Thursday, September 6, 2007
There is a new burgeoning economy that usually called Virtual Economy. This new economy is a growing, it is global, and, according to a recent story in the New York Times, sweat shops in China have already been setup to start profiting from it.
The interesting thing about this new economy is that you have probably never heard about it, never stepped foot in it, and it is 100% virtual.
Although some of the transactions in Virtual Economy happen on eBay, I am not talking about the people buying and selling real goods and services, these transactions don't actually take place in the World you live in. Massive multi-player online games (MMOs or MMOGs), like Everquest, World of War Craft, Ultima Online and Second Life each have their own virtual worlds, and these virtual worlds are creating virtual economies. By some estimates, the traffic in virtual goods is worth as much as $880 million in real cash every year.
Stick with me here, this gets really interesting.
Each of these virtual worlds have their own currency and these currencies can be bought and sold with real dollars, yen, euros or pounds. In fact, some sites are being setup now to actually track the valuations of these currencies. Want to know the value of 1 Million WOW Gold pieces, or linden dollars compared to US dollars?
GameUSD.com will tell you!
Developers not only have to regulate their software, but they also have to regulate the players. If the rich, high level players buy up all the basic goods, driving the price up so high that new players cannot afford to play is that fair? The programmers at Ultima Online addressed this problem by "dropping" objects in places where low-level characters could easily find them, and buying the generlly useless goods like animal skins that these low-level characters produced. Ultima online morphed from an entirely free market state, to a state which duelly operated on free-market princibles and what was basically a welfare program. Players decided that it was "fair" and kept playing. Most games now implement a system like this one.
Game developers also have to decide if they are going to allow players to use gold, items and characters that where bought off of online auctions. The problem with these things was that anyone with a credit-card now could buy that castle that everyone else had to work for. It destroyed the meritocracy, which was very highly valued by the gamers. Despite this, there was a high demand for these things. Many people did not want to waste the time it would take to kill 1000 bunnies in order to reach level two. There is also the allure of earning cash for doing something you enjoy. Even the most stoic, hard-core
gamers are lured occassionally by the possible thousands of dollars of profits if they sold their characters and virtual goods. So, do developers let the players be, buying and selling as they choose, or do they outlaw pre-leveled characters and bought items and preserve the meritocracy? Do they cater to the professionals who play the game in their spare time and do not want to spend three days leveling, and the young and the rich who just want to be the most bad-ass without having to work for it (the american dream). Or do they cater to their core audience, the dedicated gamer who is going to buy the expansion
packs and is going to keep paying that monthly fee for years?
Not only can you take out your credit card and buy currency for the games, you can also buy anything from high level characters and game items like clothing, swords, and shields. Some games like Second Life, are totally setup to be a virtual economy allowing you to buy virtual land, develop it, and resell it. Anshe Chung, dubbed "The Virtual Rockefeller", currently makes over $150,000 US buying virtual acres, developing these plots, and reselling them.
Most of the transactions are between players and happen in exchanges like eBay. Other sites have been setup to
specifically for this function, ige.com, igxe.com, etc.... In a typical transaction, one player sells and item to another and they arrange to meet up somewhere specific in the game and make the agreed upon trade. Sony has setup Station Exchange, it's own trading site for their Games, and saw $180,000 in transactions in the first 30 days.
Are your kids playing these games? Join them! You might just find a new virtual business between ogre battles!
Online Business - Work From Home - Entrepreneur
Do you remember when you first heard of Ebay. Online auction place. Who thought back then it would end up being so big and so many people would be using this auction site. Most of us are aware that you can auction off just about anything on Ebay. People are making serious money selling products online at Ebay. It is also a great resource to find those hard to find items.
Have you checked into the many possibilities on the web to making some serious cash? There are so many ways to work from home and run your own business. You can buy products wholesale and setup your own internet store. If you do not want to stock items you can find companies that will drop ship your products for you. There are even programs you can buy online that are a complete system that shows you how to do this. Did you ever think you could get your own business up and running for roughly under $100 dollars?
You can make money selling ebooks, writing articles for websites, creating websites...
There are so many ways to make money on the internet today. It just takes a little research and then time on your part to really learn the best ways to promote your idea and become knowledgeable about all the different ways to advertise online.
Do you have what it takes to become an aspiring entrepreneur to start and manage a home based Internet Business? Do you have the Entrepreneur Bug?
Seems with the growth of the World Wide Web more people are becoming entrepreneurs. Just what is an Entrepreneur? There are many definitions the most simple is a person who owns, operates, and takes the risk of starting a business venture. An entrepreneur can also be known as an inventor.
Do you need to invent a product to be an ruthless entrepreneur? Absolutely not, just take an already existing product or idea and create a business and profit from it. Organize a business venture and assume the risks for it. Come up with your own niche to get clients, close deals and start making some serious money. What ever you decide to get involved with you should make sure you really know your product inside and out. What are you waiting for? Start brainstorming today and make your dream of being independently wealthy a reality.
TK Healey chief editor for SurfTilYouDrop® a consumer based website focusing on As Seen On TV products. Visit www.surftilyoudrop.com! Check out the As Seen On TV course by Mark McClure which teaches you how to get clients, close deals and crush your competition Ruthless Entrepreneur;
Work Based from Home and Those Misleading Ads
When it comes to business opportunities, work based from home options should be considered. Work based from home has a many perks including tax advantages and there are solid business opportunities available. Work at home ideas, as they are advertised, may seem a bit confusing or overwhelming at first, but don't need to be.You need to sort through advertisements touting themselves as either "Business Opportunities: or Work at home" You've seen them, especially in the classified sections of newspapers that read: "Business Opportunities: Work at home." Like most people, you are probably skeptical when you see these ads in the paper and you should be. Unfortunately, there are always those out there who try to take advantage of your dream of having your own work based from home business. Single mothers struggling to take care of their children are often victims of this scam.There are a number of these ads that you should avoid. • Envelope stuffing is among the biggest scams out. With this scam, unsuspecting individuals are fooled into believing they can make a great income by simply stuffing envelopes. While a limited number of people will actually make money off of this, most don't. Then of course there is the issue of ethics.• Assembling complex items that can take a very long time to put together, resulting in far less than minimum wage when broken down into an hourly rate. What's more you will often not see any money unless the crafts or other objects you have assembled happen to sell. These scams are certainly not worth your time considering that there are plenty of legitimate work based from home opportunities out there. Sound work based from home ideas simply require using your common sense and not falling for scams that are simply too good to be true.Once you realize that these Business Opportunities: Work at Home ads are not the way to go when trying to establish your own work based from home business, it is time for the serious work to begin. Starting your own work based from home business is not necessarily an easy task and it does take time and work to get it going. Therefore, you need to start considering what type of work based from home business is right for you.Take an honest look at your personality. Do you want to be your own boss, or do you prefer someone else take on responsibility for the business? Do you enjoy spending time on the computer, or would you rather be outdoors. Work based from home does not necessarily mean you have to stay inside the house, so consider all possible avenues to find the one that is best for you.If you wish to start your own work based from home business then brainstorm. There are numerous types of work one can consider, among them:
• Freelance data entry • Freelance writing • Freelance graphic artist• House cleaning, janitorial, window washing or laundry services• Online translation• Online surveys• Plumbing, carpentry, electrical or other handyman services• Driving services• Snow or leaf removal• Landscaping• Phone answering servicesThe list of work based from home ideas could go on and on. It is limited only by your imagination.
Lucy Rodgers is a Work Based from Home expert. Her views and ideas are published regularly on http://www.employment911.com
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