Wagner James Au / New World Notes
Author, strategist, virtual world reporter
recent posts
- Welcome to New World Notes’ 2006-2025 Archive!
- Virtual World Usage Stats from S&P Global Market Intelligence — Plus VRChat & Second Life Specifics!
- Top Five Posts Including: Huge Rec Room Layoff & Meta Boots Neal Stephenson Off Facebook (Briefly)
- Four Glorious Second Life Sims to Explore — After Watching Sabina Valeska’s Machinima Tributes to Them!
- Virtual World Usage Stats from S&P Global Market Intelligence — Plus VRChat & Second Life Specifics!
about
Category: Economics of SL
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New on my Patreon: Prisqua Newell's latest video (watch above) has provoked a mini-firestorm within the SL community, and that's no surprise, as it alleges that in-world shopping events are unfairly controlled by gatekeeping "cartels", among other hyperbolic descriptors. I've heard similar complaints for years, so it's worth airing another perspective — in this case,…
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"It's one of those behind the scenes 'everyone knows but no one says anything' parts of Second Life culture. So I'm glad she's brought it up." Now on my Patreon: "The Truth About Shadow Meshing: Top Content Creators on the Second Life Economy's Secret Subcontractors".
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22% of SL merchants surveyed in my 2025 state of the Second Life economy report— nearly 1 in 4 — earn real life income-levels of revenue from their Second Life content. By "real life income", I mean they earn $50,000 or more per year, which generally qualifies as a decent or excellent living, depending on…
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Last week's open forum where readers recommended new-ish, small-ish brands for me to feature went so well, I'd like to make it a regular series.* So I ask once again: What new-ish, smaller, lesser known SL merchants/brands deserve more attention and publicity? To nominate your favorites, please go to Comments and post: Name of the…
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We're getting some good reader recommendations for new-ish, small-ish SL brands that deserve more coverage. So let's start now with some shopping ideas for the weekend! Beginning with this steampunk-esque, customizable neon sign from SIGNA*. "Two of the main artists built roleplay and art sims for over 10 years without doing anything commercial," says reader…
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Image courtesy Razor Cure — view larger version here Second Life Merchants Speak On the State of the Virtual World Economy in 2025 is my new, in-depth report, available now only to Patreon subscribers, covering a variety of topics, including: How many SL merchants are making $100,000/year through their virtual content? What L$ price point…
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One of the very top requests in my survey of Second Life merchants was this one: Start promoting and supporting smaller/newer/lesser-known brands – not just "top" designers. The suggestion was directed at Linden Lab, but that's also something that I'd love to do on this blog as well. But I need reader's help with recommendations!…
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//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js The gloriously dorky Deadpool dance from the opening of Deadpool & Wolverine (SL version above, original from the movie below) is officially available in a Second Life store*. I say "official", because the SL animation is a motion capture of dancer Nick Pauley AKA Dancepool, who actually performed the opening scene of the movie.…
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Originally posted on my Patreon Just heard back from Linden Lab on your top five most requested improvements to the Second Life economy! Company spokesperson Brett Linden sent this reply: Thanks for sharing!! Love that you are going to the community and getting these suggestions. Brad is very focused on the top two items. We've…
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Despite Mobile, Streaming, Etc., Second Life Peak Concurrency in 2025 Down Somewhat From 2024 Levels
Note: "Population" in this context refers to peak concurrent users online Reddit /SecondLife host "0xc0ffea" recently posted some fairly surprising data, citing numbers scrupulously documented by longtime SL blogger Daniel Voyager: The number of peak concurrent users in SL every month this year are consistently down somewhat from 2024, a loss from 2,687 to 3,954…
Wagner James Au / New World Notes 