This week, in The Virtual Whirl, we're going to take a selection of reader questions that we've received in comments and in the virtual mailbag and do our best to offer up some useful answers. Join us as we whirl through the mail. Not surprisingly, the two most frequently asked questions involve the demise of virtual environment, There.com.

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: Questions from the virtual mailbag

The Virtual Whirl: Questions from the virtual mailbag originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week, in The Virtual Whirl, we're going to take a selection of reader questions that we've received in comments and in the virtual mailbag and do our best to offer up some useful answers. Join us as we whirl through the mail.

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: Questions from the virtual mailbag

The Virtual Whirl: Questions from the virtual mailbag originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's tempting to characterize Linden Lab as a goofball organization that consistently makes the wrong decisions, driving their premier product, Second Life, into virtual oblivion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Success is hard to argue with (not impossible, as many people do try to argue the fact of it anyway), and Second Life is a success for the Lab. While the Lab is as prone as any organization to making mistakes that can be described as avoidable or boneheaded, all the key decisions that have allowed it to become profitable and maintain profitability and growth pretty much went right.

Second Life remains a success. So why does the Lab look like a goof?

Continue reading Linden Lab isn't daft

Linden Lab isn't daft originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

November metrics for Linden Lab's virtual environment, Second Life are available for examination. September and October were relatively poor months, and November's results don't look great at all.

In fact every one of Linden Lab's key metrics fell in November. Land size, user-hours, transactions, PMLF. The only gain is an infinitesimal increase in the Linden Dollar exchange rate of 0.3%.

Continue reading Second Life November metrics: Nothing gained

Second Life November metrics: Nothing gained originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

October metrics for Linden Lab's virtual environment, Second Life are not yet formally available, but Lab CFO John Zdanowski wound up giving out a link to the information in advance, so we have the figures to work with. September was not a good month by these metrics, and we were interested to see how October panned out.

Your key takeaways for October are a continuing plunge in premium accounts, and a reduction in overall economic activity. User hours, however were up. A more detailed summary follows after the jump.

Continue reading Second Life October metrics: More falls

Second Life October metrics: More falls originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The published, key metrics for Second Life for the month of September are now available as both an Open Document Spreadsheet and in Excel format.

Your key takeaways this month are an increasing fall in total premium accounts, a fall in total user hours, zero mainland (Linden owned estate) growth (but a 7% increase in privately owned estates), and a reduction in economic activity. A more detailed summary follows after the jump.

Continue reading Second Life September metrics: Mostly falls

Second Life September metrics: Mostly falls originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First, apologies that we don't have more detailed breakdowns of the monthly Second Life statistics. Linden Lab just don't publish detailed monthly information anymore. It's mostly just numbers-for-the-numb by the look of the subset of statistics now produced.

Out of the figures we do have available, we can sum up the changes for August compared to the July figures fairly quickly: User hours showing little or no real growth, only 120 million square metres of new private simulators (no growth in mainland), Accounts with positive monthly flow down, L$/US$ exchange rate stable, Lindex currency exchange activity down, premium accounts continuing to fall.

So, those bullets aren't really the kind that look great on slide presentations.

	Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Continue reading Second Life August metrics: No significant growth

Second Life August metrics: No significant growth originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The latest Second Life metrics and statistics are out from Linden Lab, covering to the end of April 2008. We're only a week into May, so this is definitely one of the more timely statistical sets we've seen so far -- a trend we hope continues!

Short version: The third month of decline in premium accounts, reduction in Lindex activity, reduction in user hours, sharp rise in land ownership, and the user population continues to trend towards older users.

Continue reading Key Second Life metrics for April

Key Second Life metrics for April originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 May 2008 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,529,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.7 to US$1
• Exchanged US$296,000 at an average of US$12,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$202,000
• Market sales were US$93,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$500
• The busiest time was at 11am when about US$24,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 6am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,563,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.3 to US$1
• Exchanged US$317,000 at an average of US$13,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$208,000
• Market sales were US$108,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$600
• The busiest time was at 2pm when about US$23,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 12pm when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,037,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.5 to US$1
• Exchanged US$214,000 at an average of US$8,900.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$159,000
• Market sales were US$50,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$4,100
• The busiest time was at 6pm when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$0 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,519,000 at an exchange rate of L$264.6 to US$1
• Exchanged US$293,000 at an average of US$12,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$222,000
• Market sales were US$67,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$4,300
• The busiest time was at 11am when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 6am when about US$3,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,662,000 at an exchange rate of L$264.9 to US$1
• Exchanged US$337,000 at an average of US$14,000.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$227,000
• Market sales were US$109,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$900
• The busiest time was at 5pm when about US$23,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 4am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,603,000 at an exchange rate of L$269.7 to US$1
• Exchanged US$346,000 at an average of US$14,400.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$236,000
• Market sales were US$110,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$900
• The busiest time was at 3pm when about US$29,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 5am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the copppers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,789,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.4 to US$1
• Exchanged US$389,000 at an average of US$16,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$269,000
• Market sales were US$118,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,800
• The busiest time was at midnight when about US$26,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 8pm when about US$9,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,684,000 at an exchange rate of L$270.4 to US$1
• Exchanged US$321,000 at an average of US$13,400.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$224,000
• Market sales were US$96,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,000
• The busiest time was at 10pm when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 1am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,641,000 at an exchange rate of L$268 to US$1
• Exchanged US$306,000 at an average of US$12,700.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$209,000
• Market sales were US$94,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$2,400
• The busiest time was at 3am when about US$22,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 3pm when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,653,000 at an exchange rate of L$267.3 to US$1
• Exchanged US$326,000 at an average of US$13,600.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$231,000
• Market sales were US$93,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,500
• The busiest time was at 1pm when about US$21,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 5am when about US$8,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,395,000 at an exchange rate of L$267.8 to US$1
• Exchanged US$306,000 at an average of US$12,800.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$242,000
• Market sales were US$64,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$600
• The busiest time was at 3pm when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 6pm when about US$5,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,428,000 at an exchange rate of L$265.6 to US$1
• Exchanged US$246,000 at an average of US$10,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$183,000
• Market sales were US$61,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,300
• The busiest time was at 5pm when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$0 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,558,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.5 to US$1
• Exchanged US$301,000 at an average of US$12,600.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$217,000
• Market sales were US$84,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$200
• The busiest time was at 5pm when about US$17,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 4am when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,494,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.5 to US$1
• Exchanged US$295,000 at an average of US$12,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$208,000
• Market sales were US$85,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,700
• The busiest time was at 10am when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,523,000 at an exchange rate of L$267 to US$1
• Exchanged US$318,000 at an average of US$13,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$214,000
• Market sales were US$104,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$400
• The busiest time was at 11pm when about US$26,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 6pm when about US$4,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,403,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.2 to US$1
• Exchanged US$267,000 at an average of US$11,100.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$195,000
• Market sales were US$68,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$5,000
• The busiest time was at 6pm when about US$22,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 1am when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,430,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.2 to US$1
• Exchanged US$270,000 at an average of US$11,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$210,000
• Market sales were US$60,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$400
• The busiest time was at 0pm when about US$21,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 1pm when about US$4,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 Mar 2008 06:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,486,000 at an exchange rate of L$266 to US$1
• Exchanged US$287,000 at an average of US$12,000.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$212,000
• Market sales were US$74,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,200
• The busiest time was at 5pm when about US$21,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 9am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,462,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.2 to US$1
• Exchanged US$293,000 at an average of US$12,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$205,000
• Market sales were US$88,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$300
• The busiest time was at 0pm when about US$23,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$0 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,411,000 at an exchange rate of L$267.6 to US$1
• Exchanged US$279,000 at an average of US$11,600.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$189,000
• Market sales were US$89,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$600
• The busiest time was at 9am when about US$20,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 10pm when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,424,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.9 to US$1
• Exchanged US$270,000 at an average of US$11,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$198,000
• Market sales were US$71,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$700
• The busiest time was at 5pm when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,514,000 at an exchange rate of L$267.4 to US$1
• Exchanged US$271,000 at an average of US$11,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$194,000
• Market sales were US$76,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$900
• The busiest time was at 6pm when about US$24,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 11pm when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,641,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.8 to US$1
• Exchanged US$266,000 at an average of US$11,100.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$197,000
• Market sales were US$68,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,100
• The busiest time was at 3pm when about US$17,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 2am when about US$5,000 was exchanged.

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,673,000 at an exchange rate of L$265.9 to US$1
• Exchanged US$306,000 at an average of US$12,700.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$227,000
• Market sales were US$78,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,000
• The busiest time was at 4pm when about US$24,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 5am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,442,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.4 to US$1
• Exchanged US$292,000 at an average of US$12,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$231,000
• Market sales were US$61,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$200
• The busiest time was at 10am when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 4am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,365,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.1 to US$1
• Exchanged US$268,000 at an average of US$11,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$193,000
• Market sales were US$72,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$2,900
• The busiest time was at 3am when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 4am when about US$5,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,267,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.2 to US$1
• Exchanged US$259,000 at an average of US$10,800.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$184,000
• Market sales were US$74,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$400
• The busiest time was at 8pm when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 9pm when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,478,000 at an exchange rate of L$266.8 to US$1
• Exchanged US$258,000 at an average of US$10,800.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$181,000
• Market sales were US$77,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$500
• The busiest time was at 2pm when about US$23,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 3am when about US$5,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,612,000 at an exchange rate of L$268.8 to US$1
• Exchanged US$340,000 at an average of US$14,200.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$217,000
• Market sales were US$122,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,100
• The busiest time was at 1pm when about US$27,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 10pm when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,447,000 at an exchange rate of L$265.4 to US$1
• Exchanged US$247,000 at an average of US$10,300.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$165,000
• Market sales were US$81,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$1,100
• The busiest time was at 7pm when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 7am when about US$0 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,489,000 at an exchange rate of L$270.8 to US$1
• Exchanged US$290,000 at an average of US$12,100.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$221,000
• Market sales were US$68,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$400
• The busiest time was at 1pm when about US$18,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 10pm when about US$6,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday in Second Life we:

• Spent US$1,444,000 at an exchange rate of L$267.2 to US$1
• Exchanged US$300,000 at an average of US$12,500.0 per hour.
• Market buys were US$228,000
• Market sales were US$71,000
• Limit-limit buys were US$800
• The busiest time was at 7am when about US$17,000 was exchanged.
• The quietest time was 3am when about US$7,000 was exchanged.

Continue reading Counting the coppers

Counting the coppers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.