News Flash

Just a quick note for all you SSI fans. I'm getting reports that SSI has been hard at work and delivered a few new vendors to designers like FAKT and DW Surf. Be on the look out for these new designs they are AWESOME!

Be sure to Visit FAKT and DW Surf Co. Main stores to see and buy the new boards!

Surfing as a Business Part 2

Part #2 I want my own surf sim!

Ok, you love surfing and decided that you want to own your very own surfing destination there are a few decisions you need to make upfront.

The most important question: Do I want to;

a- Have the place of my dreams knowing full well that I’ll have to pay for the sim myself.

b- Have the place of my dreams and hopefully break even.

c- Make tons of money, and retire from my vast Sim Empire.

If you answered “C” stop reading now, you need counseling. If you answered “a” or “b” I can help you. Now that you’ve decided you really want to run your own surf sim there’s another very important question.

Rent or Buy?

This seems a relevant question in SL and RL these days. Here are a few pros and cons;

Rent:

If you rent its more then likely that you will be renting a Homestead sim. Currently the price your landlord will be paying for a HS sim is $125 USD/Month roughly 32,500 Lindens so you can bet your price will be higher. For this you will have 3750 prims at your disposal and can accommodate 20 people at one time without crashing the sim.

Pros-

Renting is easy; you don’t have to invest the large chuck of cash buying the sim. Even if someone gives you a sim, which is more common then you would think, there is still a $100 USD transfer charge and you can’t own a HS sim without owning a Full sim.

You have 99% of the rights that the owner does, so you can terra-form, select the media, subdivide your sim, ect.

When you get bored with your grand experiment, just give your landlord some notice and you’re done! No ties, customer service or trying to find a buyer to deal with.

I would recommend this to anyone that just wants to have a surf area to enjoy with friends.

Cons-

The biggest drawback is you’re at the mercy of your landlord. You never know when the landlords business (sim rentals) will go belly up. If you find someone you know or like it should be less of a gamble. If its someone that directs you in their profile to send all questions to another AV, think twice.

Another potential disadvantage is not being located adjacent to a Full Sim. We’ll discus later how this could potentially make or break your dream of having a successful sim.

Buy:

If you have the money buying gives you ultimate control, they don’t call them God powers for nothing! Anyone that purchases a Private Region (sim) must buy at least one full sim. So if your intention is to buy just one Homestead sim, it doesn’t work that way.

Pro:

Buying gives you total control of your sim. You and only you will be responsible for the success or failure of your venture.

Con:

The number one problem for someone wanting a little sim to call his or her own is that you can’t own a HS sim without having a Full Sim. The price to enter the world of sim ownership is a steep one! Full Sims from linden are $1,000 USD, Homestead Sims are $375 USD. If you can buy one from another resident you will have to pay whatever they are willing to sell it for and the $100 transfer fee.

Another point to remember is that Linden automatically deducts the amount from your credit card or bank account monthly; you can’t just forget to pay.

Ok so I’ve given you a sampling of the pros and cons. Now one of you will stand up and say, “I’m going to rent a Full Sim!” 100 people can be on the sim, I’ll have prims to burn and I can run my waves and have a few shops on there too, everyone wins!!

Again sorry to burst your bubble but at $295 USD/month or 76,700 Lindens you’ll need to sell a lot of bathing suits and boards to make that nut! I’m not saying it’s impossible, but something will suffer. When you have shops, rental houses and waves all one sim LAG becomes your business partner.

Lots of rentals usually mean getting 30 IMs a day about waves not running right, lost boards, music, finding people screwing in your rental house bed, some strange naked guy hovering over the beach. Whatever you can think of I’ve already dealt with it. This isn’t all bad just keep that in mind for later.

Don’t give up hope yet! Look for Part 3.

Surf Sims a Business?

Hi whom ever still reads this! Sorry its been so long. I have thought long and hard about SL and surfing and decided to pass on a little of what I know. As most of you know Surf Sims have been dying off recently and the following is my thoughts on how to make a surf sim work.

I'll post it in 6 parts so follow along if your interested and give me your feedback.

The Business of SL Surfing

Part #1 A little history

If you’re reading this you probably have more then a passing interesting in Surfing in Second Life. If you are a Surf Sim owner your probably a little more interested. Surfing in SL has evolved from out of the primordial Linden oceans like that first animal to craw up on land and take its first look around.

Thanks to the work of few very talented people waves rose from the serine ocean and changed the way we look at the sea forever. From the early days waves, boards and surfing has evolved at a breakneck pace, but there is one thing that really hasn’t evolved. Where do we go to surf?

From the beginning there have been kind souls that provide beautiful beaches to surf, but only problem is that like so much in our real lives the whole idea of a surf sim is unsustainable. To provide the best environment for surfing and performance the sim has to be barren of all other objects and scripts. So how does that sim owner pay for the sim??

Well before one of you shout out from the back “donations!” Please let me stop you from embarrassing yourself. Anyone that has surfed more then 6 months has witnessed beloved, popular surf destinations sink back into the sea. Ahh you might then say “events!!” Sorry to disappoint you again but no, again I point to not only popular surf sims but many other entertainment sims could not sustain their existence with events.

There are ways to make surf sims work! I have been trying to figure this out for almost 3 years and this is what works for me. Its not easy and it isn’t just going to happen on its own. The mantra “Build it and they will come” is Bull Sh#t!