(AKA: Mark E. Lodge, USA)
Hello my friends. I was thinking about Second Life ® danceclubs today. One of the biggest myths about Second Life ® is the idea that you can get-rich-quick with little or no effort by starting a club. "Yeah! Just open a club, and sell stuff to the hordes of people that show up!" Oooooo the truth is, you will have a better chance of making money if you go fishing for dollars in your toilet with a bare hook. I suppose it is POSSIBLE that you might snag a dollar bill somewhere down in the sewer line, but I sure would not want to bet my tier fees on it.
I've talked with club owners and asked them why they opened them; most say it is because a busy club will draw buyers for the malls that are next to them. Hmmm maybe. But by the time you pay for the djs and the club sploders, and the 5 million cajillion contests you will have, and the gold nugget and jewel programs, and the treasure quests...lord...I honestly think you will do better if you transfer dollar bills from your left pocket to your right pocket. At least you will reap a little pocket lint for your efforts, which is more than most club owners will get for THEIRS.
Part of the reason clubs fail is that there are so durn many of them! EVERYBODY--and his brother--wants to own their own club! Any why? Beats me. They seem to be the biggest waste of money in the known universe. I mean really, think about it...everybody you know wants to start their own club. Why? I have danced in soooo many clubs and been tpd to sooo many sl clubs, and really, why? There have only been a handful of clubs I really liked in Second Life ®....only a handful that I would go to as a place to relax and meet people. Why else would you go to a club?
Not because the building is pretty...for sure. Can you just imagine going to a club and saying "Wooooo look at the fine gold trim! Ohhhhh and the glittering dance ball...and THAT SPLODER Woooooow...I want to live here and raise my Second Life ® kid here, wooo hooo, I'm gonna tp in alll my friends! Rave Rave! Wooot!" Yet so many owners seem to think that having a big, nice facility will make a real difference. NOT.
I had a guy for an advertising client once...geeze he was a trip. He had two HUMONGOUS clubs going at the same time. Both were beautiful, fine facilities...both were elegantly appointed. Yet the guy was a total failure with PEOPLE and so he was a failure with his clubs too.. He did not have the right touch. He was constantly hollering at his staff. I had to join his group so I could rezz my displays...and I was constantly getting group notices that said things like:
"We are having a mandatory meeting in one hour for all dancers. If you are not there then I will take it that you don't want to work for me anymore, and you are hereby fired."
Lord, what a nightmare! Who wants to work for a hothead like that? Every time I went by his club he had fewer and fewer dancers working for him.
Maybe he should have tried a gentler approach something like:
"Hello darlings, we are having a meeting for all dancers in one hour and I sure would appreciate it if you could come because if you don't I will send out my hit teams and round you up and put you in a room and tear you limb from limb, and feed your remains to an Arrakeen Sand Worm. Have a nice day. :) " He probably would have had a better response.
The last group notice I received before I left his group--and pulled my display from his club--said, "I am here all alone at the club. All you damn dancers have deserted me...I am the dj and I am all by myself.....no one else is here...so come on down and have a rockin' good time with me." Yeah right buddy. Can you say "train wreck" boys and girls? I would just love to spend sometime with a guy who yells at his customers and staff.
"Confucious say: Man with frown on face should not open a store." or a club.
One former club/mall owner told me that it is very, very, very, very hard work. She said you literally have to become the very best friend of every single person who comes into the room. Yikes. Who wants to work THAT hard. I basically LIKE people...especially GIRL people...(have you noticed?) But to become the best friend of every person in the room? That is hard.
Some club dancers will make a point to tp in all their friends, then not say anything more than, "Hello hun." when they arrive. They don't REALLY want to see you, they just want a tip. I had one yesterday, I was bored at a club, trying to think where I could go next, and some cutie pie sent me a message,
"CutiePetutie wants you to come dance with her." tp enclosed.
And I was thinking, "Well, CutiePetutie is going to get a surprise when she finds out I am partnered now, but hey I have not seen her in ages, so I will go and say hello; have a nice chat." Except when I landed, I found I was in the middle of the stage with her...as she danced on a pole. Ahhh damn. She just wants a tip, she doesn't really want to see ME." Disappointment. I soon left.
My three most favorite clubs in SL are Dance Island, The 5th Element in Gol , And Club Carnage. There are others that I go to occasionally, but these are my top favorites.
Club Carnage is one of the most successful, longest-running SL clubs I know of, run by the charming Caemlyn Witherspoon. They have been in business over 2 years. Here is an interesting poster I saw at her club, talking about what makes a club successful:
So what makes a good club good? I don't really know. I have tried to figure that out. If YOU figure it out would you send me a note? Only puhleeeeeze, don't try to tp me in to give you a tip! **Marco transfers his lindens from his left pocket to his right, and picks up a little lint along the way, and keeps it.**
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Did you like this post? If you did, would you take a minute and leave a comment for me below? Your kind words keep me inspired! Thank you! --Marco
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