Luke Connell’s recent announcements during his most recent video address have left many questions unanswered. Many of Connell’s announcements, including his decision to trade exclusively in his WIC currency, have led to mixed reactions from WSE investors. The fact that the WIC would eliminate the currency of Second Life from the trading aspect of companies originating from –and for many, existing solely within- the virtual world of Second Life leads me to wonder what effect a systematic removal of in-world currency will ultimately have upon our interests as publicly traded companies.
There are also opportunities as we heard, especially related with the interaction with a third party whose name has yet to be revealed. How will this impact our virtual businesses? Are there opportunities we are currently unaware of? Will this new party require revisions to our respective business models?
Certainly these are not my only concerns and questions, but they serve as the impetus for the following thoughts...
The financial sector in SL is a mess, sorry to say so but quite logical if we look at it closely. The main problem is that $L can be exchanged into other RL currencies. If we do so, the boundaries between SL and RL vanish and we come into this nirwana of unregulated cyber world where frauders are happy people. Did I tell you that Jasper Tizzy – this guy who suddenly vanished with millions of $L apparently still is enjoying SL under different names - and is apparently still linked to some listed companies and stock exchanges in world. Or take one of the remaining banks which even claims to have a RL licence. Month after months there are stories about getting frauded, having a defaulted system, new companies are created and disappear again…and the banks still continuously speaks to pay back the investors deposits, however, only under conditions which make you laugh. The last decision is to put them on ice for up to 120 days (either you see almost nothing…profit to the bank) and then pay back it in rates but not for all of course (profit for the bank). First in - first served…and the other people, they can buy useless shares (profit for the bank), or see them thrown down the well of her brokerage system (profit for the bank). It looks as investors sleep better to depreciate thier belongings without expecting a thank you from the bank. Then there is this other exchange which accumulated around 90 millions $L over a Ponzi like system with high daily interests. Then the enchanter is passing by and suddenly those funds are no longer liquid. So how do they proceed?…They freeze the ATM’s so that no withdrawals are possible anymore, then they create new shares and convert all cash deposits into these shares promising to buy them back for a fair price in the far future if things develop nicely for them. They do as the share is down 50% and they don’t announce when they start their buy backs in advance, so again small profit for the owners on the back of the investors till they disappear to fun city. Should I continue…better not. And in fact nobody can accuse those people as the system is responsible. It creates them.
I think it is a big mistake that those $L can be converted into RL currency in SL. Where does regulation start and where does Wild West begins? SL is a game and as such it should operate as other similar games do, like Warhammer or Entropia. There RL currencies also play a role but just oneway in order to buy better equipment. An economy in SL could function also that way. I wouldn’t be surprised if this will be the next step LL will take to avoid further problems with authorities in RL.
SL is a game and there I agree with WSE. But it has to be a game and that is why this money conversion makes no sense. It is even dangerous and there we come to the problem I have to deal with. If WSE goes to use WIC it will happen basically outside SL. At least Linden Labs is a company with a certain size, has offices, you can address, even people you can identify. What is the WIC/WSE platform legally? A web-address, an investment bank with banking licence? It is a game token but with the possibility to exchange real money. To take it further, it is even the goal of WSE to attract users from outside SL so from RL. But not all these people will only join the platform to take part in a game but because they want to earn money. If this happens it is only a question of time till problems appear of unsatisfied investors because a company failed etc . We experienced enough such examples in the near past. Then immediately RL regulation will break in with all force into this platform which would be no fun. I can even put the story with an example to the absurdum. LEM has assets of 5 million $L at WSE. If someone wants to buy up LEM, I’d be obliged to ask the RL-identity of this person and where the money is coming from as the entire sum is reaching levels where definitively money laundering procedures would start. Either I may have problems with my authorities as we have a strong money laundering legislation where I live in. It wouldn’t be sufficient that it comes from a Paypal account. How can a company on WSE operate under such conditions? And if we go to RL also the size of listed companies may change and with that also such problems.
On the other hand, there could be a niche for a worldwide stock exchange for micro-companies which are not necessarily SL companies. If this is the far goal of WSE 4.0 there may be some interesting potentials, especially if such an initiative would be supported by a strong third party which can contribute. But interfaces in between the virtual and the real world must be defined in a clear way what is not yet the case so far, at least as I understood.
I think it would be necessary that we CEO’s and investors are approaching Luke Connell in a constructive matter but also with a respectful concern about his vision of the future for WSE and how our respective futures are being considered as cornerstones of the WSE. When I use the word “cornerstones,” I am reflecting upon the numbers of us who listed at the WSE soon after its conception and have remained here through the trials and tribulations the exchange has experienced in a relatively short time. But I also want to include all the traders who kept the place living during all this time. I do not think Luke to be ignorant of our contribution to his market.
In my opinion, the logical first step to such an initiative would be a meeting with Luke to discuss our mutual concerns and those issues we believe to be most pressing. In this way, we will not only present ourselves as a unified group of tried-and-true allies to WSE, but as a respectable group that is genuinely concerned for our mutual futures and seeking only clarification and reassurances that are both reasonable expectations for individuals in our respective positions.
We then would face Luke in order to defend our interest but also to get the needed planning security for our businesses. We are all business people. Some use WSE simply as a platform to raise money to invest in SL, while others are traders and directly depend on the system, or use WSE just in an exploratoring matter. The objectives of the individuals may be very different, but in the end it comes down to strategy and the vision of WSE.
However, I’m not a friend of unions or overall meetings and it is even harder to organize such in SL. I believe more in a direct approach and dialogue. If therefore somebody shares my threats or opportunities then please contact me. I will follow the path I outlined whether alone or not but depend on your support too.
Please respond either inworld, per e-mail casper.trebuchet@gmail.com or as a comment on the blog.
Please note that this is not a mutiny! As lemurs we are too cute animal for such things. We are simply revisiting our ancestral dilemma of whether we should utilize nearby resources to escape to Madagascar –or other unknown territories- or risk being eaten by carnivores where we presently reside...lol
greetz,
Casper Trebuchet
LEM
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