Question of the Week - 1/122/08 - 1/25/08 - Second Life

[If you choose to respond to the question of the week, it is due on Friday at 5:00 PM, and must be at least 200 words.]

Question: Would you play second life, invest your money, and build a business?

Background: Second Life is an online virtual community, in some ways similar to the Sims. One assumes an identity, much like a role playing game (RPG) and interacts with others in the community. There is a teen-only as well as an "everyone" version of Second Life (abbreviated SL). Here's some wikipedia info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life. However, there is a difference because you can invest real US dollars in SL. One US dollar equals $265 Lindens (that's what SL money is called). You can buy Lindens on ebay. Here's one auction: 1 million Lindens are currently going for $4042.99 (see this auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/L-1000000-1M-LINDEN-LINDENS-DOLLARS-SECOND-2nd-LIFE-SL_W0QQitemZ110216451342QQihZ001QQcategoryZ151538QQcmdZViewItem ) So, what's been happening in SL is that banks have opened up that have been swindling people of their savings with a ponzi scheme (see Wikipedia's explanation of a ponzi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme). It's gotten so bad that banks in SL have been ordered to close by today. See this news article: http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2008/01/17/sl-banks-scramble-for-survival-ahead-of-deadline/ So, having a SL persona can be risky. But, one can rent land, build a business, and make real US dollars money there too. Here's one last article from Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm.