Socially|Mundane

I know that Hamlet Au is blogging for a living, which explains the sometimes ridiculous subjects he covers (the goal of course to get readers and comments so the adverts will put food on his table.)

But sometimes I simply can't help slapping my forehead in ridiculous imbecile laughter. Not at Hamlet... but rather at the people who actually comment on some of these articles - and I do mean the comment itself - not the person in general. It is the comments section of these posts where all the true entertainment is.

Case-in-point: New World Notes article titled: "Open Forum: Who Are The Hottest Male Avatars of 2009 (Who Haven't Been Nominated in Previous Years)?" Holy smackers, Batman, the comments that follow are ludicrous. Let us start with the very instigator of this ridiculous concept of a contest:

"Actually Arcadia, intelligence, personality, and talent are all taken into account in this, as well as physical attractiveness. I'm no fan of pure beauty contests at all. ^^

Posted by: Iris Ophelia Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 10:13 AM"

Emphasis is mine and makes my entire point for me. Physical attractiveness. Ummm... WTF, helloooo? What "physical attractiveness"? Unless of course she means based on first life pictures submitted that are all either ripped from Google image search or 25-years-old so they don't show the avatar driver in their current buck-tooth, 300-pound state.

However, the real hoot comes from all the gullible fools who actually participate. No, not gullible in the participation, but gullible to their own imagination - and I don't mean all of them, but rather those who make comments like this:

There's plenty of hot males in SL most of them would die before being given the title though since I've invariably found the hottest guys are the most modest.
However I'll toss a few names into the ring just to see them blush.
Nerio Yoshikawa - Dark and sexy RP'r
Tristan Silversmith - Total Fairy Queen but very hot
Miro Collas - Co-Owner of Animations Rising - Masculinity embodied in an avatar.

Posted by: Angel Slocombe
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 10:13 AM

Wait... are you serious?
I know that a virtual world can really do a number on our emotional wiring and the way we perceive things... but there is a simple matter of logic, isn't there?

I added a comment earlier:

"I'd like to nominate Kebbo Kidd - ok, I may be biased, but I have seen how other people comment on his av. Recently, someone said that "Keebo has a natural, masculine air that just oozes with sensuality" - and I am not the author of the quote, I swear!"

Typo is my middle name, hehe... instead of Kebbo, please read Keebo Kidd (it's not my intention to "shout", but just to stress the correct spell: KEEBO KIDD)

Posted by: Ricco Saenz | Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 12:51 PM

I am so sorry, but I am literally rolling on the floor here. A "natural masculine air"? Really? "Oozes with sensuality" - okay, the entertainment value in the multiple pages of comments on that post is just priceless.

Hellooooo... these "people" you are nominating with ga-ga-goo-goo euphoria are all pixel-based cartoons, folks. Frankly I am rather embarrassed for all these people. Yes, dear readers, I admit I commented on this NWN post as well. Though I don't think anyone noticed it as I didn't fall all over myself cooing and drooling over how someone's avatar looks.

/me shakes my head in disgrace.

So this is really a nomination for who can get a handle on the appearance sliders better than everyone else, right?

Posted by: Ari Blackthorne™ | Wednesday, December 02, 2009 at 10:34 AM

(Via New World Notes: Open Forum: Who Are The Hottest Male Avatars of 2009 (Who Haven't Been Nominated in Previous Years)?.)

Ever right-click to edit so you can see who created something, found yourself intrigued enough to search for them on XStreet SL and... they aren't there? So you view their profile, hit the "Picks" tab to see where their main shop is. Only to find they have three, or five, or (I have actually seen) nine different places to buy their stuff? Yikes!

It's too easy for me to just teleport to your place. Please don't force me to pick between shop numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Just show me the one shop that has everything - screw the rest.

I am a hunter. I am impatient. I want it now.

Save your money, and shoppers' sanity.
Pick a place, stay put, don't move.

Many "experienced" merchants will buy-up dozens of market booths across the grid to get good visibility. That's good strategy, but please don't list them all in your Picks or classifieds. And don't pop in and out of markets based on whether you get any sales there. Stay put.

Pick the place with the least traffic and fastest-rezzing and call it your main showroom. Make it the only landmark, Pick, Classified, and SLURL destination you give or show people. Then find good deals on a few high-traffic market spaces. In these cases, high traffic is a good thing because the purpose of this space is solely for advertising - building brand recognition.

At a later time someone may look for you, they return to this market - hopefully you are still there so they can get that landmark to your main location because they don't know your name, or remember your company or anything other than what your adverts look like. Stay put so those future customers can find you.

In those high-traffic areas, the market owner will charge a premium. This is where you want to take into account the cost per prim. If a booth costs L$250 for 25 prims per week, that's L$10 per prim.

Let's make a deal!

How about I give you L$25 per week for a single prim that will be a sign (advertising poster) that gives notecards and landmarks and I don't even have to use-up one of your booths! I want to place it not at the landing point - but at the exit point, where the teleporter is to get into the sim proper (so it will be rezzed by the time people come to it.)

Now I have visibility where people will be unlikely to interrupt their current activity (headed into the sim proper) to shop and buy things. And I have this at a very low, cost-effective rate of only L$100 per month. I can get into ten-times as many malls this way for the cost of renting a single booth at a single mall.

And the market owner is actually making more money on that single prim than they would otherwise. Oh, and in that notecard you give-out from those advert posters, include not only a detailed description of what you sell, but the URL to your XSL (and other out-world) listings! Yes - inside that and every notecard you give-out! And remember: don't try to sell your product through these. Rather sell the visit to your point of sale. If you offer gifts, say so to entice them to visit. Once at your point of sale, then you can switch into "product-selling mode."

An alternative is to negotiate for a commission-based rate. Say, 35% commission on all sales. That way, you have the visibility without the cost unless you actually make sales. But remember, the real goal is to get people to your "official showroom" which is your main point-of-sale.

The same is true even with Network Selling!

**********

Want the whole kaboodle? There is far more detail in the 'how' and 'why' in my book: Successful Business in Second Life (SBSL - Second Edition for 2009/10; 270-pages) is available at XStreet SL. The book includes both, an in-world and eReader version. There also is an  Amazon Kindle version, (you receive both: ereader and in-world versions no matter where you purchase it.)

Now with regard to your product art... we need to talk.

As I've mentioned before, I really would rather not endorse any particular creator or product in these tips. However, in this case I am endorsing a particular technology. It just so happens this technology as implemented is available through a particular creator and product: the Apez iVend vending system. Yes, I've heard horror stories before, please indulge me on this one.

What makes the Apez Vendor system different is in the way it is packaged: the networked vendor server is free to use and the point-of-sale vendors are what you pay for with the system. "So what," you say? What makes this system such an unique tool for you is the network of affiliates that come with the system. You can easily have many, many other people selling your product for you and you don't have to 'sell' them on the idea of doing so as you would with the standard "affiliate" vendors.

Additionally, with the coming changes to XStreet SL, you should investigate and implement additional points of sale wherever you find them. The Apez affiliate network is one of those systems. And it won;t cost you a single Linden Dollar to do it.

This is not the same as those "affiliate" vendors you give away to others to sell your stuff on a commission. Rather what you do is set-up your products in the Apez server while others on the system will pick and choose what they wish to sell along side their own items. If your commissions are high enough, they will be enticed to offer your products through their vendors. By offering very high commissions you will get your product out there in-front of shopper's eyes. And it costs you nothing unless you actually make sales.

The difference with the Apez network is this: not only is there a web front-end like XStreet SL, but your listings could end-up in other people's vendors in-world. So the commission is no different from renting space all over the grid to place your vendors. Except you don't pay for anything until a sale is made. All money (even if only partial after commissions) is incoming - nothing is outgoing. 100% receivable, no expendable here.

Grab a demo version of the Apez iVend system and chuck the vendors to the side (unless you really like the system and wish to use it). Plop your products inside the server and configure via the web site - set commissions high, very high: like 25% to 50%. Yes, really. Remember, even a partial sale is better than no sale at all!

Advertise on the Apez forums what products you are offering for network sales and the commission rates. If your commissions are high enough, you suddenly will have your products appearing in vendors all over the grid! And to reiterate: consider the commission you offer to be the cost of placing your products in-front of more eyes - in places you would never have thought-of, saving the prohibitive costs of renting market space in so many markets across the grid.

For this purpose alone, the Apez iVend system can be a priceless asset to add to your point-of-sales arsenal - and it costs you nothing at all except willing to offer a good, weighty commission - which is worth every single Linden Dollar for a sale you might not otherwise have ever had.

In addition to the Apez system, there also is "MetaLife" network - another strong recommendation. I have not gone into detail on the MetaLife system because I have only been using it a couple months. However, it also should be added to your arsenal.

So, in addition to reverse panhandling, it is good to get your products in-front of as many potential buyers' eyes as possible!

**********

Want the whole kaboodle? There is far more detail in the 'how' and 'why' in my book: Successful Business in Second Life (SBSL - Second Edition for 2009/10; 270-pages) is available at XStreet SL. The book includes both, an in-world and eReader version. There also is an  Amazon Kindle version, (you receive both: ereader and in-world versions no matter where you purchase it.)

As for networking, it's helpful to get as much marketing bang for the buck as possible. That's where you look to gaining ten-times the locations for the cost of one.