I know I should be more aware of these things, but I just heard about Anshe Chung and her lucrative real estate deals on Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world that allows users to trade real dollars for goods and services, including real estate.
But, Anshe is treating this like a real business with her own real estate web site that is a lot better looking than a lot of San Francisco real estate agent sites in the real world. In 2004, Philip Rosedale, the founder and CEO of Linden Lab, which runs Second Life, estimated that she's brought in around $150,000--and no, that is not a typo and yes we're talking real money.
Basically, she buys undeveloped land through an auction, then turns it into a beautiful virtual world for users to buy parcels (or rent) to live on. There are zoning restrictions such as roof height limits and in some cases commercial use territories. Other users can buy land and build an apartment building, then rent out the space to even more users. Hotels can purchase the land to showcase their own virtual resort. I heard that W Hotel is participating.
The whole thing has just blown my mind. I started looking around and found loads of these real estate agents out there, but Chungs Dreamland communities are highly desired. She uses resident feedback to create worlds that people really want, such as Dreamland Pride--a gay and lesbian residential community, Gothica and Furries.
Read more about it in this Business Week article from 4/22/06.
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