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Financial Analyst Calls Second Life a Pyramid Scheme

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-in-on-the-ground-floor dept.

Petey_Alchemist writes "Silicon Valley gossip rag Valleywag is carrying a story about Second Life being a new spin on the old pyramid scheme. The article, which consists mostly of selections from the report of financial consultant Randolph Harrison, suggests that not only are most people deceived about the amount of money they can make in Second Life, but also about how easily they can withdraw it. It says 'Like the paid promotion infomercials that run on CNBC, sadly SecondLife is a giant magnet for the desperate, uninformed, easily victimized. Its promises of wealth readily ensnare those who can least afford to lose their money or lives to such scam in exactly the same way that real estate investor seminars convince divorcees with low FICO scores to buy houses sight unseen with no money down.'"

8 of 334 comments (clear)

  1. But it's a pyramid scheme with... by KDan · · Score: 4, Funny

    BDSM and Virtual Sex...

    Daniel

    --
    Carpe Diem
  2. Ads by Cutie+Pi · · Score: 4, Funny

    I love the ads that go along with this article:

    Get a (Second) Life
    Live out your virtual dreams with this official guide to Second Life!
    www.amazon.com

    Want a Easy $9000 a Week?
    Not MLM and No Selling Fully Automated and Get Paid Daily
    www.MillionaireSuccessCourse.com

  3. Problems by Fist!+Of!+Death! · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey I am still having problems running First Life. I mean the resolution and refresh rate I am getting is AWESOME, but maintenence on my avatar is disturbingly difficult. It takes weeks to modify the look of my avatar (many users have reported a similar problem), and all my support queries to the Developer seem to be piped to /dev/null.

    And not ONE cheat code has surfaced yet. I ask you!

    --
    Nothing witty
  4. Re:Can't the same be said about the stockmarket? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    No, because the value of a company's stock is based on real assets, liabilities, and income: all of which are easily translatable to real money, and which commonly pay cash dividends.

    Thats right. And thats also why I'm putting all my money in Enron!!!! Errr....umm.....you know what...nevermind.

  5. Re:Can't the same be said about the stockmarket? by Snowmit · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah, like the stock market, only for all the people involved, not only the uneducated who decide to buy stock because it has grown 30 percent last month or because their barber told them to.

    But... my barber is wealthy...

    --
    I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects
  6. Re:Now on computers! by MrPinstripeCom · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey! I won the UK lottery 173 times last year, and I NEVER EVEN BOUGHT A TICKET.....So NEENER NEENER NEENER. My Nigerian friend also needs help with his investing, so he MIGHT be the one buying me all those UK lottery tickets......Regardless, I gave 'em all my banking information, and I'll have the money any day now.

    What we need is a Ponzi Scheme WITHIN second life....I'm going to start offering real estate acquisition courses and start offering all the second life citizens with poor credit financial security in the future.

    Then I'm going to take all their fake fake money, and steal it.

    and buy more lottery tickets.

  7. Re:Other Pyramid Schemes by indigoid · · Score: 2, Funny

    Want to sell your Slashdot UID? ;)

    you must be new here!

    --
    P-plate adventurer
  8. SL not Pyramid by Gilzors · · Score: 2, Funny

    Of course it's not a pyramid. I've noticed a distinct lack of mummies!