CASE STUDY QUESTIONS QUESTION 3 There are several ways to start up business in an online virtual server. Second Life as of now harbored few to many online companies that does business online as a form of advertising or even setting up their virtual business inside the server by buying up “lands” in the so called “Grid” world. Of course, to do that, you have to buy the virtual “land” to start up the virtual business by subscribing to the premium membership on the website. By subscribing, several benefits can be enjoy including owning a house and rights to own a land. The current subscription cost according to the game website - secondlife.com - is USD$72 for an annual subscription, USD$22.50 for a quarter subscription or USD$9.95 for monthly subscription. Personally and hypothetically, the initial cost for me to setup an online business on the “lands of the Grid” would be a monthly subscription of USD$9.95 as uncertainty in conveying the business over a decade plus old virtual server especially these past two years have been radically risky with mushrooms of similar online servers like gaiaonline.com and social networking sites like facebook that has been rampaging in this fast-paced information system industry. Also, there are questions about its current popularity against the other fast information changing platforms and how it cope with the current market segment. A typical online business would be an online auction/selling business. Specifically, i would set up a small business that deals with money changing/transfers between users and other online games that offers online services to its users. For example; an online game offers “cash-shop” items that is only available when you bought it online usually using credit/debit cards, often through sites like pay-pal. What i am offering here in my business is variety of online payments especially in terms of Foreign Currency exchanges through local banks and also a much more
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS QUESTION 3 There are several ways to start up business in an online virtual server. Second Life as of now harbored few to many online companies that does business online as a form of advertising or even setting up their virtual business inside the server by buying up “lands” in the so called “Grid” world. Of course, to do that, you have to buy the virtual “land” to start up the virtual business by subscribing to the premium membership on the website. By subscribing, several benefits can be enjoy including owning a house and rights to own a land. The current subscription cost according to the game website - secondlife.com - is USD$72 for an annual subscription, USD$22.50 for a quarter subscription or USD$9.95 for monthly subscription. Personally and hypothetically, the initial cost for me to setup an online business on the “lands of the Grid” would be a monthly subscription of USD$9.95 as uncertainty in conveying the business over a decade plus old virtual server especially these past two years have been radically risky with mushrooms of similar online servers like gaiaonline.com and social networking sites like facebook that has been rampaging in this fast-paced information system industry. Also, there are questions about its current popularity against the other fast information changing platforms and how it cope with the current market segment. A typical online business would be an online auction/selling business. Specifically, i would set up a small business that deals with money changing/transfers between users and other online games that offers online services to its users. For example; an online game offers “cash-shop” items that is only available when you bought it online usually using credit/debit cards, often through sites like pay-pal. What i am offering here in my business is variety of online payments especially in terms of Foreign Currency exchanges through local banks and also a much more