Virtual Worlds

The whole idea of a virtual world does not appeal to me one bit. I try to avoid them and a result don't know much about them. I would rather have real life experiences and interact with people in real life. Nevertheless, I did some reading to educate myself on this topic and some of what I read simply shocked me.

There are approximately 350 virtual worlds. One hundred ninety-three (193) of them cater to teens or younger. It is predicted that this market will decrease in the upcoming year. So far 63 virtual-world related companies declined by 58 percent from 2007 to 2008, shrinking from $1.4 billion to $594 million.* These predictions were based on the sluggish economy. However, I found a conflicting report by consultancy kzero.co.uk that found the membership of virtual worlds grew by 39% in the second quarter of 2009 to an estimated 579 million. However, not all of those members were active.

There are a few ways of making money when it comes to virtual worlds. Once you have acquired assets in your virtual worlds you can sell them on ebay. Apparently it's not hard to make middle income.

I predict that virtual worlds will continue to grow. They sure are not showing any signs of stopping.

*Source: http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/01/23/virtual-worlds-getting-dose-reality