Second Life Economy

Second Life was one of the pioneering virtual games of the modern world. You created an avatar of yourself, hopped on a surfboard, and then floated through space (with an Iron Man oxygen mask if you needed it). In the process, sub-groups were formed...from cherry tomato fetishists to tax reformers to, um...edgier fare. Those groups were, at times, premium groups, meaning that you had to buy admission into them with a virtual currency you bought with real currency...sorta the reverse layup version of Bitcoin.

There came to be an entire economy on Second Life, but alas, it died under the weight of too many other competitors, and not enough satisfaction from being "immersed" in the virtual world. It wasn't realistic enough, and it was too hard to navigate around the place, with all kinds of glitches that would assault your hard drive. So Second Life...kinda died. A pioneer that will go down in history.

The moral with an Aesopian question: how do you recognize the pioneers in an industry? They're the ones face-down dead in the dirt with arrows protruding from their backs.