http://themetaversejournal.disqus.com/Australia's premiere virtual worlds news serviceenThu, 07 Aug 2008 11:33:35 -0000http://www.metaversejournal.com/2008/08/08/linden-lab-zones-out/#comment-1336305A thought has just occurred to me regarding the Lindens and advertising. Perhaps they are paving the way for Linden-controlled advertising that will be Grid wide? Now that the OpenSim competitors are maturing, folks will soon have more and lower cost options for land ownership. That is one of the reasons the Lindens are focusing on the Mainland again, to make it more attractive and to retain residents. They would also be looking for new ways to generate revenue as their land-based model begins to weaken. When they saw the potential for profit in buying/selling Linden dollars for Earth-based currencies they created the Lindex, which I imagine is the most convenient method for trading inworld dollars for out-of-this-world dollars. They already have folks used to buying inworld classified ads for L$. Perhaps their focus on advertising now means not only regulating how residents will advertise, but how they might expand their own ad network beyond the inworld Search Classifeds to a Grid-wide ad network accessible to out-of-world advertisers as well? That could represent a new source of income for them.Salazar JackThu, 07 Aug 2008 11:33:35 -0000