The closure of RUNWAY magazine is a sad day for Second Life. It was one of the classier of the Second Life magazines, with some well-written articles (after all, I wrote one of them myself!) and lovely photo spreads. It also paid some attention to layout and produced a relatively high standard of design compared with some SL magazines, which seem to think that invariably cutting and pasting chat is an interview, and that putting a page of Word on a 512×512 texture is layout. Runway did feature page after page of advertisements, which I have always opposed, as I feel it doesn’t given the advertisers value for money. But advertisers in fashion magazines seem happy with it – they certainly keep on placing the ads!
But, to be honest, I’m not concerned here with RUNWAY as a magazine or the squalid row that has blown up over its demise. For me it raises more serious questions about legacy, something that I have been thinking about lately in terms of my own magazines and TV show.
No, I am not suffering intimations of mortality – I just believe that, as more of us establish businesses here, and profitable businesses, we need to address the question of – “If I weren’t here anymore, what happens next?” Because there’s a genuine legacy here – for the real life survivors and also for the Second Life associates.
Perhaps we saw that with the fashion chain Last Call, owned by Ginny Talamasca. When one of the two typists behind Ginny died suddenly, the other struggled to carry on with her famed store for a while, and then gave it up – much to the dismay of a generation of fashionistas.
But, in fact, that was an organised retreat. There was even a closing sale, I believe, before the Last Call identity disappeared from the grid for good.
But sometimes this cannot happen. Sometimes the store, the islands, the magazine belongs to one person. And if that person dies or is lost, the whole business is also instantly gone.
What happens then? Are the co-workers or employees able to step seamlessly into the vacuum? Are wolves circling, ready to snap up what they can? Is the whole enterprise lost in an abyss?
As Second Life businesses develop and become more complex, one needs to make a decision. Is this a true virtual business, or is it, at heart, a vanity project? Apres moi, le deluge? Or apres moi … things carry on much the same?
So far, as far as the SL media goes, we seem to be in deluge territory. Magazines fold, but when magazines are bequeathed, chaos seems to break out – as when Carter Giacobini handed over Venture magazine, and then interfered with the new management, and, of course, the current RUNWAY situation. In both cases the former owners are still around and still believe they have (or perhaps actually do have) some say over what happens next. They maintain groups, servers, passwords, and all the other dots for i’s and crosses for t’s that have become important in running a virtual business. All this needs to be addressed in a hand-over – and it applies to more than just magazines – any virtual business operates in the same way.
But what if the owner of the business is suddenly removed from the picture? What then happens to the stores, the goods, the money, the goodwill, the employees and co-workers? I believe that responsible businesses must prepare legacy packages – at the very least an envelope containing relevant passwords and contact names that will enable the business either to carry on, or to be wound up in a civilised and dignified manner.
Prim Perfect 
A good thoughtful post on a topic many of us hope to never have to deal with – but we all should be prepared for. Thank you.
Stimulating thoughts, Miss Widdershins.
My concern is that business people in SL (and by this I mean staff, consultants, etc., not only owners) give too much weight to “Second Life” and not enough weight to “First Life,” or treat SL as though it isn’t part of Real Life. I’m not sure exactly what the balance is, and no doubt it will be different for each situation.
On the one hand, it’s worth bearing in mind that an avatar account can be inherited only if stipulated in a [“real”] will and that any business that depends upon a sim in SL will be built upon RL billing information (even if the business makes enough money to pay those bills). On the other hand, moving staff efforts into the “real” world may have minimum wage implications, along with all sorts of taxes.
I suppose it’s not so important where the real/pretend, for money/for fun balance is, as that the parties involved have the same understanding of the situation.
though i actually have a staff and do pay them .THEY KNOW that I AM slut magazine. it’s mine. i built this.it dies with me.