Interview With Philip Rosedale, Second Life

We’ve been hanging in the dance halls, and checking everyone’s houses but what else do people do in SL?

People are doing everything in Second Life – from getting together with friends and building everyone’s dream house to raising money for charities, holding conferences, teaching classes, making art, creating all manner of goods and services to sell to other residents, providing support for the needy, running newspapers and falling in love.  Anything you can imagine.

There was some interesting discussion at the Lawrence Lessig lecture about SL being a new democracy where new rules could be established. A utopia, maybe? What do you think about this?

It seems very likely that the freedom people have to create local regions or islands within Second Life with different forms of governance will result in many different utopian ‘experiments’.  This is something that will be fascinating to watch, and may even inform decisions about the real world.

Copyright and IP is obviously a pressing issue in SL. Can you give an example of where there is a grey area?

Things are pretty clear – as a user, you own what you create in Second Life. 

People making money in SL: where are the boom areas?

Fashion design, land ownership and rental have always been popular and successful businesses in Second Life.  Residents have always been smart about figuring out what the communities needs were and then providing a solution.  The Second Life economy is driven purely by supply and demand.   

How can companies get involved with Second Life. What about advertising? Or brands making lands or experiences in SL?

I’ve always said that if a company wants to join Second Life, they should buy an island and hang out for a month and then talk with one of the in-world development companies.  Basically, I feel like everyone is on a level playing field.  Companies will succeed or fail in Second Life based on how well they understand and meet the needs of the community.

Thank you

Second Life

Visit PSFK in Second Life here.