Intro

The “Monetize” Phenomenon

This term, monetize, is being thrown around by Internet companies and their leaders, like it's almost, in style. If you're not familiar with the term, it is used as a verb to say, "We'd like to figure out how our platform or social media site is going to make some money off our killer idea". It seems the business model of yesteryear, where you figure that out before investing in a project, is now out of style.

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Virtual Economic Value?

I’d been contemplating writing this sort of thing for months; not sure if the real-life person in me saw the value in applying real-world business concepts to the virtual space. Just how much knowledge can be transferred from an educational standpoint on business concepts to an understanding of business in the metaverse? Hopefully as I explore different business concepts and apply them to my time and observation in Second Life, I, as well as my readers (are you out there?) may find some value in this blog.

I didn’t go to graduate school to try and make it rich in virtual worlds. Let me just put that statement out there. In real-life, I’m an IT operations and management specialist with 15 years of industry experience. I’ve run the full gamut of my IT career from web programmer and database administrator, to systems administrator and multi-site data center manager. I decided to get my MBA because I knew after 15 years, there were answers to questions I didn’t know. What is the business case for technology within an organization? Is technology a requirement for business, a competitive advantage, or both? Heck, I didn’t even know what questions to ask and where to begin.

I enjoy virtual reality and I’m regularly on Second Life. I’ve read the blogs on how to do business in this market space. Some were great when I first started. I see the virtual world as a new frontier, but little real-world, thought provoking business concepts applied. So I start my journey here, and I hope you’ll join me as I attempt to put my perspective on this virtual economy. I think in the beginning, I will focus more on the metaverse business environment as I know it; reviewing it, describing it, and tring to make sense of what we’re working with. But along the way, I expect to explore opportunities this environment presents to both your average and savvy business disciples like myself. Where possible, I will also add opportunities and risks for businesses at the end of each post pertaining to the topic.

If you have any suggestions for a topic, send me an email. I have a list of things to come, but your comments may change that priority. Enjoy and thanks!