It’s Money Honey! A Guide to Finding a Job and Making Lindens in Second Life- Debby Sharma Reporting...

Unlike real world where there is always necessity to fulfill our basic needs, comforts and luxuries, in virtual worlds we do have these needs as well. You may often hear virtual world being an escape for us, a window to live our imaginative life to the fullest. So, when there is no requirement of any necessity to be fulfilled, we still love to shop.

Who does not like to shop? Our bags are full of items we used once in our entire virtual life time or never used at all. Most of us know how to bag the pennies and feel the struggle.

Here are a few tips for the starters and a list for the existing Second Life residents:

The following are the ways to earn lindens if you are just starting.

·         Trivia Balls

There are clubs in Second Life that have trivia balls. A random general knowledge question is asked in local. If you give correctly answer you get a few lindens.

 For a starter this is one of the best ways to earn some. One such venue is located in Wasteland Reloaded http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sommerinsel/225/34/23 , answer trivia questions to win L$2.

You can also use your event search and type in the keyword “trivia” to find other  places to earn lindens with your knowledge.

·         Contest Boards

One of the main activities which helped me purchase my first home in second life are contests. Clubs across the grid host contests to dress according to a theme. To participate in most contests, it it required to join their group as a VIP and click the “Join Contest” on the Contest Board. After about two hour or at the end of the shift, voting starts. Some clubs either select one winner or three or as many winners as they choose. Participants may ask for votes during the voting time if the rules permit. They vary between venues hosting contests.  Contest participants can win a substantial of amount of lindens this way.

 Most clubs put in L$250 which is split among winners. However, clubs may give out as high as L$2000 up for grabs. For example: Club Vanity http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Carnival%20Land/93/198/1804 Energy Club http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Energy/103/112/21

·         Traffic Huds

There are many huds available on the SL marketplace. Add the hud to your outfit. Each hud has  info on how to operate.  Always read the info before you start. Once you wear the hud, you will be given a place. Teleport to the place and move around for 2 or 3 minutes to get paid. Only condition is you can’t stand at a place for  a long time or be away from keyboard. These were introduced to increase traffic in a region. It was once upon a time a good suggestion for business in SL. However, it has lost its magic for the business in the later years. For a person wearing a traffic hud, one can earn as much as L$20 per hour. A few links to get huds on market place are;

Hunt for gold coins https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Linden-Gold-Hunter-HUD-Earn-Linden-by-hunting-for-coins/2265556

Click on magic crystals https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/MAGIC-CRYSTALS-MONEY-HUD-Earn-Lindens-playing/3809599

Pay per visit hud https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/PayPerVisit-hud-earn-linden-by-visiting-locations/5813278

Catch fish https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Linden-Fish-Hunter-HUD-Earn-Linden-by-hunting-for-fish/2622187 

·         Sploder

Once you have a few lindens in hand, you can play the Sploder at clubs. Pay the Sploder and you might get lucky and win some extra lindens. At some sploders, you may have a loss too. So, I prefer the no lose sploders. If you pay L$20, there is guarantee that you would get it back. The hope is you might get much more and never lose. One such club you may want to visit is The drunken lizard beach http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Portimao/212/158/22.

      Park your avatar

There are some places where you may park your avatar for a while to get paid. Sometimes you have the option to go away from keyboard for long time and just camp. It is one of the ways to increase traffic and make some easy lindens.

Neko Launge http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Volokov/23/98/286 pays L$1per hour. While I was visiting I saw old avatars about 4 years old doing the same.

The following are  ways to earn lindens if you are an existing player in Second Life. You may also adapt the above ways too. These require either a few Linden Dollars or experience to start off.

·         Affiliate Business

Under the business category look for affiliate programs in the marketplace. Here is the link https://marketplace.secondlife.com. All you need is to rent a shop space. There are businesses that give you the franchise to sell their product for a percentage of commission.

·         Photography

It is one of the most cherished careers in Second Life. If you can take a good shot and you have an unusual view to things, you may want to take photography as your career choice. A good graphics card helps. There are tutorials available on you tube and various blogs. One of the upcoming photographers, Val Valsnia started with L$50 per picture and now makes L$500 each. There are many great photographers. It is a tough market but you have a creative look, you are spot on with lot of customers.

·         Custom build

There is always a need for builders. For starters try building something and put it on marketplace. If your product has a wild appeal, you may soon open a store in world. To learn building, you may join the most active group in Second Life, Builders Brewery. Here is the link for more information on the class schedule. http://buildersbrewery.com

·         Animation

With building comes the basic animations. Although there are many poses in the marketplace, there is always a need for a few realistic ones. There are very few pose makers inworld. This one has a great demand among customers. They are wanted by builders, designers, bloggers, models, fashion magazines and end users. You can learn to make animations on Youtube. Among other free software, I prefer one called Qavimator http://www.qavimator.org/  to make animations and save them in .bvh file and later upload to SL. Note that it takes L$10 to upload per file.

·         Textures

If you are good with digital art, this one is for you. However, if you are a starter, there are many tutorials available on the web. Artists would normally suggest PS, i.e., Photoshop and it the best. But if it is too much to start with, try playing around in http://www.picmonkey.com . Pixlr is almost similar to PS, but it does not support PSD files. You can work around it with PNG files. Here is the link to the editor http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/ . The cost of uploading a texture is L$10 each. Here is the catch, either you may sell seamless textures on the marketplace or if you are artist in real life, you may sell your art inworld. Before selling textures, I suggest you to read the TOS and be aware of the infringement rights.

·         Scripting

Animations or builds do not function like real life without the scripts. All hands down to the scripting experts. If you know java or any programming language, you may be able to do a little bit of scripting. Scripting is taught in world as well. Builders Brewery has scripting classes. This is another career which has a great demand in SL. You may sell scripts on marketplace. If you look into second life community there are special on hand jobs available for scripters.

·         Modelling

By modelling, I mean fashion models. Clothing, accessory designers and fashion magazines are on the look-out for models. There are modelling schools in world. But, they are not cheap. Total fees may vary from L$500 to L$10,000. There are free modelling schools (FMU) available as well. To be among the top celebrity models, it is best suggested to get into the best schools to get maximum exposure.

·         Estate Sales agent

Although this job can be taken by a newbie too, but the estate owners normally do not hire newbies. The estate owners looks for some experience and stability to hire these sales agents. After one is hired, they get  rigorous training for about a week. You can earn a percentage of commission selling virtual land in SL. This percentage when converted to pennies is so much, that you might be the owner of a small land yourself living lavishly. But the only requirement is that you have to be really good at marketing. You may hear the job opening either from a friend or community in Second Life but seldom at any agency.

·         Re-Sale

Do you love breedables? I do. You must have a home in second life to breed and take care of them. Breedables range from fantasy animals like meeros to pets like dogs, cats to farm animals like horses and plants. Breed your pets and sell the younger ones in a rented space.  Another kind of resale is to sell food and weapons etc. Food? Yes, food. If you roleplay as a Gorean, an avatar has to eat food to do the various activites in Gor. There is a world of Gor who have traders ad merchants selling food, bricks of copper, gold and silver and weapons which are based on G&S Hud.

·         Advertising/Public Relations

To be an advertiser, you must have an active group in world and a space to put up the ads of your clients. Show your marketing skills, bring in clients and get them customers. You can be an Ad agent for The SL Enquirer and earn a good commission Just click here to apply for a job with the SL Enquirer

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Zap5eA9diNgFtaBxxMnKxCOCyF_PrUl8QiXithDC-ls/viewform?embedded=true

 You can also create your own agency where others come to buy and sell products and services.

Other professions may include a machinima artist, role players like doctors, gynaecologists, nurses, bloggers, writers, policemen etc. One can search for more in http://search.secondlife.com.

·         Jobs Agencies

Ever since March 2012, I have always been looking for a job. The best place to look for job is at job agencies. Click on the board to receive a note card for application. Even  if you have no virtual work experience, you can still fill out an application.

 There are jobs for managers, hosts, DJs and dancers throughout the year. Other jobs also are available from time to time like sales agent, writers for various magazines and news sources as well as scripting and building for land owners.

If you need training with any club jobs you can visit Club Staff University http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Portimao/212/158/22 . It is a learning school or clubs jobs as well as a training facility for new employees.

A few landmarks you may want to visit while job hunting are: Job Squad http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sommerinsel/225/34/23 Jobs 4 u Job Center Agency work and employment http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/No%20Devil/201/138/22 Pisces Jobs http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/No%20Devil/201/138/22

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Join Avatar Social Network Today!

Avatar Social Network (ASN) https://www.avatarsocialnetwork.com is continuously growing and expanding. Recently they released three new features that serves it's thousands of members providing more fun and useful tools.

Members now can upload music, their songs, creating their own playlists, share their favorites. It's a great feature for live singers to promote themselves in a more effective way as well.

Classifieds, where members can find or offer their services, sell goods, find a partner and all together an additional way to connect.

Polls, with which members can run short surveys about basically anything.

Avatar Social Network is the most popular and highest ranked (Alexa rating) virtual worlds related community website that is being built and developed continuously based on it's members' feedback. If you are not a member yet, check it out, find your friends and make new ones onAvatar Social Network.

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AVIE POLL: How to Handle a Nasty SL Break-up-Ccoursey Reporting

"Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings." -Wiz Khalifa

I asked several people "What advice would you give someone going through a nasty SL break-up?" and I gathered a bit of what is called 'easier said than done'.  A few said "Grief the idiot until you feel better", but that is only going to result in you getting in some trouble plus only a temporary feeling of satisfaction.  If you are involved in any kind of relationship in SL there will eventually be fall outs, some worse than others.  Here are what a few had to say about them.

Cris:  What advice would you give to someone that is going through a nasty SL break-up?

Newt:  The best thing is to have a cheap hide out home and/or get an alt to get away from it all to recollect yourself.

Cris:  nods... So you think it helps to escape a minute?

Newt:  Yes.

Cris:  Do you have any advice for people going through nasty SL break-ups?

Natty:  Oi!  That's a loaded question it really depends on the situation.... But don't be intimated and stand your ground would be the basic advice I would give.  Easier said than done though LoL

Cris:  Does it get easier?

Natty:  Basically you have to keep in the back of your mind the reasons you left him or her or he or she left you and come to terms with it just like a RL relationship.  And try to stay away from them if you can.

Cris:  What advice would you give a person going through a nasty SL break-up?

Dan:  The best thing to do is center your attention on other things cause the pain is dreadful.  Spend some time, maybe try to figure out what you did to make it a bad break up.  Don't talk bad about the person you dissolved with rather his/her fault if it was bad break.  The steam will still be there so leave well enough alone and try to move on if you really loved that person keep the love deep inside you, hold them close to your heart.

Cris:  Do you think it is best to give it time or jump right back in the dating game?

Dan:  Oh definitely give it time for the pain to heal.

Cris:  What advice would you give someone going through a nasty SL break-up?

Sins:  As in how nasty?

Cris:  In general...

Sins:  Well, I must say, it depends on the depth of nasty happening.  Mute and Cut it saves you from the drama.  Most of mine are friends so...  But to give the best advice it depends what is going on.

Cris:  Do you let people wallow or do you push them to get back into the dating game?

Sins:  Well... I say let it come to you... not you go to it... all in time in SL.  When one does not look for it, it tends to find you not you find it.  I never did.  Every situation is different but if it can't end nicely... then mute... and move on, there's too much out there.

Cris:  What advice would you give to someone going through a nasty SL break-up?

Oz:  As in coping with it afterwards?

Cris:  Pretty much.

Oz: Hmm....  For one to be able to cope with an SL break-up, all it really takes is time, depending how close you were to your partner.  Some say that SL is just a game, and it is, but the emotions one usually shows is often real.  The effort that somebody puts into a relationship is real.  Others may find it as a joke, but to those who truly care about their partner, the pain one feels is usually real.  You may never see their actual face, or hear their actual voice.  Here, you're able to grow an emotional and mental connection that you otherwise would have never been able to anywhere else.  The sad truth about dealing with a break-up, is that, the closer you were with your ex-partner, the harder it is to get over it.  Hang out with some friends, clear your mind, and just try to enjoy yourself.  You'll find yourself having fun sooner than later.  You'll forget it ever happened or why you were even sad in the first place.

Cris:  What advice would you give a person going through a nasty SL break-up?

Test Cluny:  1)Strip club 2) Loose shorts 3) Lap dance chair 4) 3 hours 5) $300.... Will clear the mind and body and only happy thoughts past and future will flow.

On that note, it really depends on the situation and the people involved.  It's best to try to keep it friendly, because really if it isn't fun why do it?  At some point you liked, even loved, each other and it will be hard enough without becoming nasty.  Good luck and remember even in SL you're never alone, someone somewhere is or has gone through something similar.

Share your comments below

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OpenSimulator Community Conference 2014 Expected to Sell Out, Tickets Still Available

 Conference organizers expect the OpenSimulator Community Conference 2014 to be a sell out event this year.  The conference will be held on November 8-9, 2014 on an OpenSimulator grid designed specifically for the event, and focuses on the developer and user community creating the OpenSimulator software.

“Registration has been brisk this year,” said conference organizer Chris Collins.  “We have fewer than 100 general admission tickets remaining and they seem to be going quickly.”

High Profile Keynote Speakers

The conference features several high profile keynote speakers this year, including Philip Rosedale, CEO of High Fidelity, who will speak about the future of the Metaverse, and Steve LaValle from Oculus Rift, who will discuss the Oculus team’s race to deliver consumer grade virtual reality for mainstream adoption.

In addition, a keynote panel of core OpenSimulator developers will discuss the future of the platform, including the Hypergrid, content licensing and permissions, scalability, and project maturity.  Keynote panelists include Justin Clark-Case, Crista Lopes, Mic Bowman, Oren Hurvitz, Michael Cerquoni, and Melanie Milland.  

Volunteers, Content Donations Still Needed

Conference organizers have also asked members of the OpenSimulator community to consider volunteering for the conference or making donations of content to help showcase the features and possibilities of the OpenSimulator platform.

“We still need volunteers to help with audience assistance and greeting, so we encourage experienced OpenSimulator users to sign up to be a volunteer,” said Collins.  “We also hope to give people more avatar choices this year, so we appreciate donations of avatar components or other content that can be shared with conference attendees.”

New Learning Lab Track Gives Hands-On Experience

The Learning Lab track is a new addition to the conference schedule this year, featuring hands-on learning sessions to help content developers, teachers, and others learn how to design and create engaging content in the OpenSimulator platform.  

Topics in the Learning Lab include developing interactive fiction and gamification components for community building, importing and exporting content from other platforms, and using OpenSimulator for K-12 education.

“The conference is a great introduction to OpenSimulator for those who aren’t familiar with it,” said Collins, “and we hope experienced OpenSimulator users will come away with new tools and practical knowledge to continue to grow the platform.”

Registration for the virtual OpenSimulator Community Conference is free and open to the public.  The conference will also be livestreamed through UStream.  

For more information please see the conference website at http://conference.opensimulator.org.

ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:

OpenSimulator is an open-source platform that supports the creation of collaborative, immersive, distributed and social 3D virtual environments over the Internet. OpenSimulator software is now the basis for the emerging metaverse of many “grids” or worlds of varying sizes and purposes.  http://opensimulator.org

AvaCon, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the growth, enhancement, and development of the metaverse, virtual worlds, augmented reality, and 3D immersive and virtual spaces. AvaCon holds conventions and meetings to promote educational and scientific inquiry into these spaces, and to support organized fan activities, including performances, lectures, art, music, machinima, and much more. AvaCon’s primary goal is to connect and support the diverse communities and practitioners involved in co-creating and using virtual worlds, and to educate the public and their constituents about the emerging ecosystem of technologies broadly known as the metaverse.  http://avacon.org

The Overte Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages contribution agreements for the OpenSimulator project.  In the future, it will also act to promote and support both OpenSimulator and the wider open-source 3D virtual environment ecosystem.  http://www.overte.org/

High Fidelity, Inc. powers inter-connected virtual worlds, using new hardware devices to catalyze entirely new kinds of interactions between avatars. Our open source software architecture enables unlimited scalability of both content and audience. http://highfidelity.io

CONTACT:

Chris Collins, President

AvaCon, Inc.

c/o OpenSimulator Community Conference 2014

275 Winthrop Street

PO Box 618

Rehoboth, MA 02769-1819

(774) 654-0010

http://avacon.org

Email:  opensim@avacon.org

Web:  http://conference.opensimulator.org

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/opensimcc

Hashtags:  #OSCC14 #OSCC #opensim

AvaCon, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the growth, enhancement, and development of the metaverse, virtual worlds, augmented reality, and 3D immersive and virtual spaces. This email and any files transmitted with it may be confidential, privileged, or otherwise protected by legal rules and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately.  AvaCon is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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BOOFest Celebrates Four Years of Scary Stories Benefiting Worthy Causes

A partnership which began with a single story-based weekend in March 2011 has blossomed into a series popular annual events, including this weekend’s BOOFest – a celebration of stories told around a blazing autumnal fire featuring a gathering of virtual story presenters at their spooky and scary best Sunday, October 19 from 10am to 3:30pm, SLT.  All the performers are volunteers and the sessions are free to all Second Life residents, with tips this year benefiting The Lavender Field’s resident charity: Live and Learn in Kenya’s “Feed a Smile” program.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Feed%20A%20Smile/59/20/24

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IT'S A FAMOUS PEOPLE NIGHT AT DADDY-O'S Thursday October 16th 6-8 PM SLT

                       

Ever want to look like someone famous?  Well this is your chance! Dress up like a famous person and come to Daddy-O's for a night of music, fun and friends. DJ Huey Walker and his lovely Hostess Krissy Walker will be spinning the tunes as only they can! Come see one of the most fun and comfortable venues in SL - Daddy-O's, Where FUN Rulez!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Almost%20Paradise/216/230/21

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“Spotlight on DCWF’s Commissioner Rossini, Second Life’s true Proximus”- Mony Markova Reporting

As I was going through some stormed days –I wasn’t looking for who did it, but for someone to pay for it... Nah not really, let’s try again… let’s say that I needed to find a way to cleanse my karma off really bad vibes out of my last secondlifean adventure. That’s better, but it has to be special because the SL Enquirer has set the bar high in readership numbers, comments and well, land shaking in-you–know-what adventure.

And the perfect assignment jumped right at me, an amazing, fun thing to do. So let’s get down to it, because there is only one good reason to check wrestling in SL, and it is the same good reason to do it in any life. To have a blast of a day.

Be wild, meet wrestlers, see the action and maybe we can chat with the very own, DCWF’s Commissioner Numbers Rossini, a cool guy in all his right.

By now, I already have found out that the DCWF or Digital Championship Wrestling Federation, does not use pose balls to play out the matches. In other words, the outcomes can be determined by skill and cunning of the amazing wrestlers. Just as an example, the ring ropes are flexible people, yes physics all around!

They have achieved these feats because the DCWF is not new, it’s the longest running professional wrestling organization in SL and yes, it uses a secret sauce –all I am saying is- that the NexGen Wrestling System, requires practice to master it. Just like RL they have a head trainer. I tried one part of the HUD, and I still don’t know how they do it. I couldn’t wait to see my first show, for me it was on Wednesday at 3:00 SLT. They also have matches on Saturdays 12:00 SLT and Sundays but it’s better to follow the schedules through their Facebook page, or group.

But enough with unveilings.

First we need to get to Slam City, the home to the DCWF Arena, grab the free gestures since you –the fan- are welcome to be a loud part of the show. Outside the arena there is a marina, a park and a hot dog stand. Slam City it’s also home of Hellkatz Angels Wrestling Extreme and HAWX, all-women's professional wrestling organization in SL, the finest, I hear.

I really don’t know what to expect, because we all know this is Second Life with all its limitations and circumstances. I will say this, if you like detailed things, you can come to appreciate the Arena. Take time to explore it, in the corridors to your seats you can see the a ring of honor with pendants of some of the gladiators, you can see Katherine Blackadder, Ace Nightfire, Misaki, Jerico Scarbridge, Victoria Vain, Jeffery Fireguard, Ms. A. Rae, Voodoo, Phara Akula, Mythil, Heidih Himmel, The General, Sir Quinworth, Bazza Windlow, Rosalind and more.

There is an executive suit, that –it’s not locked— you can see why the reporters are always drunk, smoked, and are basically spoiled people.  Cooton McKnight, Pepper Brooks and Blade Burner are commentators, it’s live! The wrestlers enter the match with special effects and in average 20 people are present in one clash.

After a violent outcome the wrestler -Andrea Dalca- was furious, she kicked the commentator’s table and just took a championship belt and she just didn’t care! Thanks God they have a referee –a constant boo target. Dalca left in a blaze as the winner laid on the mat. Crazy how they do this! But it was only the beginning!

Then was a hot Marcus Raimond versus Mister Mafioso, who is a cheater! -There I said it! But I found myself cracking when Mr. Mafioso had to crawl out of the ring after a bad hit he took. The announcers explain the moves, they are allowed to say Fuc** at this sim…. Quite refreshing from where I come from in SL. But if you have SL families and avatarian kids, please do bring them, they can get autographs, t-shirts and learn how to grow big and hot like Marcus or way scary like Jack O’Lantern.

-Look! There is the commissioner Numbers Rossini lets catch him. He has been difficult to get.

Mony: Mister Commissioner, a couple of questions. What does Success mean for you and all the people associated with the Federation?

Commissioner Rossini: Success is putting on a product that is true to wrestling tradition and its ideals.  It’s important to the DCWF to give a pure honest Professional Wrestling product. Success also means simply entertaining the fans in a way that they can walk away from the show and know that even though they were only in the audience, the show was for, about, and involved them.

Mony: Bad blood- between the wrestlers?

Commissioner Rossini: Professional Wrestling is a very competitive sport, and it takes all kinds. Some people like to cheat, others like to play within the rules. Often times rivalries heat up and people get mixed up with each other, that’s the nature of the business. We are fortunate that quite often the fallout from those rivalries and disputes happens in our arena, in our ring, and in front of our fans.

Mony: Commissioner, what do you see as the future of your loved sport?

Commissioner Rossini: Man, there are so many dynamics to SL Wrestling as a whole, that’s a hard question to answer. It’s been around for 7 years now and at the very least I'd love to see it hit the 10 year mark. It has changed, evolved and grown so much, it’s hard to tell what it will look like a few years from now but I look forward to seeing how it shapes, even if I’m no longer a part of it.

Mon: And I ran out of space, but I cannot go without mentioned that the Commissioner was especially thankful and to all the people that makes this sport possible and named them in length, unfortunately we are on tight space here.

If you are looking to see something awesome in SL, go check them! And please add on the comments which is appreciated and helps make the article more visible around the metaverse.

Over and out!

Slam city is here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Phoenix%20Pass/107/142/51

Follow the DCWF on its facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDCWF

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