People like good deals, and free stuff? *GASP*
People (in any world) feel a sense of entitlement? *GASP*
Bloggers will lose their mind, and waste thousands, upon thousands, of words to “prove” their side of any issue is correct. *GASP*
Context:
A few residents (Faery Sola and Ziggy Quirk) have called for a ban on freebies.
Ziggy’s post in particular is full of passion and win. In a concise manner she airs her grievance, thoroughly dresses down the subject of her ire, and suggest a nuclear solution to end such behavior. In a followup comment she acknowledges this isn’t likely to happen, and rationally suggest there could be a better way to promote businesses.
End of story, nuff said, right? *coughs*
Chaos ensues as overly wordy platitudes and emotional rhetoric run rampant through the SL blogosphere and plurk timeline.
One prominent blogger drives right of the cliff of reason with a rant full of pompous proclamations and absurd theories that make Chicken Little sound like Plato. Don’t get me wrong. I agree with Prad more times than not, and enjoy most of his post. With that said, his latest makes him sound like an elitist fashionista who has lost touch with the average SL resident.
Case in point:
“We had the foresight back then to see there were entitlement issues forming” -PP
“The sense of entitlement comes when there is an influx of high quality freebies” -PP
Foresight? Orly? To notice that people have a sense of entitlement is not foresight. That’s stating the obvious, and it’s nothing new. A sense of entitlement has nothing to do with freebies. Second Life is a microcosm of society. Drive by any government housing installation. See that guy wearing Air Jordans, a $200 throwback jersey, and sitting on the hood of a car with $2000 rims? There’s a good chance he is all of the following: 1. Able bodied. 2. Lazy 3. Refuses to work. 4. Drawing welfare 5. Connected to the internet with a broadband connection.
Does it surprise you that this guy’s avi would bitch about not getting enough things for free? Does it surprise you that he might complain about the things he did get?
In response to those who question Prad’s stance against freebies:
“Because I actually give a damn about Second Life and its content creators.” -PP
Why so serious? Prad’s statement implies that anyone who disagrees doesn’t care. I have friends who are original content creators and I want to see them succeed. That doesn’t mean I think freebies are the end of the virtual world. Last time I checked KMADD and Belleza offered amazing freebies to members of their group and were pretty damn successful. I still love ya man but please don’t be such a drama llama.
While there are hysterics on both sides of this issue, i’d like the “sky is falling because of freebies” contingent to read up on brand loyalty. It’s not something earned by generalizing, labeling, belittling, attempting to tell your customers what they like, or thinking you can control a free market.
There are those who have managed to give a little and reaped huge rewards.
e.g. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails.
You might have heard of them. They’re kind of a big deal.
Check out how they market their product the next time you log into RL, kthx.
Cry Cry Cry by Johnny Cash
Zero Sum by Nine Inch Nails
Bodysnatchers by Radiohead
