The Second Job

[Ghel]

I work as a DJ on Second Life. SL may be a virtual world, but I treat it just like a real life job: I go to work, I do my thing and I leave, for the most part. But I chose the clubs that I DJ at because I like the clubs, I like the owners, and I have fun there.

But I still have my share of SCs. People who complain about the song/music, but refuse to request something else. People who make requests but never tip me. People who request music that doesn’t fit the theme of the club. (One of the clubs I work at is a rock-n-roll club, and I sometimes get requests for rap, trance, or country.)

One of the places I used to work was a nude sex beach. Yes, it was set up so that people could have sex right on the beach, near the dance floor. No, that didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the guys who would show up on the sim, but not bother to leave the landing point before sending me an im: “Your avatar’s hot. Let’s have sex.” Really?

One of the nice things about working in SL is that, if you get a harasser or griefer, you can either mute that person or eject/ban them (if you have permissions, which the land owner generally gives out to DJs).

It’s a fun job despite the SCs, though. I get to listen to music I like. I get the “club” experience without having to deal with drunk assholes in my face. I can control the music volume, so my ears aren’t ringing when I leave. I can drink or not, as I like, and I don’t have to drive home afterwards cause, hey, I’m already there. And I make a few lindens* in the process.

*Lindens are virtual money. They can be exchanged for real money, but I’m not sure what the current exchange rate is. I end up spending all my $L on in-world things.

[Flying Grype]

Nice! I'm occasionally a party hostess in SL. I've never had the SCs, though. I do actually work when I'm a hostess, I keep people talking on the dance floor rather than just lurking, I publicize the party in the group, and so on. The closest I've ever had to SCs were the folks who all came to see the DJ one night, tipped him like crazy, and didn't tip me a thing. It doesn't bug me, the venue still pays me for my time.

[Raveni]

Wow, I was just thinking about people making money in virtual worlds. There really isn't much of a market for armored codpieces or 1000dps sticks in Diablo 3 right now...

What kind of things do you spend your $L on?

[Heksubah]

I used to DJ and was a DJ/Events Manager for a club in Second Life. I loved the work, but that place was serious MiM material. They've been around since 2007 so they are long standing, but... just ugh.

Now I spend my SL days off in a roleplaying community and I love it. <3

[Ghel]

Quoth Raveni

What kind of things do you spend your $L on?

You had to ask? You're in for it now!

I rent a small beachfront property on which I've placed an Asian-inspired house. I've furnished the house partly with freebies and partly with things I've bought. I spend $L on hair, skins (although I really like the one I've got now), clothes, shoes, and tips when someone else is DJing. I work exclusively for tips, and so do most other DJs, so I like to give back when I can afford to.

I could talk about this all day, but you folks would get bored.

[RealUnimportant]

I never managed to get SL working properly; the tutorials always skipped around & I ended up having to work out too much for myself... I really should give it another go sometime!

[raudf]

Speaking of SL.. I need to get off my duff and get back in and work. It's a self supporting hobby for me.

To avoid getting hit on, I have a dragon av folder that I drag'n'drop onto my av whenever I get tired of the attention. There is apparently something disturbing about having a "hot chick," turn into a huge dragon that sets the Romeo wanna-be TPing for the Welcome areas.

[MistressOfTangents]

well I wouldn't be bored.. but then I spend a fair amount of time in there myself.
And I understand how annoying it is, I've had far too many unwanted “Your avatar’s hot. Let’s have sex", type ims, myself.

[Zoom]

I can't go back to SL. Tried to deal in "real" estate and did poorly. Coded a lot of cool gizmos, which didn't sell even though they worked perfectly.

The place is a money trap for like 90+% of its players. You really have to know your stuff to make the fake dough.

On the other hand, apart from the constant advertising everywhere, it's a nice game and can be played without spending money, but that's like saying you can play Pac-Man without eating the energizers. Or the fruit.

[Draco]

Lord. I remember when gambling was allowed and there were in-game banks that actually gave interest (they invested money in in game and out of game things). Remember when they were shut down by order of the Feds too. lol

I blew so much cash on SL. Then again, I typically tipped dancers and DJs 500 to 1000 $L a pop. ...generally several times a night. I was very well liked by dancers and DJs when I went to the various parties and clubs.