The 'Virtual World' of
'Second-Life', it's a massive online world, with thousands of users, where anything that can be done in 'Real Life (RL)' may be carried out. You can build, buy land, shop, socialise at Clubs, Dance, run businesses, compete in role-play games, enter contests and win virtual money L$ (Linden Dollars) etc. I cannot emphasise enough, that 'SL' is not a game, but an experience. There are no single 'goals' and no winners, although there
are games within SL.
It is free to have a basic account and to download the SL Viewer.
The original concept for the Project, was simply to get the eBid name 'out there’ in SL anyway we could. A small group of us met, and discussed ideas, and quickly set up an SL eBid Group, recruiting SL members who were unaware of eBid's existence.
We concluded that we should earn virtual money 'in-world' and buy land to build a virtual Shopping Mall on. (We could have bought L$ with RL Money, but decided that it would be better to spend time earning it in SL, so that we could also see how everything worked, and gain as good a knowledge as we could of building etc.). Once we had saved enough, and after a lengthy search for suitable land, we bought three land parcels (later adding a forth), and set about building the two story Manderley Shopping Mall. We had decided to make advert panels for eBidders available for a small cost to cover monthly land tier fees, land purchase costs etc. Blank advert panels were added, which have sold steadily since we made them available. When a Resident 'clicks' on the advert, which carries the eBidders logo etc. it gives out a direct link to the eBidders Store/Listings page, gives out a small text file (known as a Notecard) with as many details as the Advertiser requires, and also a Landmark so they can return to the Mall again easily. SL Users may click the following link to teleport to the Mall
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Narugo/234/223/76
Early on, we realised that the real challenge was to get Residents into the area and into the Mall specifically to see your adverts. We discussed a variety of options to ensure this happened. These included running regular Saturday contests with L$ Prizes on the roof of the Mall, (which was set up with a small stage for live performances, and dance floors etc.), and possibly acquiring other land parcels adjacent to the Mall and building things that were popular in SL on them.
The Opening night was a great success, with SL Celebrity Elvis Tribute Act, 'BubbaC John' performing live on the roof. He has a great following for all his shows, and subsequently many attended.
Over the following months, more land was acquired and a 'Garden' designed, for ‘romance and relaxation’. These gardens are popular throughout SL and always increase traffic. Another smaller Mall, 'Haven' was built specialising in SL gadgets (again popular), with the second floor dedicated to 'Corrine's Fashions' - (Quality Clothes for Ladies, at Sensible Prices). The current phase of the Project, is a 'Wedding & Reception area' for SL. Peggy, Hiya and myself attended a Wedding in SL and felt it would be a good way to gain more Traffic to the Mall, in the form of Wedding Guests. This phase is almost nearing completion, and we will be able to carry out SL Weddings, Handfastings and other 'joining services' customised to suit, as well as supplying beautiful Wedding Dresses (made by Hiya), Invitations, Certificates, Cakes, rings etc. A variety of Wedding Packages will be available, including full rental of the private Honeymoon Suite, etc.
There is also a 'Daily Draw' (DD) at the Mall. The names of all who visit within a 24 hour period are automatically registered, and two names are chosen at random. If they are a member of the Group they win L$75, and a non-member wins L$25, thereby encouraging them to join the SL eBid Group and receive regular updates.
Our Group is continually fine tuning the area to keep it interesting and increase Traffic, and we have more projects in mind. We have achieved a significant number of new members signing up to eBid. It is a SL area that we are all very proud of, and I would like to thank Peggy, Wendy, Hiya, (and the others that didn't want to be mentioned! IYKWIM LOL) for their great help so far. The Project would not be where it was, if it wasn't for you!
If you would like an advertising panel or to join our SL eBid Group, or need any help at all with getting started in SL, please let one of us know. We are a friendly Group and it's always good to meet up in SL.