How to Earn Linden Dollars in Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world that corresponds in almost every way to the real world. It has land, houses, gardens, forests, parties, businesses and even money. The Second Life unit of virtual currency is called the "Linden dollar" (L$) after the Linden brothers who own and run the site. If you spend much time in this computer-generated society, you are going to need L$. At one time, all members received a weekly stipend depending on their membership category, but last year the Linden brothers suspended the stipend for basic members, making it more necessary than ever to earn L$ in Second Life. Here are some ways to do so.

Things You'll Need

• Second Life Client download
• Linden dollars (L$), the virtual currency used in Second Life
• Computer with Internet access via DSL or cable modem

Instructions

1. Establish a membership in Second Life at the Web site's home page (see the Resources section below). Raise your current membership to a premium tier in your "Accounts" section on the "Contact" page. You usually gain a certain amount of free L$ by joining or upgrading.

2. Look up the amount of your premium-level stipend (if applicable). Check "Commerce," "Design," a store or another section that involves the exchange of virtual currency. Find out the going rates for various goods and services.

3. Ask yourself which of these goods or services you might buy and compare the prices with your stipend. You will probably find that you could use a few extra Linden dollars.

4. Think about what you might contribute to Second Life. Can you design avatars, make up games, buy and sell "real" estate, embed programming in objects or create textures (an important skill, especially in landscaping and clothing design)? Look around the site for more ideas.

5. Practice the techniques needed to create goods and services in the virtual world, especially LSL, the scripting language used to manipulate objects.

6. Sell an object. Right-click it, choose "Edit," select "For Sale" and enter your price.

7. Get a job. For instance, find an employer who needs a dancer to attract people to large events or a shop assistant to handle the sale of goods (see Resources below).

8. Work freelance to earn money. Expert scripters (requiring exceptional knowledge of LSL), event organizers, animators and many others are in demand by those less skilled at virtual creation.

9. Buy Linden dollars using real currency (US dollars only).

Tips & Warnings

• Read the Second Life newsletter. It often contains success stories of business owners and freelancers (see Resources below).

• It is considered very bad form to ask to borrow Linden dollars from fellow members. Second Life commerce is conducted on a (virtual) cash-only basis.

• As with any transaction over the Internet, guard your identity. Be careful with whom you share financial information.