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yveskleinsky

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Weird to think about people taking on virtual debt for crap they don't really own. This whole second life site has the makings of several thesis papers!
 

Allthingznew

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For reference, that was back in 2006, I believe...

I think you're right, but is that really significant? Is it less a story and/or opportunity for someone to create their own success either in virtual real estate or a business they create? A lot of people still don't know about the site, and for those that do, are they entrepreneurs? I understand there are lots of people there and they spend money.

Do you know of any info out there that makes this no longer an opportunity?

At a minimum it might be an interesting way to test a strategy. Or pre-identify trends or ideas that might be capitalized on in the real world.
 

PurEnergy

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I stopped at Barnes & Noble today, there were two books on the shelves about this second life thing. I thumbed through one and had no idea what the heck I was looking at until I read this post.
 
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AlwaysCurious

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Am I the only one that can´t stand second life? A 3D chat with price labes on everything. Bah!
 

Russ H

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Reading this, I had a flashback to last year-- a bunch of us regulars sitting in a room while Robert Kiyosaki screamed obscenities at us for wasting our time on the internet.

His take on the internet was that it was a complete time sucker, and no money could be made there.

Thing is, there were quite a few people in that room who were making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the 'net (us and Gecko being just 2). And the young guys (late teens/early 20s) who were doing six figures in a virtual world-- now that was a *real* mind blower.

It's OK to have strong opinions and to convey them to others. But RK yelling these things to the strongest members of his online community was the equivalent of getting a bunch of successful RE investors together and telling them that RE was a waste of time and no money could be made there. You wouldn't change anyone's mind about RE investing-- b/c they already had first-hand experience to the contrary.

This is how we felt. RK's outburst and cuss-a-thon didn't change anyone's mind about the internet-- but it certainly gave us pause-- and caused us to re-evaluate RK's abilities to predict and see future trends and investment opportunities.

Not a bad thing, really.

-Russ H.
 

Sid23

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Thing is, there were quite a few people in that room who were making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the 'net (us and Gecko being just 2).

-Russ H.

Russ, you're making $$ on the net? I thought the B&B's were your gig these days...
 
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Russ H

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SeanS-

ALL (not some, ALL) of our marketing for the B&Bs ins online. No print ads, no yellow pages, no other magazine ads, no TV, no radio.

Besides word of mouth from previous guests, online ads are the only way someone can find out about us. And it's the way most of them book a room and pay for it.

So while our biz is based in the bricks and mortar world, we generate our sales soley via the web. :)

(you could extend the same analogy to a company that sells retail goods via the 'net-- they provide hard goods to their customers, but they only sell online).

-Russ H.
 

Sid23

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SeanS-

ALL (not some, ALL) of our marketing for the B&Bs ins online. No print ads, no yellow pages, no other magazine ads, no TV, no radio.

Besides word of mouth from previous guests, online ads are the only way someone can find out about us. And it's the way most of them book a room and pay for it.

So while our biz is based in the bricks and mortar world, we generate our sales soley via the web. :)


-Russ H.

GOTCHA! Great concept!
 

Yankees338

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SeanS-

ALL (not some, ALL) of our marketing for the B&Bs ins online. No print ads, no yellow pages, no other magazine ads, no TV, no radio.

Besides word of mouth from previous guests, online ads are the only way someone can find out about us. And it's the way most of them book a room and pay for it.

So while our biz is based in the bricks and mortar world, we generate our sales soley via the web. :)

(you could extend the same analogy to a company that sells retail goods via the 'net-- they provide hard goods to their customers, but they only sell online).

-Russ H.
Russ, considering how successful your B&B appears to be, that's extremely impressive. I don't want to hijack this thread anymore than it already is, but do you think you could start a separate thread about internet marketing for something like this?

Thanks a lot.

-Ryan
 
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Russ H

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Ryan-

Sorry, I missed your question.

I dunno. Two Problems I see with this:

1. I think I'm a rank amateur when it comes to web marketing. I am not worthy to carry the non-fat mocha lattes of some of the web gurus who post on these boards.:hl:

2. I have competition (other B&B owners). Very savvy competition. If I outlined my techniques here, I'd be giving away what little edge I have.

So unless I have a way to get around those 2 things, I'm reluctant to post.

-Russ H.
 

Yankees338

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Ryan-

Sorry, I missed your question.

I dunno. Two Problems I see with this:

1. I think I'm a rank amateur when it comes to web marketing. I am not worthy to carry the non-fat mocha lattes of some of the web gurus who post on these boards.:hl:

2. I have competition (other B&B owners). Very savvy competition. If I outlined my techniques here, I'd be giving away what little edge I have.

So unless I have a way to get around those 2 things, I'm reluctant to post.

-Russ H.
Point taken...no worries Russ.

Just promise to share once you sell...:)
 

Russ H

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Yankees338 said:
Just promise to share once you sell...:)

Not sure if I'd do that, either.

When we sell, I may have to sign non competes that forbid me from revealing any of our marketing techniques.

And if I DON'T have to sign those, I just may hang up my shingle and become a hired gun for other B&B owners who want to increase their revenues!

That being said, Ryan, I'd be happy to share what we've done with you over a hot dog at a baseball game. So you can keep that in your back pocket, for when you need it. :)

-Russ H.
 
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Yankees338

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Not sure if I'd do that, either.

When we sell, I may have to sign non competes that forbid me from revealing any of our marketing techniques.

And if I DON'T have to sign those, I just may hang up my shingle and become a hired gun for other B&B owners who want to increase their revenues!

That being said, Ryan, I'd be happy to share what we've done with you over a hot dog at a baseball game. So you can keep that in your back pocket, for when you need it. :)

-Russ H.
I don't like hot dogs, but I LOVEEEEEEE baseball. Sounds good to me. :smxF:
 

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