Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
This document provides an overview of key concepts for analyzing commercial real estate loans as a credit analyst. It discusses the importance of cash flow analysis through calculating the debt service coverage ratio and net operating income. It also covers loan-to-value ratios, common loan and lease structures, the role of reserves, and factors to consider in evaluating risks to the property's cash flow. The goal is to equip new analysts with foundational knowledge to properly underwrite loans and assess risks.
This document discusses two mental triggers that top loan officers use to increase their commissions and referrals while working less. The triggers are:
1. Creating an "Ethos Effect" where clients perceive the loan officer as a trusted expert who has their best interests in mind.
2. Causing a "Power Shift" where clients no longer see a loan as just rates and fees, but how it can help with bigger goals like retirement or education.
It explains that top producers master triggering these effects to set themselves apart from competitors and reduce rate shopping. The document proposes there is an easy way for other loan officers to quickly create the same trusted advisor perception through a new system.
E-Banking refers to electronic banking services offered by financial institutions. It evolved from traditional in-person banking due to innovations in internet technology. One of the first banks to offer online internet banking services was Stanford Federal Credit Union in 1994. E-banking allows customers to conduct banking transactions remotely using channels like ATMs, smart cards, phone/mobile banking, and internet banking. While e-banking provides benefits of convenience and lower costs, it also introduces risks like security threats from password/identity theft, phishing scams, trojan viruses, and skimming.
Computer hardware devices include webcams, scanners, mice, speakers, trackballs, and light pens. Webcams connect via USB or network and are used for video calls and conferencing. Scanners optically scan images and documents into digital formats. Mice are pointing devices that detect motion to move a cursor. Speakers have internal amplifiers and audio jacks. Trackballs contain ball and sensors to detect rotation for cursor movement. Light pens allow pointing directly on CRT displays.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
110507 Second Life's Economic Architecture Metanomics TranscriptRemedy Communications
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
This document summarizes a discussion between journalists and entrepreneurs in Second Life. The panelists discuss their experiences with virtual world journalism and entrepreneurship in Second Life. They talk about how Linden Lab initially promoted Second Life as a place for entrepreneurship and the challenges real-world entrepreneurs may face in establishing a business in Second Life, including needing to understand the culture and community. The panel also discusses different definitions of entrepreneurship and the role of advertising for in-world media businesses.
This document provides an overview of key concepts for analyzing commercial real estate loans as a credit analyst. It discusses the importance of cash flow analysis through calculating the debt service coverage ratio and net operating income. It also covers loan-to-value ratios, common loan and lease structures, the role of reserves, and factors to consider in evaluating risks to the property's cash flow. The goal is to equip new analysts with foundational knowledge to properly underwrite loans and assess risks.
This document discusses two mental triggers that top loan officers use to increase their commissions and referrals while working less. The triggers are:
1. Creating an "Ethos Effect" where clients perceive the loan officer as a trusted expert who has their best interests in mind.
2. Causing a "Power Shift" where clients no longer see a loan as just rates and fees, but how it can help with bigger goals like retirement or education.
It explains that top producers master triggering these effects to set themselves apart from competitors and reduce rate shopping. The document proposes there is an easy way for other loan officers to quickly create the same trusted advisor perception through a new system.
E-Banking refers to electronic banking services offered by financial institutions. It evolved from traditional in-person banking due to innovations in internet technology. One of the first banks to offer online internet banking services was Stanford Federal Credit Union in 1994. E-banking allows customers to conduct banking transactions remotely using channels like ATMs, smart cards, phone/mobile banking, and internet banking. While e-banking provides benefits of convenience and lower costs, it also introduces risks like security threats from password/identity theft, phishing scams, trojan viruses, and skimming.
Computer hardware devices include webcams, scanners, mice, speakers, trackballs, and light pens. Webcams connect via USB or network and are used for video calls and conferencing. Scanners optically scan images and documents into digital formats. Mice are pointing devices that detect motion to move a cursor. Speakers have internal amplifiers and audio jacks. Trackballs contain ball and sensors to detect rotation for cursor movement. Light pens allow pointing directly on CRT displays.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
110507 Second Life's Economic Architecture Metanomics TranscriptRemedy Communications
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
This document summarizes a discussion between journalists and entrepreneurs in Second Life. The panelists discuss their experiences with virtual world journalism and entrepreneurship in Second Life. They talk about how Linden Lab initially promoted Second Life as a place for entrepreneurship and the challenges real-world entrepreneurs may face in establishing a business in Second Life, including needing to understand the culture and community. The panel also discusses different definitions of entrepreneurship and the role of advertising for in-world media businesses.
Mitch Kapor, chairman of the board of Linden Lab, was interviewed by Robert Bloomfield. Some of the key points discussed include:
- Kapor saw potential in Philip Rosedale's idea for a virtual world where users could create content, even though it was deemed too risky by most venture capitalists at the time.
- Second Life has grown tremendously from its origins but retains the core idea of an infinitely expandable simulation created by its users.
- Kapor remains actively involved in Linden Lab as well as other startup projects, and sees potential for virtual worlds to be used increasingly for business applications.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Reuben Steiger is the CEO of Millions of Us, a social media agency that was one of the first to market in Second Life. Millions of Us has since expanded to build content in other virtual worlds like Sony Home and license virtual goods. Reuben discussed why Millions of Us is no longer active in Second Life, primarily citing issues with metrics, scale, and attracting advertisers due to Second Life's smaller user base compared to other platforms. He also noted control issues were not as big a hurdle as initially thought for brands in Second Life.
This document provides instructions for using an essay writing service. It outlines a 5-step process:
1. Create an account with personal details.
2. Complete a form with assignment details, sources, deadline, and sample work.
3. Review bids from writers and choose one based on qualifications.
4. Review the completed paper and authorize payment if satisfied.
5. Request revisions until fully satisfied, with a refund offered for plagiarized work.
The process is described as quick, simple, and ensuring customer satisfaction through revisions and refunds.
The document summarizes an upcoming discussion on Metanomics about accountants working in Second Life. The host, Robert Bloomfield, introduces the guests which include Arlene Ciroula and Byron Patrick from the first virtual accounting firm in Second Life, and Tom Hood from the Maryland Association of CPAs. The discussion will focus on what services the accounting firm provides in Second Life and the tax implications of doing business there.
The document discusses a virtual finance panel held in Second Life. Representatives from the real-world Saxo Bank and various virtual financial institutions discuss topics like what Saxo Bank hopes to gain from its Second Life presence, the current state and challenges of virtual currencies and markets, and how virtual stock exchanges operate and regulate listed companies.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The passage discusses the pros and cons of equality. It talks about a law passed in Indiana called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics say allows discrimination against LGBTQ people. While the law caused backlash, it also created unity within Indiana as people rallied in support of LGBTQ citizens. The law highlighted issues of discrimination but also showed that groups with differing beliefs can work towards unification and equality.
Need A Title For My Essay. Online assignment writing service.Mandy Chavez
The document discusses the key differences between race and ethnicity. Race is defined as a biological concept based on perceived physical traits, while ethnicity is a cultural concept based on shared cultural characteristics like language, religion, history, and national origin. Ethnicity is generally learned through socialization, whereas race is an ascribed biological classification. While related, race and ethnicity are distinct concepts that should not be conflated or used interchangeably.
Raised Line Paper Special Needs Handwriting PaperCheryl Viljoen
This document provides instructions for creating an account and submitting an assignment request on the HelpWriting.net website. It outlines a 5-step process: 1) Create an account with an email and password. 2) Complete a form with assignment details, sources, and deadline. 3) Review bids from writers and choose one based on qualifications. 4) Review the completed paper and authorize payment. 5) Request revisions until fully satisfied, with a refund option for plagiarized work. The purpose is to guide users through obtaining writing help services from the site.
Short Essay On If I Were A Bird For Class 6Lydia Jana
The document discusses the revolutionary ideas of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud and how they shaped scientific reasoning and faith. Einstein shook Newton's laws of motion and gravity with his theory of relativity in 1905, which stated that the speed of light is constant. Freud also had a major impact with his theory of the unconscious mind and interpretation of dreams, challenging traditional views of human behavior and motivation. Their groundbreaking theories transformed scientific thought in the 20th century.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The document discusses how the main character Randy Bragg in Pat Frank's novel "Alas Babylon" is a carefree man who has never struggled, but receives a hint that resources will soon run out and he will be on the verge of dying, forcing him to prepare for the worst. The summary asks the reader to think about what it would be like to have no resources left and be facing death, a situation the characters in the novel experience when nuclear war breaks out.
This document summarizes a discussion from the Metanomics podcast about the upcoming Second Life Community Convention (SLCC).
The SLCC is an annual real-world conference and social event for the Second Life community held in August. It allows community members to meet face-to-face, network, and discuss their work in Second Life. This year's convention will be held August 13-15 in Boston. Early registration discounts end on July 3rd and hotel rooms are filling up. The convention features tracks on a variety of topics related to Second Life like business, education, art, and technology. Content from the convention will also be streamed virtually in Second Life.
This document summarizes a discussion from the Metanomics podcast about the upcoming Second Life Community Convention (SLCC).
The SLCC is an annual real-world conference and social event for those engaged with Second Life. It allows participants to network, learn about new developments, and discuss the future of Second Life. This year's convention will be held August 13-15 in Boston. Early registration discounts end July 3rd and hotel rooms are filling up. The convention aims to capture many aspects of how Second Life is used through various topic tracks. There will also be a virtual component, with streaming of some sessions in Second Life itself. The discussion focused on the importance of the community coming together at a time when Second Life
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Mitch Kapor, chairman of the board of Linden Lab, was interviewed by Robert Bloomfield. Some of the key points discussed include:
- Kapor saw potential in Philip Rosedale's idea for a virtual world where users could create content, even though it was deemed too risky by most venture capitalists at the time.
- Second Life has grown tremendously from its origins but retains the core idea of an infinitely expandable simulation created by its users.
- Kapor remains actively involved in Linden Lab as well as other startup projects, and sees potential for virtual worlds to be used increasingly for business applications.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
The document discusses the development of Christian theology and dualistic views that emerged in response to pagan objections and as the Church grew. Specifically, it mentions the dualistic views of Gnosticism, which saw the physical world as evil, and Marcionism, which believed the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were different. These dualistic views threatened traditional beliefs about the nature of God and related to philosophical debates around the relationship between spirit and matter.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Reuben Steiger is the CEO of Millions of Us, a social media agency that was one of the first to market in Second Life. Millions of Us has since expanded to build content in other virtual worlds like Sony Home and license virtual goods. Reuben discussed why Millions of Us is no longer active in Second Life, primarily citing issues with metrics, scale, and attracting advertisers due to Second Life's smaller user base compared to other platforms. He also noted control issues were not as big a hurdle as initially thought for brands in Second Life.
This document provides instructions for using an essay writing service. It outlines a 5-step process:
1. Create an account with personal details.
2. Complete a form with assignment details, sources, deadline, and sample work.
3. Review bids from writers and choose one based on qualifications.
4. Review the completed paper and authorize payment if satisfied.
5. Request revisions until fully satisfied, with a refund offered for plagiarized work.
The process is described as quick, simple, and ensuring customer satisfaction through revisions and refunds.
The document summarizes an upcoming discussion on Metanomics about accountants working in Second Life. The host, Robert Bloomfield, introduces the guests which include Arlene Ciroula and Byron Patrick from the first virtual accounting firm in Second Life, and Tom Hood from the Maryland Association of CPAs. The discussion will focus on what services the accounting firm provides in Second Life and the tax implications of doing business there.
The document discusses a virtual finance panel held in Second Life. Representatives from the real-world Saxo Bank and various virtual financial institutions discuss topics like what Saxo Bank hopes to gain from its Second Life presence, the current state and challenges of virtual currencies and markets, and how virtual stock exchanges operate and regulate listed companies.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The passage discusses the pros and cons of equality. It talks about a law passed in Indiana called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics say allows discrimination against LGBTQ people. While the law caused backlash, it also created unity within Indiana as people rallied in support of LGBTQ citizens. The law highlighted issues of discrimination but also showed that groups with differing beliefs can work towards unification and equality.
Need A Title For My Essay. Online assignment writing service.Mandy Chavez
The document discusses the key differences between race and ethnicity. Race is defined as a biological concept based on perceived physical traits, while ethnicity is a cultural concept based on shared cultural characteristics like language, religion, history, and national origin. Ethnicity is generally learned through socialization, whereas race is an ascribed biological classification. While related, race and ethnicity are distinct concepts that should not be conflated or used interchangeably.
Raised Line Paper Special Needs Handwriting PaperCheryl Viljoen
This document provides instructions for creating an account and submitting an assignment request on the HelpWriting.net website. It outlines a 5-step process: 1) Create an account with an email and password. 2) Complete a form with assignment details, sources, and deadline. 3) Review bids from writers and choose one based on qualifications. 4) Review the completed paper and authorize payment. 5) Request revisions until fully satisfied, with a refund option for plagiarized work. The purpose is to guide users through obtaining writing help services from the site.
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The document discusses the revolutionary ideas of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud and how they shaped scientific reasoning and faith. Einstein shook Newton's laws of motion and gravity with his theory of relativity in 1905, which stated that the speed of light is constant. Freud also had a major impact with his theory of the unconscious mind and interpretation of dreams, challenging traditional views of human behavior and motivation. Their groundbreaking theories transformed scientific thought in the 20th century.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
Metanomics is a weekly Web-based show on the serious uses of virtual worlds. This transcript is from a past show.
For this and other videos, visit us at http://metanomics.net.
The document discusses how the main character Randy Bragg in Pat Frank's novel "Alas Babylon" is a carefree man who has never struggled, but receives a hint that resources will soon run out and he will be on the verge of dying, forcing him to prepare for the worst. The summary asks the reader to think about what it would be like to have no resources left and be facing death, a situation the characters in the novel experience when nuclear war breaks out.
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This document summarizes a discussion from the Metanomics podcast about the upcoming Second Life Community Convention (SLCC).
The SLCC is an annual real-world conference and social event for the Second Life community held in August. It allows community members to meet face-to-face, network, and discuss their work in Second Life. This year's convention will be held August 13-15 in Boston. Early registration discounts end on July 3rd and hotel rooms are filling up. The convention features tracks on a variety of topics related to Second Life like business, education, art, and technology. Content from the convention will also be streamed virtually in Second Life.
This document summarizes a discussion from the Metanomics podcast about the upcoming Second Life Community Convention (SLCC).
The SLCC is an annual real-world conference and social event for those engaged with Second Life. It allows participants to network, learn about new developments, and discuss the future of Second Life. This year's convention will be held August 13-15 in Boston. Early registration discounts end July 3rd and hotel rooms are filling up. The convention aims to capture many aspects of how Second Life is used through various topic tracks. There will also be a virtual component, with streaming of some sessions in Second Life itself. The discussion focused on the importance of the community coming together at a time when Second Life
This document summarizes a discussion on the Metanomics podcast between Robert Bloomfield and Paulette Robinson. Paulette Robinson is the founder and director of the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds, which brings together government, industry, and academics to explore uses of virtual worlds. She discusses the recent virtual worlds conference hosted by the consortium, as well as a new virtual government environment project that awarded contracts to four virtual world platforms to provide secure virtual training and collaboration services to the US government.
The document summarizes an interview on the podcast Metanomics with Paulette Robinson, the founder and director of the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds. The consortium brings together government, industry, and academics working with virtual worlds. Robinson discusses the recent annual conference which saw participation of over 3,500 people across multiple virtual and real world venues. She highlights several collaborations that have formed, including MilLands for the military and the vGov project, which aims to create a secure virtual world environment for all of government.
Jesse Schell discusses his concept of the "Gamepocalypse", where gaming elements are increasingly integrated into everyday life through emerging technologies. As an example, he describes how future toothbrushes may have sensors that track brushing quality and display it as part of a game or leaderboard. While some see this as an invasion of privacy, Schell believes many people will opt into such systems. He remains optimistic that games could positively influence society if designed well, but acknowledges the realities may be complex.
This document summarizes the 100th episode of Metanomics, a virtual world podcast hosted in Second Life. It discusses the new episode celebrating the milestone, announces an upcoming thank you party for viewers, and introduces the guest Joshua Fairfield, an expert in virtual law, who will discuss Linden Lab's new Second Life Terms of Service. It also mentions a contest announced by the producer seeking visions of the future of media production and broadcasting.
This document summarizes the 100th episode of the Metanomics podcast. It discusses the new Second Life Terms of Service and interviews law professor Joshua Fairfield as a guest. Some key points:
- The episode celebrates reaching 100 episodes of Metanomics since it started in 2007.
- Linden Lab recently announced new Second Life Terms of Service that focus on treating virtual items as licensed rather than owned.
- Fairfield analyzes the new Terms of Service and says they represent both an evolution towards more corporate control of virtual worlds as well as taking privacy more seriously.
- He notes the Terms move away from the idea of Second Life as a place where users can truly own virtual land and items
This document summarizes a discussion between Robert Bloomfield, Barry Joseph, and Marc Weiss about Marc and Barry's upcoming HBO documentary called "Meeting Online". Marc explains that the documentary will tell personal stories of people who met online and how those relationships developed offline. Barry encourages viewers to submit their own stories to the documentary's website. They discuss some examples of stories already submitted, including one woman who met her partner through World of Warcraft and Second Life.
The document summarizes a discussion between Barry Joseph and Marc Weiss on the Metanomics podcast about their documentary "Meeting Online" for HBO. The documentary will feature personal stories submitted online about relationships that began online and extended into real life. Barry Joseph's organization Global Kids is helping collect stories, including from Second Life. Joseph and Weiss met when Joseph contacted Weiss about a job after reading a newspaper article about Weiss's new nonprofit Web Lab.
The document summarizes a discussion between Robert Bloomfield and Tom Hale of Linden Lab about recent announcements from Linden Lab regarding changes to Second Life. Some of the key announcements include the rollout of the new Second Life Viewer 2, which is now the standard viewer, changes to the new user orientation and registration processes, and clarification of maturity ratings and terms of service. Tom Hale discusses his role as Chief Product Officer at Linden Lab and explains that the announcements reflect Linden Lab's strategic focus on improving the experience for new users and welcoming more new residents to grow the Second Life ecosystem. Hale also provides details on changes to Linden Lab's internal processes to support larger, more iterative releases.
The document summarizes an interview between Robert Bloomfield and Tom Hale of Linden Lab discussing recent announcements from Linden Lab. Key points:
- Linden Lab announced the new Second Life Viewer 2 which will become the standard viewer, replacing Viewer 1.23. They also announced changes to orientation, terms of service, and registration processes.
- The announcements reflect Linden Lab's strategic focus on improving the experience for new users and making Second Life more welcoming to bring in new residents.
- Tom Hale discusses changes to Linden Lab's internal processes to support the large Viewer update, including dedicated teams, design firms, user testing, and shorter release cycles going forward.
This summary discusses a virtual world podcast called Metanomics that took place on March 17, 2010.
1) The guest on the podcast was Tom Higgins from Unity Technologies, who discussed Unity's game development software and vision to make powerful tools accessible to all developers.
2) Unity offers various licensing options for its software, including a free basic license and paid Pro licenses starting at $1,500 per seat. Add-on licenses allow developers to deploy games on platforms like iPhone.
3) Unity has over 110,000 registered users since making the basic license free last October, though not all are active developers. Some major clients include Electronic Arts, Disney, and Lego. Unity aims to democrat
This summary discusses a podcast called Metanomics that was filmed in Second Life and broadcast weekly. The guest on this episode is Tom Higgins from Unity Technologies, who discusses Unity's game development software and goals. Some key points:
- Unity aims to make high-quality game development tools accessible to all developers through its free basic licenses and competitive pricing for pro licenses and platform add-ons.
- Unity has grown significantly in the last year to over 110,000 registered users since making the basic license free.
- Unity's vision is to make "author-once, deploy anywhere" a reality, allowing developers to build games once and deploy them across platforms with some adjustments.
- The Unity
This document summarizes a radio program called Metanomics that discusses expanding access to education through technology.
[1] The program interviews two professors, Rebecca Clothey and Kristen Betts from Drexel University, about their virtual conference called "Education for Everyone: Expanding Access Through Technology".
[2] Rebecca Clothey organized the conference which features on-demand presentations and live events from March 23rd to 25th discussing trends in technology that have expanded education opportunities. Presenters will discuss projects from around the world using technology for distance learning.
[3] The interview discusses the opportunities and challenges of online education. While technology provides more access, digital divides still exist due to lack
The representatives from Linden Lab discussed the recent release of the Second Life Viewer 2.0 beta and Linden Lab's new product marketing strategy. They explained that Viewer 2.0 and new Shared Media capabilities were launched along with Snowglobe 2.0 to provide more viewer choices for residents. The goal is to improve the new user experience and attract new residents while continuing to support the current community. They discussed plans to gather feedback during the beta period and launch a broader marketing campaign once Viewer 2.0 is complete.
ThinkBalm is a boutique analyst firm focused on the use of immersive technology in the workplace. Their recent report, "The Enterprise Immersive Software Decision-Making Guide", aims to help businesses choose immersive software solutions. ThinkBalm conducted the study by testing various virtual platforms themselves and through their Innovation Community of over 400 members. The report is intended to distill their experiences into an accessible guide for business decision-makers unfamiliar with immersive technologies. ThinkBalm is funded through traditional analyst consulting services provided to immersive technology vendors.
The document discusses a report by ThinkBalm, a boutique analyst firm focused on the use of immersive technology in the workplace. The report, called "The Enterprise Immersive Software Decision-Making Guide", aims to help large enterprises deciding whether to use new immersive technologies. ThinkBalm studied many different immersive software vendors and platforms, testing them out themselves. They found the types of people interested were changing from early adopters to more mainstream business decision-makers just starting to explore the potential. The guide seeks to distill ThinkBalm's experiences testing different technologies to help these decision-makers navigate options.
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TrustArc Webinar - 2024 Global Privacy SurveyTrustArc
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011008 Virtual Banking Metanomics Transcript
1. METANOMICS SPECIAL PANEL ON LINDEN BANKING POLICY
JANUARY 10, 2008
ONDER: Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special edition of Metanomics, produced by
Clever Zebra in conjunction with Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management. I’d like
to take a brief moment to thank the sponsors of the Metanomics series. They are Generali
Group, SAP, Kelly Services, Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems and Saxo Bank, who were
good enough to host today’s event. And of course none of this would be possible without
SLCN, who are the best ones to talk to when it comes to working with video in virtual worlds.
Avatars across the grid at all event partner locations can join the conversation by joining the
Metanomics Group. If you have any questions for our guests today, you can send them
directly to me. My avatar’s name is Onder Skall.
Today’s session of Metanomics is being held to address a radical shift in policy. Linden Lab
has regulated Second Life banks effectively shutting them down until they can change the
way they do business. Our guests today include key figures related to this issue, but
introducing them will be our host, Robert Bloomfield.
BEYERS: Hey, well, thank you very much, Onder, for that introduction, and I’m delighted to
hear that we have a record number of SIMS that have crowds. This is a special event. I
apologize. We’re starting a little bit late, but there were a lot of things to do in a very short
time. I’m just glad I am not running one of the banks affected by this change in Linden
policy, because I know there are a lot of people who have had sleepless nights since
Tuesday.
2. So I think many people anticipated Linden Lab would eventually take action on unregulated
financial services in Second Life, but the financial community was certainly taken by
surprise on Tuesday when Linden announced that they were going to take action on all
banking activity absent evidence that the financial institution was submitting to Real World
banking regulation from an appropriate body.
At this point it does seem that it’s going to be very rough on the banks. There have been
some runs, reports of stock prices falling, land being listed for sale at fire sale prices. And
there are a lot of questions that we haven’t been able to answer yet, how will this banking
crisis affect the Second Life economy or the experiences of the many users who have found
the financial sector of Second Life to be a source of interest and entertainment, if not profit?
And it’s also not clear how this policy is going to affect the many firms, dozens of firms, that
are issuing equity securities on Second Life exchanges, because all of those exchanges are
tied to banks.
So what we’re going to do in this special session of Metanomics is we are going to get some
insight into the history behind this change in policy and take a look at its short-term and
long-term implications. Before we get into the details, first I would like to thank
Jillian Falconi, who is our host on this Saxo Bank SIM. Jillian, welcome to this special edition
of Metanomics.
JILLIAN: Thank you very much. I would like to welcome everybody present here today and
also thank our employees at Saxo Bank, our Real Life employees, actually, who have
3. worked, let me say, very, very hard for the last day and a half since we got this invitation. I
really hope that everybody here enjoys it.
BEYERS: Okay. Now, as we get into this session, I would like to encourage everyone who
is listening to join the Metanomics Group in Second Life so that you can participate in the
back-chat channel, and that’s a way that you can get questions to the panelists. So if you
have questions that you would like to hear, then simply type them into the Metanomics
stream, and we will then be able to pass those on to the panelists.
So first I would like to introduce David Talbot. David Talbot is a professional journalist for 20
years. He’s the chief correspondent at Technology Review magazine and a past recipient of
the Overseas Press Club of America’s award for international environmental reporting in any
medium and is also a former Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT. David, welcome to
Metanomics.
DAVID: Thank you. It’s nice to be here.
BEYERS: Yeah, well, we’re delighted to have you on, in part because some people are
calling you, I guess, the proximate cause for the Linden Lab policy. Technology Review, just
maybe a little more than a week ago, published your article entitled “The Fleecing of the
Avatars.” And I’ve heard several people muse that that it might have been a trigger for
Linden’s announcement on banking. So David, what do you think it was in the article that
caught Linden Lab’s attention?
4. DAVID: I don’t know if what you say is true, but it certainly seems that you could take their
announcement, to some extent, at face value, that some of these institutions are offering
unsustainably high interest rates and that they are, as Linden Lab put it, in most cases
doomed to collapse. If there’s any truth to that--and I would say there might be--then
certainly they sort of had to do this if there are unregulated financial institutions running that
the deposits in which can be translated into real dollars, the distinction between the virtual
bank and a real one become thinner and thinner.
As to why the article, if it were the trigger, I can only speculate. You’d have to ask them, and
they wouldn’t answer that question when I asked them. But of course they’re not speaking to
anybody. But I don’t know. Maybe the article put a human face on it, and you saw that we
were talking about real people and not cartoon characters running around in what some
people outside of the community might perceive as more of a game than something to take
seriously in terms of its economics. So maybe it put more of a human face on it than
previous efforts had, but I don’t know. I’d be interested in what other people think, because I
just don’t know. What do you think?
BEYERS: Yeah. Well, we’ll hear from our panelists. But one thing I guess I’d be interested
in hearing about from you is--I mean you interviewed a number of people who have
been--so for example, just to mention a few that were in the article, Dan Miller, who is senior
economist of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress; Ben Duranske, who is
actually going to be on our panel, and a number of people who are running and investing in
banks. Were you feeling--as you interviewed these people, how would you characterize sort
of the sentiment regarding groups, like in particular Ginko Financial, which closed down a
5. couple months ago?
DAVID: The sentiment of Ginko Financial is an interesting question because I have no idea
who the real human being is behind Ginko Financial. I’ve had a number of emails back and
forth of various people who I did and didn’t quote in the story and I’ve had emails since the
story appeared from reaction from people.
And I’ve asked, “Well, who is this person, and where are they now? And whatever amount
of money sort of went away, where is that money right now?” And all this is very murky to
me. I think it would be very interesting beyond people’s reactions and however upset or
happy they are about this to get any hard facts about where’s the money and where is the
person that was running this operation?
I don’t know if that answers your questions, but I think that’s sort of where I, as a journalist,
would like to have more information and more facts.
BEYERS: Yeah. Well, let’s see if we can get some more information from Ben Duranske,
who is the second person on our panel that we’ll be hearing from. Welcome to Metanomics,
Ben.
BEN: Thank you for having me, Robert.
BEYERS: Yeah. So Ben is a lawyer who has covered legal issues in Second Life for some
time on his popular virtual world legal blog virtuallyblind.com, and I understand you’re
6. currently writing a book called “Virtual Law”?
BEN: Yeah. I’ve actually just finished it. It’s due for publication through the American Bar
Association in April.
BEYERS: Okay. That’s fascinating, and I hope you have time to revise it as necessary to
discuss the issues that have just come up this week.
BEN: Yeah, I know that other people are more upset than I am, but I do have to say that
Linden Lab announced this the day after I sent the final draft to my editor, so obviously there
will be some revisions.
BEYERS: Yes, I’m sure you’re a little bit upset. I actually have a similar reaction in the
sense that I had Robin Harper, who is one of the vice presidents at Linden Lab, on my
Metanomics show the day before this announcement. Of course, none of this was
mentioned, and the next thing I know, it’s all over, and I guess I could have had that scoop,
but it didn’t happen.
But anyway, I’m going to read, first of all, the key paragraph that states the policy and, as a
lawyer, I’m interested in hearing your perspective on this. So they say, “As of January 22,
2008, it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment, whether in
Linden dollars or other currency, from any object such as an ATM located in Second Life,
without proof of an applicable government registration statement or financial institution
charter.”
7. So can you tell me, just speaking as a lawyer, what do you make of this? Why the details?
Why the focus on interest and direct returns on investments?
BEN: Well, I mean it’s not legal policy. It’s not a law. It’s not a piece of legislation. It’s just a
company’s policy and so parsing it is difficult. We can’t really parse it in light of law. That
said, I actually don’t think that this policy was particularly motivated by legal concerns on the
part of Linden Lab, which I think is something that would surprise some people. I think that
Linden Lab could potentially be sued for what happened with Ginko, particularly in light of
the fact that their CEO is on record as late as early August, as Ginko was collapsing, saying
positive things about it.
BEYERS: I just want to make sure. You mean Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab, saying
positive things about Ginko.
BEN: I do. I do. Earlier in 2006 he compared it to Micro Lending Institution. It was notable
for its good works. And then in 2007 as it was collapsing he, in an office hour, said that it
was surprisingly transparent. I mean, even people who were sharing the stage with me I
think would say wasn’t true about Ginko. It had almost no transparency. And so I think that
those statements could have exposed Linden Lab to some liability for Ginko.
That said, otherwise I don’t think that they are really exposed to a great deal of liability for
what happens on their grid in this industry. I think that this decision was largely a business
decision because they’ve gotten quite a bit of bad press for reasons that are legal and that I
8. would analyze later. Most of these institutions aren’t viable and are illegal. And so every
time one of them collapses somebody talks to a reporter and Second Life gets splashed
across the newspapers as a place where fraud occurs and avatars lose money. And I think,
from a business perspective, they got tired of that, and they got rid of the institutions that
were causing those problems.
BEYERS: And so this is really--I guess you could call it a customer service decision more
than anything else?
BEN: I think that’s accurate and I think, if you look at the forums, you see that the vast
majority of Second Life users see the logic in it. Some people have lost money in the short
term. I think our sympathy should go out to depositors who are likely to lose money over the
next two weeks and, to some degree, to bank owners who were permitted to run these
institutions for a very long time by Linden Lab.
That all said, in the long run, I think this is a healthy move for the grid. I think it’s a smart
move on Linden Lab’s part. And while I don’t think that it has much to do with Linden Lab’s
legal exposure, I think it was an intelligent business decision.
BEYERS: Okay. Now that might clarify one of the big questions that I had about this from a
legal perspective, which is that the Lindens on the one hand are saying--I should say Linden
Lab on the one hand is saying Lindens are not money. And, on the other hand, they think
that what they call banking, in quotes, in their policy release is actually some form of
banking, which is odd, because most banks actually rely on real money.
9. BEN: Let me just briefly comment on that, Robert.
BEYERS: Yes. Yes.
BEN: I think it’s really important for people to realize this, because it’s the number one
argument against the illegality of these operations. It’s the number one argument in favor of
the legality of stock exchanges. Everybody puts a disclaimer on their Web site, saying,
“Look. Linden Lab says that these are just a limited license right. They’re not really money.”
You’ve got to understand that that’s a contract between individual Second Life users and
Second Life. You make an agreement with Second Life that these things that you’re getting
from them aren’t redeemable with Second Life for any value. The contract doesn’t say
they’re not worth anything. And even if the contract said that, two private parties can’t agree
to change the law in a contract. And so if these are actually an item of currency, if they have
value, if they implicate various criminal laws, those laws are going to apply no matter what
the contract with Linden Lab says.
BEYERS: Okay. So let me go on now to our next guest. So on our panel we are delighted
to have Travis Ristow, who represents the BCX Bank in Second Life. Travis, hello.
TRAVIS: Thank you. Hello.
BEYERS: Hi, Travis. So now in real life, first of all, I mention you’re actually from Ionia,
Michigan, and you’re a Spartan fan. Is that right? Michigan State?
10. TRAVIS: That’s right. Don’t hold it against me.
BEYERS: Yeah, I will not hold that against you too much because Michigan won their last
game of the season. So go Blue. Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, one of
the key points of emphasis in Linden Lab’s policy is that the interest rates that banks like
yours are quoting are so high that they’re, in their word, “unsustainable.”
And I have to say the interest rates that your bank quotes are impressive. You’re offering up
to, I guess for the longest-length term deposit, a six-month deposit, you're offering--or were
up until now--offering two and a half percent interest per week. And so my first question to
you is if Linden hadn’t stepped in, how could you have earned the returns that you would
need to pay off depositors?
TRAVIS: Robert, that’s an excellent question, and here’s how I explain it. We would have
earned the money to pay the interest the same way we’ve done it for over a year so far,
investing our money, loaning money, making a return and passing it right on to account
holders in interest, just like real financial institutions do. Linden Lab [lumps?] our rates as
extremely high without ever asking us how we sustain them or even reviewing our business
model, so it’s hard for someone that’s stuck in this Real World mentality to see these rates
as actually possible.
Second Life’s growth rate alone is a fine example. No real country grows at 800 to 1,000
percent a year, except possibly China. A totally different view and rules apply to the growth
within Second Life and Second Life Financial and its entities. We’ve always practiced a
11. controlled growth, and we spread our investments in collateral-backed loans to protect our
investors and, until Tuesday, that model worked perfectly. In fact, a few months ago, we
actually lowered our interest rate and took considerable heat from the entire financial sector
at the time for doing so. But we did it because we wanted to make sure that we remain
viable.
DAVID: May I ask a quick question? This is Dave Talbot.
BEYERS: Yes, Dave, please.
DAVID: Will the gentleman who’s speaking, will your depositors be able to get all their
money out now?
TRAVIS: Yes, they will. Yeah, they won’t get it right now because obviously we have this
money invested, and right now the stock market and the land market and actually trying to
call all of the loans that we’ve got out would be detrimental. But yes, we will be refunding
every cent of our depositors’ money.
BEYERS: So I guess what you’re hoping for is an orderly liquidation of your assets as
needed. How long do you think that that’s going to take?
TRAVIS: That I cannot say exactly right at this moment. But what we do have is we have a
couple of plans in places that we can infuse capital of our own and from a couple of private
investors to go ahead and help with short-term liquidity and possibly actually making sure
12. that all of the depositors are paid off right then. And then we will be taking the investments
that we have and continuing to allow them to collect interest and make a profit.
BEYERS: And just for some context, Travis--
DAVID: Why will you be able to do that, but Ginko wasn’t? If I may just cut in. I’m just
curious about that.
INTLIBBER: Actually, I’d like to answer that question.
TRAVIS: I would love to answer that question.
INTLIBBER: I could answer that question for David very easily.
DAVID: The fact of the matter is that, in contrast to Ginko, we actually have a business
model that works. And I’m not going to go into all of the logistics or the hearsay of what I’ve
heard about Ginko. The fact of the matter is that our bank--if that’s what you want to call it at
this point--has been viable since we started it. The interest rates that we charge are quite
excessive in terms of Real Life, but then again so are the interest rates that we pay out.
That has allowed us to make at least a few hundred thousand Lindens over all of our
expenses and our interest. That’s why we would be able to. We have all of our assets in-
world. We do not take anything out-of-world. We have never taken it out-of-world. So I mean
we just have the assets to back us.
13. BEYERS: Okay. Now, I believe that was Intlibber who also wanted to address that
question. Is that correct?
INTLIBBER: Yeah, I can address that very simply.
BEYERS: So first let me just give you a quick introduction. This is Intlibber Brautigan--
Michael Lorrey--who’s the CEO of Ancapistan Capital Exchange, which I guess you have a
banking arm, but also you are running a stock exchange with firms, both banks and
non-banks listed on it. Is that correct?
INTLIBBER: The ACE Exchange is a subsidiary of B&T Holdings. B&T Financial is another
subsidiary. They’re completely separate from each other. The ACE Exchange does not have
any listed banks. The only financial institution there of any type is SL Risk, and that’s
actually oriented towards doing risk analysis services for financial institutions in terms of
credit ratings and scoring of avatars’ financial histories. So no, we don’t have any listed
banks on our exchange.
The ACE Exchange does not pay any interest on deposits because it’s an exchange, it’s not
a bank. We don’t play games with our depositors’ money. It’s their money. We want them to
invest it how they want to do it. That’s their freedom. It’s their property.
Our B&T Financial was originally a bank called My Second Bank, which had grown
alongside B&T. They had financed a lot of our expansion, not all of it. Only right now it’s--
essentially the liabilities of B&T Financial is about ten percent of the asset value of B&T
14. Holdings as a whole, so in the event that we have to resolve all deposit liabilities, we’re
going to have no trouble doing that either.
Now, as for the question regarding Ginko, two factors involved in why Ginko went down.
Number one, a majority of the deposits in Ginko were invested in Real World investment.
Nicholas Portocarrero invested it in some sort of a Brazilian telecom project, which it has not
completed and is not making money yet. And that’s all I know about that side of things.
He had about 40 million Lindens invested in World of the 200 million of total deposits. And
some of that was in B&T; more of that was in Hope Capital, which owns World Stock
Exchange, and in other stocks on the World Stock Exchange. And all those stocks on the
World Stock Exchange have been seized by LukeConnell Vandervere. And we have put the
B&T stock, as well as one SIM in our estate that Ginko had owned, we had put in the
custody of Sean Altman for a Ginko resolution trust to help get assets back to the Ginko
bondholders.
The reason Ginko went down, besides their bad business model, was it’s directly the fault of
Linden Lab itself. Linden Lab outlawed wagering without any warning or heads-up for
people to prepare to modify their financial operations whatsoever. Ginko had their ATMs in
just about every casino in SL. And as soon as wagering was outlawed by Linden Lab, all the
casino owners drained their accounts overnight, and their reserves went to zero. They could
not keep ahead of withdrawal requests, and they had to convert to [bonds?]. That’s why
they went down. The direct cause is Linden Lab acting like a tyrannical government messing
with the SL economy.
15. BEYERS: Ben, I was thinking that you would want to respond to that, so take it away.
BEN: Well, I think that what Linden Lab said in their press release on this policy was
actually what caused Ginko’s collapse, and that’s that it was doomed to collapse from the
beginning. And I think that whenever we hold one of these events or whenever we interview
somebody who’s running one of these institutions, there is a different story about what went
wrong with Ginko. It being invested in a Brazilian telecom is one that I hadn’t heard before.
But we know from the person who ran it that they were paying themselves between $1,000
and $2,000 U.S. dollars a month in salary. And so that’s where some of the money went.
I’m concerned that similar things are true of a great number of Second Life banks, and I
think Linden Lab was too. It may not be true about the banks that are owned by the
gentleman with whom I’m sharing the stage, and I hope it’s not. You know, they seem like
nice guys. But the reality is that almost all Second Life banks are insolvent from their
inception, and they are because they offer extraordinarily high interest rates, and they don’t
have investments that make that level of interest.
INTLIBBER: You don’t have any basis to base that charge on.
BEN: Let me throw out a couple of numbers. I mean, these are numbers that come from
Travis’s bank. At this point you can get 2.5 percent a week, which works out, assuming--is
that compounded weekly, Travis?
TRAVIS: Yes. Yes, it is.
16. BEN: I mean if that’s compounded weekly, that’s 361 percent a year interest. In other
words, if I give you a $100 today, I should expect to get $361 back on January 10.
INTLIBBER: That’s right.
BEN: Now, you’ve got to invests--making 361 percent a year. When this bank started--and
I’ve got the reference for this; I’ll throw in a backchat when I’m done. It’s on the Web
archive--you were offering 6.75 percent a week interest. That’s 2,986 percent interest. And
you charge a lot for loans, but you charge 11 to 25 percent a year as interest on loans. I
mean the different is just staggering.
TRAVIS: No. No, that is incorrect. That is incorrect. We charge 11 to 18 percent--
BEN: That’s a weekly--
TRAVIS: --weekly.
BEN: 6.75 percent a week. Let me throw the reference in backchat right now. It’s on the
Web archive. You offered 6.75 percent a week, which is almost--
TRAVIS: No, I’m not disputing that. I’m not disputing that. What I am disputing is the 11 to
18 percent per year.
17. BEN: On the loans.
TRAVIS: Our rates on our loans are between 11--and actually, now, 21 percent weekly.
Weekly.
BEYERS: So Ben, that’s weekly, right?
BEN: Oh, I understand. All right. All right.
TRAVIS: We are covering almost 14 depositors at the same Linden Dollar amount on one
loan.
BEN: I understand. All right. All right. Then let me just ask this then. It very much relates to
this. I mean if that’s the level that you’re doing you obviously have to be relying on those
loans coming back in at a fairly high rate of return. And you’re comfortable that that’s going
on with your bank?
TRAVIS: Yes, because 99 percent of the time our loans are backed by land, and we do--
BEN: That’s fantastic. That’s fantastic. And this is a really good example. That’s exactly
why I said I really hope--and I believe to some degree that the gentlemen I’m sharing the
stage with are on the up and up. They’ve got their names on their Web sites; they’re very
straightforward.
But I’ve said--and I think is where many of us would agree--I think that these banks have
18. brought you guys down and largely caused this problem. A lot of banks in Second Life are
insolvent from their inception. They simply can’t pay the returns that they’re saying that
they’re going to be able to pay.
INTLIBBER: The problem with that kind of assertion--this is Intlibber here--is that the
economy of Second Life grew in the past year at over 1,000 percent.
BEN: Oh, and if they’re relying on more and more people getting their money, that makes a
lot of sense, but that’s what illegal.
INTLIBBER: Let me finish. Offering 300 percent interest on a deposit is actually extremely
miserly of any SL bank. And less than that--like B&T Financial was paying 44 percent
annual, compounded--was extremely miserly compared to the economic growth.
Now, in the real world, the Real World banks, the Federal Reserve and your local banks
base their interest rates on a couple things: economic growth, inflation rate, unemployment
and the level of debt to savings. Those are the primary things that are involved in the central
banks and local banks determining what interest rates are. And the fact is is that Real World
interest rates are one percent or two percent or half a percent, because economic growth in
the real world sucks, to put it bluntly. Okay?
BEN: That all makes sense, except we’re not relying here on investments and increasing
value in investments. For the most part we’re relying on people who are depositing more
money later. Not in your banks necessarily, but I mean you guys can’t possibly disagree that
Joe Schmo’s Bank of Whatever, who isn’t tied to anything and who’s got three ATMs and
19. who’s been taking in money and that crashed a month and a half after it started, didn’t crash
for exactly that reason. I applaud you guys for your openness, and I actually think that you
probably have two of the better institutions in Second Life.
That said, there are a lot of them that strike me as absolute frauds from the get-go, and I
think that’s why Linden banned this policy.
TRAVIS: And I do agree with that. I agree with--and not just in the financial segment, but
we’re talking all of Second Life. It goes right to your estate owners and everything that
they’re--
BEN: Empty box scams. There’s fraudulent land transfers. There’s so many different ways
that people are screwing each other. But I think--like Linden Lab just picked one that was
obvious, and they got them some press.
BEYERS: I’d like to continue picking up on the argument that Intlibber presented, which is
basically that there’s so much growth in this economy. And actually both Travis and Intlibber
have made this point. There’s so much growth in this economy that high interest rates are
reasonable. That might make sense if this economy were truly isolated from the Real World
economy.
But what I’m trying to figure out is when I look at these, you know, let’s talk about the eight
percent weekly interest on a loan, which is so vastly higher, I feel like we’re talking on the
borderline organized crime rates here where someone’s going to come by and kneecap you.
20. So my question is, just from a business perspective, why are your customers coming to you
to borrow Lindens rather than simply using a credit card and paying 18 percent per year?
INTLIBBER: That’s actually rather easy to answer. Number one, a lot of people--
BEYERS: This is Intlibber, right?
INTLIBBER: This is Intlibber. Sorry. Yeah. A lot of people in Second Life, number one, don’t
have payment info on file. If they do, they don’t want their SL transactions to be part of their
credit history. Number three, they may be in countries where it’s very difficult to get money
in-world. I know outside of the U.S. the only way to get money into PayPal is if you have a
business account, and a lot of people don’t have that. I’ve run into that with Brazilians, with
Europeans, you name it. People that are not in the U.S. have a lot of trouble getting money
in-world. And even those who have that capability, the amount is limited to a certain amount.
So if they want to engage in any kind of business, they have a serious barrier to entry in
getting capital in-world unless they can use in-world capital markets.
BEYERS: So basically there is a boundary. It really is a separate economy then, in your
eyes, because of these—
[CROSSTALK]
INTLIBBER: Well, it’s a [semi-set?]--
21. BEYERS: Transaction. Transaction.
INTLIBBER: Yeah. There are barriers to entry. There are also people who are in the U.S.
who, whether they want to keep their privacy, or maybe they’re young and they don’t have a
credit history. They don’t have a credit card. Maybe their credit stinks in the real world,
maybe due to no fault of their own, someone who’s medically bankrupt or whatever. And the
thing is, people come into SL for a fresh start and they try to make a new life, and this is why
it’s a second life because you can come in, and you can be whatever you want to be. You
can create your own reality, and you can create a life and even a business in here and
make your living.
There’s over 50,000 people in SL who have positive Linden flow, which means they make
part of their income here in SL, whether it’s as little as $10 a month, up to over $5,000 a
month. There’s a ton of people who make their livings here, and a lot of those people I
would wager could not make their living in the real world, and that’s why they’re making their
living here.
BEYERS: Okay. This is Rob again. Let me follow up with a question to our two bankers,
which is--well, actually, you know what? Ben, do you have any more responses to what
they’re saying? Do you feel more satisfied that these interest rates are reasonable?
BEN: Yeah. I mean I think it’s really important to draw a distinction between a business
that’s making what it’s doing relatively clear. And I mean while I’d look at these two
businesses, and I did some looking at them over the last day or two, and I’ve been on a
22. panel with these guys. There’s a balance sheet up on BCX, and I think there’s some
problems with it. But generally they’re trying to disclose some information. They’re clearly
making a lot of interest. I mean it’s on the balance sheet. They’re clearly making a lot of
interest. And now that Travis explains where it comes from, I’m kind of shocked that you can
charge three or 4,000 percent a year interest and get it but, if it’s working, terrific.
That said, I think the bigger picture is that there are 35 bankers who aren’t up on this stage,
a lot of whom don’t have this information available and, as I’ve said, the vast majority of
whom, in my mind, are doing something that prosecutable as wire fraud in the United
States.
BEYERS: Yeah. Well, let me ask you another legal question, Ben, which is: I don’t know
much about usury laws, but I do know that there are limits on how much interest you can
charge. Do you see any potential problems there?
BEN: Yeah. I do think that’s a problem. It’s considered usury to charge an extraordinarily
high amount of interest and I think that if anybody started looking into that, they might have
some problems with it. But that’s probably 15th on the scrutiny list at this point. The bigger
problem is the people who are just outright stealing the money. That said, I thought it was
interesting that Travis was referring to how people can make real money in this, and of
course, Linden Lab does too. It says, “You can make real money. That’s right. Real money.”
And that’s in bold on the Web site. I guess I’d ask Intlibber to respond to Travis’s point: Is it
real money?
23. INTLIBBER: Well, that’s a good question. Linden Lab says it’s not real money. At least
that’s what Ginsu said a month ago before I was on Metanomics the first time. He was
saying that it’s a licensed product. Well, if it’s a licensed product, then they can’t insist that
we have banking charters. I mean that would be like saying, “Jillian, you’re there in
Denmark. You’re a banker in the Real World. So if I got elected to the Danish government
and I got a law passed saying that someone who pays people for the privilege of storing,
let’s say, fish, has to have a banking charter to pay people for the privilege of storing fish,”
what would you say to that sort of a law?
JILLIAN: I must say that would be a very funny one. But at the end of the day we can say
that the Linden dollar is not real money. But we all know that we change real U.S. dollars, or
we change real Danish kronas to Linden dollars. So when the money is not there, we leave
the avatar and the real person comes out saying, “Hey, where is my money? Where did it
go?” And these people want their money back.
So the main problem with banks and stock exchanges in Second Life is that, if you compare
just regulation, in general, of a Real Life bank, yes, you have a balance sheet out, but you
don’t have any clear organizations that are properly controlling these organizations and
making sure that, indeed, they’re not paying themselves off amazing salaries and using the
monies for the wrong purposes.
INTLIBBER: As many people know, I’ve been trying to get going on at least the stock
market level of things, and we had a lot of resistance in some areas.
BEYERS: Now, this is Intlibber, right?
24. INTLIBBER: Right. Yeah. And I agree with Jillian on that, that there does need to be
oversight. The problem is the people doing the oversight need to operate from the context of
the in-world economy and in light of the in-world culture and not applying Real World
standards to our economy here in SL because the economy is extremely different from the
Real World economy. We are essentially an almost pure information economy. And
anybody who’s studied concepts of accelerating growth, particularly in the area of
economics, whether it’s Ray Kurzweil or Vernor Vinge or others in that area, it’s rather clear
that without such limitations, such a geography or natural resources or energy or manpower
or other things that limit our ability in the Real World to have greater economic growth, don’t
exist in SL. The only scarce resource in SL is our creativity. And that’s the only thing that
prevents the economic growth from being higher than the 1,000 percent a year that it’s been
over the past year.
And so when Linden Lab says that a 300 percent or a 44 percent or 20 percent or whatever
percent interest rate is unsustainable, what they’re really saying is that the SL economy
itself is unsustainable because people are not creative. And, beyond that, they are
predicting their own demise if they feel that the SL economy is not sustainable anything over
zero percent interest.
BEYERS: Well, now, that’s one perspective. This is Rob again. That’s one perspective,
which is that they’re truly concerned about the levels of interest that investors are being
promised. But if you read the details, not just of the policy but also of the FAQ, you know
what they emphasize. And let me just read this first paragraph again. The first part of the
25. sentence they say, “It will be prohibited to offer interest--which is underlined, so Linden
Lab’s emphasis--it will be prohibited to offer interest or any direct return on an investment
from any object.”
BEN: That’s another laughable policy.
BEYERS: Well, yeah. Intlibber and I talked a little about this before the session, that there
have been religious bodies before, including the Pope and the Islamic imams who have
done things like outlaw interest. Actually there are even Wall Street Journal articles that
discuss how new financial engineers are essentially working around the restrictions of
Sharia that are saying that you cannot offer interest.
So if we just look at this as a problem with contract structuring, that they’re saying basically
you cannot promise a certain return of a fixed amount of interest above zero percent, now I
guess the question that I have for the people who are running the banks, and also for you,
Ben, as a lawyer, is how closely is it going to be possible for these institutions to simulate
what they’re doing now while not violating the policy simply by offering, for example, a
share, a participation in income, some form of dividend?
So I guess first, to the bankers--Travis, actually let me start with you because you’re solely a
banking operation. What is your plan? Are you considering a direction along those lines?
TRAVIS: Actually, we’ve got about four directions that we’re looking at right now. We’ve
actually been contacted by two Real Life banks, and we are working with them. We don’t
know exactly where we’re going with that because there is a lot involved in that.
26. BEYERS: Oh, so you’re actually thinking of then taking the direction of getting that Real
World regulatory oversight?
TRAVIS: We are considering--
BEYERS: Perhaps through a buyout?
TRAVIS: Yeah. Well, no, not perhaps--through a buyout. We would work in partnership. But
the fact of the matter here is we are not sure if that is the direction that we’re going to take
because of the regulations that are involved. Obviously we would have to change our entire
business model because we can’t charge 2.5, 5, 10, 15 percent per week. I mean it’s no
longer feasible.
And then you run into a few problems with whose jurisdiction will it actually be, then? Will it
be U.S. usury laws? Will it be Africa’s usury laws? I don’t know. And the documentation that
we would have to provide and the information that we’d have to collect, that all becomes
fairly prohibitive. So it’s something that we are talking about, but we have not decided on a
precise path right now.
BEYERS: Okay. And now the other direction would be presumably to not offer interest and
deal with their policy by not being--what? Are you considering the dividend model or profit
sharing or mutual organization model?
TRAVIS: Yes, we are.
27. BEYERS: And is your concern that that would still be viewed under the terms of the policy
as it’s unacceptable, or just you’re not sure quite how to make that work?
TRAVIS: Well, actually I do have an opinion, and it is just that. It’s an opinion. But my
opinion would be this: Is that if there are problems, if Linden Labs, in the crux of the
statement, is that the interest rates are unsustainable, if we have actual profit and we are
only turning that over in a dividend, be it putting everything on an exchange or something
like that, if we are only turning over exactly what we have earned, then it’s no longer an
unsustainable thing; it’s backed by the money right there.
So I mean obviously this hit us pretty hard and pretty fast. They could have given us even
five minutes’ notice, and we could have done a lot. But we are right now just really
considering all of our options. Like I said, we’ve had about four decent options including,
actually, some of our own customers that have decided, “Hey, how about if we just give you
the money, and you can go ahead and be totally liquid, and we will work with the rest of it at
a later date?”
BEYERS: Okay. Let’s see. Ben, what is your take on that type of response? Do you think
that has muscle?
BEN: Yeah. I mean I think that the first idea that was discussed, which is that some of these
banks that have, to some degree, an established track record, may well be able to establish
a partnership with a Real Life bank and piggybank on a banking license. It solves a lot of
28. their problems but also, of course, subjects them to Real Life scrutiny. And I think that, you
know, my personal opinion, and I’ve made this clear for a while is that when you’re talking
about an offer where people can make real money, you’re going to be scrutinized in Real
Life, and so that may be the solution.
The other possibilities, one that was mentioned is essentially creating shares of stock in
something and giving dividends as a result of share ownership. I think that that’s,
unfortunately perhaps for my other colleague on the panel, Intlibber, I think that’s going to
be on Linden Lab’s radar screen next. And I think that there are real questions as to whether
or not these stock exchanges violate securities laws. And I would not be at all surprised to
see this as a shot across the bow of the stock exchanges. I don’t know. Obviously I have no
inside information, but I would question the idea of converting a bank into a share-granting
institution because I don’t think that’s probably going to last a terribly long time either.
DAVID: Robert, this is Dave Talbot. I have to sign off in about ten minutes. Is there anything
else you wanted to cover with me?
BEYERS: Well, do you have responses to what you’ve heard so far?
DAVID: Oh, it’s very interesting. I still would like to know who was Ginko and where is that
money? That was the question I posed at the beginning. Who is this person, exactly? You
guys are all stepping up and speaking out, but I don’t know who that person is or where that
money went, so that would still be very interesting to me. The whole thing has been very
interesting. I have nothing really to add to it, but if anybody has questions for me or wants
29. me to participate in some way, let me know.
BEYERS: Well, I’m delighted that you were able to participate. I think maybe some other--
actually, I’d just as soon not spend too much time on Ginko right now just because we have
some other topics I’m hoping to cover. Go ahead.
DAVID: You had me on because I wrote that story and if there was questions anybody had
or anybody wanted to add something pertaining to that, I’d be more than happy to step in. Is
there anything more you wanted to discuss pertaining to that?
BEN: Could I ask David a question?
BEYERS: Yeah, absolutely.
BEN: Could I ask David a question? David, I wonder what you found the impact from these
people, if you followed up with them since then or even at the end of the article, was. Are
these people who you talked to who lost hundreds of dollars to Ginko going to remain
involved in Second Life and continue contributing content driving the economy forward, or
are they so turned off by it that they’re leaving?
DAVID: I think it was a mix of both. I mean I think now they’re gun shy, but they’re definitely
not quitting. They’re just a lot more sort of careful and circumspect about what they do and
very wary of banks, which isn’t surprising. But I wouldn’t say that they’ve checked out of the
system; they’re just a lot more wary. That was my impression from them.
30. BEYERS: Yeah, well, that’s an interesting answer given the opinion, Ben, that you were
expressing earlier that you view this as a business move that basically is going to help keep
customers happy and retain them and keep contributing to the Linden Lab Second Life
community.
DAVID: It would be interesting to ask them--I haven’t had a chance to ask them what their
reaction is to this move. I suspect, based on conversations I had with them, that they would
be pleased and feel that it was appropriate. Of course, they may not feel that way. I
shouldn’t purport to speak for them, but that would be my guess. And looking at the postings
underneath the announcement, there was quite a bit of relief expressed by a lot of people, it
seemed to me.
BEYERS: So I hope that you will be able to follow up with some of those people and maybe
give us some insights on how the people that you interviewed for that article are reacting.
And I think also, speaking for the financial community, we hope that you’ll let us read
whatever article you’re going to write in Technology Review so we can determine whether
we want to give you permission to publish it in Technology Review and [goad?] Linden Lab
into banning the next activity.
DAVID: Well, maybe Linden Lab will ban all journalism by me or others now. Who knows?
BEYERS: Only the bad stuff. Only the bad stuff. Thank you.
DAVID: Well, I guess I’ll sign off now, unless there’s anything else anybody wanted to ask.
31. BEYERS: Thank you so much for participating, David.
DAVID: Well, it’s been very interesting. Thank you very much, and thank you for choosing
such a good-looking avatar.
BEYERS: Our pleasure.
DAVID: Bye, everybody. Feel free to email me at the magazine if anybody wants to throw a
comment my way or send along any information. I’ll be more than happy to take a look or
answer what you have, any questions.
BEYERS: Wonderful.
DAVID: Thank you, everybody.
BEYERS: I would like to move on and pursue that question a little further on the question of
the stock exchanges. And in particular, this is for you, Intlibber, because you run one of the
major exchanges in Second Life, and so I’d be interested in hearing what changes you
anticipate making and how you think. You know, do you worry, as Ben does, that you’re
next?
INTLIBBER: Well, because ACE doesn’t provide interest on deposits, then we don’t have
any problems with this current policy, other than philosophically. As for companies paying
32. dividends, that doesn’t fall under the policy for the simple fact that the whole group system
in SL, which people do a lot of their land ownership and other interactions over, the group
system pays dividends as well. So we don’t think that dividends are going to be an issue
with Linden Lab.
Now, in terms of Real Life regulation, as we had discussed in the previous show I was on,
the in-world exchanges are so small in terms of capitalization that they are clearly falling
within the realm of what’s called the microcap exchange which, under the SEC, is
unregulated, unlicensed, and it’s very low degree of oversight on any microcap-listed
company, the pink sheets and whatever you have for a similar type of mechanism in other
countries, those types of companies they don’t have the sort of oversight and regulation that
most people are used to.
When the average man on the street thinks about stock exchanges, they’re thinking about
New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, AMEX, that sort of thing, which have a high
degree of oversight and regulation because they have such a large amount of capitalization.
Companies worth billions and billions of dollars is a far, far cry from a company that has
capitalized at the equivalent of a few thousand U.S. dollars.
BEN: This is Ben. I agree with that. I want to comment and ask you this because I think you
probably know more about the pink sheet stuff than I do, but I know that they do have a
certain amount of regulation that is associated with those. Are you aware of any of the other
stock exchanges that are following even that minimum level of information gathering or
attention and reporting at this point?
33. INTLIBBER: Well, I had founded the SL Exchange Commission, as many people are
aware, originally because of my concerns about oversight at the World Stock Exchange
when I was a director there. And we essentially founded our own stock exchange at ACE
because of shortcomings we saw in other exchanges. However, a number of the
exchanges, whether they belong to the SL Exchange Commission or not, have generally
stepped up to the plate and adopted a lot of the measures that the SLEC has adopted in the
interest of increasing transparency and that sort of thing. For example, the SLEC came up
with its model reporting standard and, as a result, all the exchanges now require their listed
companies to file financial statements on a monthly or quarterly basis, and that’s something
that we stand for and I know that CAPX does as well and VISTX and so on and so forth.
So all of the exchanges are doing their best to follow what the SLEC is doing, and I think a
lot of Real World regulators are looking at what the SLEC is doing and hope that it continues
and that the exchanges continue to follow the standards that it adopts, especially looking at
what’s going on with the World Stock Exchange. I shouldn’t comment on that personally,
and it’s too bad we don’t have T.J. Souza here. He’s the chairman of the SLEC. But the
more the exchanges in-world cooperate with the SL Exchange Commission the less we’re
going to have to worry about this sort of a rule coming down on the exchanges in the future.
BEYERS: Okay. Let’s see. Jillian, you are the one representative of a real regulated bank
here on the panel, and it strikes me that this policy is going to have, potentially, a couple
positive effects for you because Linden has effectively eliminated some competition and
encouraged banks, like for example BCX, to talk about partnering with you.
34. Obviously this isn’t going to be a decision you personally would make, but do you think
there’s much appetite in an organization like Saxo to jump in and get involved now that
maybe the market has been opened up a little with greater advantages to someone who
already has regulatory oversight?
JILLIAN: Well, I would say I guess we are one of the few people that, when we heard about
this new change, well, we must admit that we were rather happy because, no matter what, it
opens a lot of doors for organizations like us. The one thing I would like to point out, though,
is that, as you may already know, we are not a conventional bank in the sense that we’re
offering current accounts and services such as the one that BCX is offering to avatars in-
world. You would be able to compare us more with--I would almost say, for example, the
services of the stock exchange as Intlibber, since clients what they do is basically invest in
markets as well such as stocks, foreign exchange, futures and so on. So in that sense you
could say it’s a different market.
But, yes, I definitely see the possibility because, as I mentioned to you before, I do see a lot
of potential in these stock exchanges in-world because it is an environment where people
that might be risk averse can come and really understand what trading is, how it works,
what one needs to know to be able to be a good trader. And basically, as they develop their
skills in-world, they then become more comfortable traders and then might feel comfortable
enough to go from an account in Linden dollars to, let’s say, a $10,000 account trading in
Real Life stocks. Not everybody has the guts to, let’s say, start in the big leagues
immediately, so this is a very good starting point to learn about what trading is. And in that
sense I think definitely eventual partnerships could be interesting for us.
35. And also because there is a demand for virtual investment products, it is for us also a new
opportunity to start looking again to what is possible to eventually offer, yeah, those that
want to trade Linden related, Second Life related products. I--
BEYERS: Go ahead.
JILLIAN: Yes. I also wanted to comment one thing, because I mean the idea of a
partnership as such is very interested, but as we’ve all been discussing for the last hour, this
is all a matter of trust. What happened is that people have been robbed, and people stopped
believing in the whole banking system of SL. And basically what we as a real bank do, then,
to maintain the trust is basically that we guarantee our customers that, let’s say, in case of
bankruptcy, they will be guaranteed up to, in our case at least, up to 40,000 euros back.
To do this, we need the real information on these customers. We need all their Real Life
details and, if people really want, let’s say, a well running banking system in Second Life,
that also means that they need to separate the avatar from the human being because the
avatar is the one that has the experiences in-world while, at the end of the day, we can say
that there are some people that just earn money by being in Second Life by camping, by
working and so on. But this money, the majority of it was injected by a credit card, and we
all know that at the end of the day, yeah, what basically runs the economy are the people
basically paying their memberships every month, are the people spending money to build
every month and so on.
BEYERS: Okay. I should mention that when you were talking about the educational
benefits of being able to trade for relatively small amounts of money in Second Life, in the
36. policy there actually is a specific exclusion for companies that otherwise would fall under the
purview of the policy but have educational or other appropriate nonprofit goals. So that
might also be something that groups could consider.
Okay. So we’re just about out of time now. What I would like to do, just as we close the
panel, is just talk about a couple issues just to wrap this up, and I’ll let the panelists weigh in
on either one or both as they care to.
The first one is how do you see this policy affecting the long-term growth of the Second Life
economy? And the second one is what sort of marks would you give Linden Lab for the way
in which they implemented this policy? So whether or not you agree with the policy--and let
me just actually quote from something I wrote in the academic blog Terra Nova on Tuesday.
I wrote as a prediction, “Linden Lab--well, let me say actually I wrote one that I didn’t think
there would have much effect on the economy because banking, unlike the Real World, isn’t
really that crucial to the functioning of our economy in Second Life. And second, as far as
the process, I wrote, “Linden Lab will be blamed for acting precipitously, waiting too long,
not telling anybody about the policy in advance, telling a ‘feted inner core’ about the policy in
advance, not giving enough lead time, being autocratic, and ignoring resident desires, and
they’ll also be praised for giving plenty of lead time, acting quickly, being patient, and being
responsive to resident desires.” And actually I’ve heard just about everything that I’ve listed
there. I’ve heard just about everything advanced by someone. So anyone who wants to
weigh in on either of these points, the economy or the process, just let me know.
INTLIBBER: Sure. Intlibber here. I’d like to weigh in on it.
37. BEYERS: Intlibber, you want to start?
INTLIBBER: Yeah.
BEYERS: Okay.
INTLIBBER: If you look at history, essentially the SL economy, prior to the rise of the capital
markets, operated essentially like the medieval economy. You had guilds. You had peat
craftsmen. You had people who were buying and selling product, but there was no real way
for people to invest their saved capital, and people were generally expected to donate it to
the church rather than save it up or try to invest it in things. Some people did. The
merchants and other traders did. And the Church tried to outlaw interest at that time, and
the merchants responded by enacting a set of three contracts called the Contractum Trinius,
which basically replicated all the characteristics of providing interest and deposit coverage,
and the Church could not eliminate any of those three contracts without destroying the
existing economy, and they networked around the Catholic Church then, and I think that it’s
going to be inevitable that people are going to network around what Linden Lab is doing.
That being said, if Linden Lab acts any more stringently in trying to interfere with the
economy--now, the banking crisis is something of their own creation, and now they’re
making it worse with stupid decisions. You’ve got lawyers making the sort of decisions that
economists should be making. And if things continue this way, the SL economy is going to
be going backward quite a bit. It’s too bad, and things are going to need to change. And I
38. also happen to think that this policy happens to be a big reason why Cory Linden is no
longer with Linden Lab. He invented the Linden dollar and the concept of owning property in
SL. And I think that it’s too bad that he’s not here, and I think that this is one of the results of
that resignation.
BEN: Ben. And I have a slightly different perspective.
BEYERS: Yeah, I was going to say I heard the word “lawyer” in there so I figured that we
would want to hear from you next.
BEN: Well, that’s fine. On that particular point, I actually agree with him. I think that these
are economic decisions, and they should be made by economists, not lawyers. That said, I
don’t think that this was entirely an economic decision.
Well, we’ve all talked about this, and I didn’t hear a whole lot of disagreement from anybody
on the panel, with the idea that while some of these businesses are legitimate it is
unfortunate that they’re being hurt by this. A great number, perhaps the vast majority of
these businesses are not legal. They’re fraudulent enterprises. So I guess I look back at
history, and I see this more as a situation where we moved from a craftsman/
barter economy in the Middle Ages to a craftsman/barter economy with loan sharks. And
that didn’t impress me. So I think this was a good policy. I think that the long-term effect of
this policy will be that banks that are running legitimate operations and moving money in
and out of Second Life in a legitimate way will either find partnerships or they’ll find another
line of business that doesn’t violate this policy. I think, in the long run, there will be banking. I
39. think that the banks will get licenses. I think the grid will have a healthy banking economy. I
don’t think it did before.
In terms of grading Linden Lab on this policy, I give them a C plus, I guess. I feel like it was
too long in coming but, in the long run, it’s good for the economy as a whole. I think it’s
relatively clear compared to some of their policies, and I think that’s probably because, well,
the gentleman’s name on the top of it is an attorney, and I think that this definitely did come
from the legal department.
BEYERS: Okay. Travis, you want to weigh in on either the economic effects, or the
process?
TRAVIS: Absolutely. Actually, on both of them. First off, I truly don’t agree with policies put
in place to protect residents. That is great. The problem that I did have was the way that it
was implemented and actually the wording that they used. They used very ambiguous
statements which, in my opinion, fueled a run on banks. Period. And I don’t care who you
are, if you owned a bank, you did have a run.
So it was more on implementation, I guess, than anything else. But I have a deeper concern
about what actually does come next. If banks are regulated, then when are realtors going to
have to be regulated? Educators have to be regulated, all be licensed, whatever, that’s
something that I see as a problem.
So aside from that, as far as are banks absolutely necessary? I don’t think so. I mean I
really don’t think they are absolutely necessary, but I do think they do serve a purpose and if
40. they are run legitimately and if they are run with a real business plan and profit model, that
they are actually a benefit to this economy. I mean there are a lot of people that would not
have been able--and I understand not a lot of people if you’re looking at several million
users, but I’m talking in my little part of the world, there are a lot of people that were able to
buy land, pay off that land. They have land of their own. They were able to start businesses
and stuff that really wouldn’t have been possible because of other limitations they have,
whether it be what country they’re from, how new they are, they can only get a certain
amount of Lindens every month, and it wouldn’t have been enough to do whatever business
they wanted to do. I mean there really are a lot of factors out there that I don’t think
everybody has considered.
BEYERS: Okay. And let’s see. Who else would like to--Jillian, do you have a perspective on
this?
JILLIAN: [NO RESPONSE]
BEYERS: Did we lose Jillian? Okay. Well, let’s see. We’ve heard on those last couple
questions.
JILLIAN: I am sorry there.
BEYERS: Oh, there we go, Jillian. Hi.
JILLIAN: I was in Second Life so basically it took me one second to jump back to Skype.
41. Yes, what I wanted to mention is basically it is important for us to realize as avatars in
general why we are in Second Life. Is it basically that we want to be entertained by
something? Is it that we want to learn something? Because, at the end of the day, it’s the
decision of every person that opened an account with such a bank to take the risk and
basically give their money to someone they don’t know. In Real Life, we don’t just go to
anybody and say, “Here. Have my money. Please take care of it, and you’re going to give
me a lot of money back.” That is not how it works. So basically when we are in Second Life,
we need to be aware that if we don’t have proper regulation, in reality this is what we’re
doing, and are we really willing to do this? And, if we are, is it because we think we’re going
to learn something out of it? Why am I doing it?
BEYERS: Yeah. I think one of the questions that we’ve been seeing repeatedly during our
Metanomics sessions on the financial institutions in general is why are people in Second
Life using them? And I think one of the things that we see today is that that’s not a very
simple question to answer. There are people who are doing it because they see profit
opportunities. I think there are people who are creating institutions because they see
illegitimate profit opportunities. And there are a lot of people who are doing it as a form of
role play or entertainment. My view is Linden Lab has a difficult job, really, in balancing
appropriate regulation in light of all of these differing roles that the financial community plays
in the Second Life residents’ lives.
So I guess that’s all the time we have or maybe then some. I would like to thank all of our
panelists: David Talbot from Technology Review; Ben Duranske of virtuallyblind.com, who is
currently writing and rewriting a book on virtual law; Travis Ristow, who represents
42. BCX Bank; Intlibber Brautigan, who represents Ancapistan Capital Exchange; and
Jillian Falconi, who represents Saxo Bank in Denmark. Thanks to all of you for putting this
show together. Thanks to SLCN for arranging the technical details, and I guess thanks to
Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management for letting me play my part in
this.
So thank you all again for participating in this special panel discussion on the Linden Lab
new banking policy in Second Life, and I hope we will have further discussions. Thanks a
lot.
[END OF AUDIO]
Document: cor1001.doc
Transcribed by: http://www.hiredhand.com
Second Life avatar: Transcriptionist Writer