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!