Playing with Business Models: Mobile Phones and Bandwidth in SecondLife

Everyone's trying to think of the business models in SecondLife - from the large corporations to the individuals. It's pretty cool to see what some people think of, and it's sometimes amusing. Consider Building a Virtual Supply Chain in Second Life:

...One of the great and less realistic features of Second Life is that users can fly and one of the challenges of the application is that it requires a lot of bandwidth and RAM. So for those on slower connections, for a small fee, my 3PL company could deliver roses to 20 people faster than a user on a slow connection. Plus, as more retailers pop up, users could purchase products and not have to wait around as they are being built, as in the case when you buy a Dell laptop...

While this may be at least partly tongue in cheek, it shows some playful thought. Why not? I've seen people buying things which I honestly don't understand. Eventually novelty will die out - but bandwidth is an issue, as is RAM. As is video. And real businesses have come from video, including simple photography and more advanced machinima. Bandwidth? It's another limitation many users may encounter, so maybe there are related business models.

And speaking of odd - for those of you who have been dieing to get a mobile phone in SecondLife, you can get one. From the Press Release:

YouNeverCall, the popular online cell phone store, (see: http://www.younevercall.com) has ventured into a new dimension of cell phones - the virtual one. The resident-owned Second Life population can now get a virtual - and functional - cell phone, for free.

(PRWEB) November 28, 2006 -- YouNeverCall, the popular online cell phone store, (see: http://www.younevercall.com) has ventured into a new dimension of cell phones - the virtual one. The resident-owned Second Life population can now get a virtual - and functional - cell phone, for free.

"At YouNeverCall, we have decided to venture beyond our traditional customer base," states Sam Michelson, CEO of YouNeverCall, "and Second Life offers us more than a 1.5 million potential new customers. The virtual cell phones we are offering on Second Life are more than just a fun accessory. The cell phones let Second Life residents send and receive text messages, as well as hold the virtual phone to their ear. They ring like real cell phones and, best of all, require no special download. YouNeverCall's Second Life cell phones also offer valuable information like the exchange rate of the Linden dollar (Second Life currency) to US dollar, and actual US stock quotes. The YouNeverCall virtual kiosk in Second Life is conveniently located in the Alston region at coordinates 95, 58, 22, right near a Lindex ATM."

While many things in Second Life are available for a fee, the phones at the YouNeverCall kiosk are completely free. To get to the kiosk you can enter the coordinates on the Second Life map or just teleport yourself directly there by going to http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alston/95/58/22. Even if you've never been to Second Life, this link will direct you to sign up for your own, free Second Life persona, so you can experience what 1.5 million others have already discovered. The Second Life 3D virtual world, a huge digital country filled with people, is a land of opportunity, and not just virtual. The YouNeverCall cell phones are a neat accessory that allow for real communication with others in the virtual world, and are powered by the real YouNeverCall network....

OK, let me get this straight. Another tier of communication aside from chat and instant message which basically allows you to look like you're talking on the phone? OK... what's really new here is the phone and the gesture for talking on the phone. Adding another level of instant messaging - if that is what they are doing - probably operates off of the same API that SecondLife already does.

So it's probably not as new as people think. It may be trendy. But there is a practical use - it shows people around you that you may be talking to someone else, which is kind of handy. So many times conversations seem like dropped calls, and a visual marker establishing a person as 'not really there' could be useful for people around them.

So here's the question: When avatars who have these phones get a call while dancing, do they go outside? Personally, I think they're polishing a turd here, but hey - that's just me.

Just playful business models. Maybe these will work, at least for a while. Some business models aren't made to stay, rather they are made to get in and get out quickly - in time for the next scheme. It certainly works... and the risk involved in SecondLife? Not very high.

After all, there's one born every minute. But they might be alts.