camping, but people also met others, made new friends and chatted whilst camping, there was a social aspect to it. Getting the balance right is important and with camping the balance seemed to be skewed, so it was removed as a useful tool, because it was widely abused.
We all, I hope, want people to stay in Second Life and we all, I hope, want Second Life to prosper. For Second Life to propser we need people to have something to do. I’m not in the camp who thinks merchants should be required to own land to participate in Second Life. I am however in the camp who wants to see people who are creating experiences, being encouraged to create them, the current system is stifling that creativity and I’d like to see areas explored as to how we can reverse this trend, admittedly it’s not easy but surely steps can be taken to help improve the current situation.