One thing teens get wrong is thinking that on Main Grid, all content creators are Armidi – huge, popular, amazing quality, and prohibitively expensive. I’ve heard fears expressed over and over that when a teen transfers (or if the grids merge), they’ll never be able to make money, their content will be kicked to the bottom and no one will ever buy from them.
In many of their minds, all adults are Photoshop whizzes who have all the time in the world to make content. I came in with a mixed, questioning impression. I knew that not all adults were amazing at making clothing or great at dressing their avatars – looking at WTFug and SL Fashion Police cured me of that notion – but I did have rather high expectations mixed with a knowing that it wasn’t so.
For one, I never expected some of the malls to be this ugly. It took a week before I got around to seeing one, but I was a bit stunned by how flashy and over-the-top it was. After TP’ing to a few more, I noticed a trend: they were terrifyingly bad. Just a bunch of stores crammed together, one on top of the other, like battery hens, with no discernible taste.
It was actually worse than the Teen Grid malls.
Now, not all of the malls are like that, and there are plenty that are well-done and stylish, but the bad ones are enough to make a TG mall shine. Stores in most cases were about average – not anything outstanding, but nothing I would call terrible. Average with white posters including a simple picture of the item sold, with black text and a black frame.
I have a theory on why the malls and stores are a bit uglier than those on the Teen Grid. It is known that in general, adults have more free money to spend than teens do. The TG economy is so sucky that residents take longer in building up wares before going into business, making sure that they have a chance to succeed.
In contrast, Adults have a bit more to play with and are probably more likely to go into business just to try it out. It could also be that blatant sexuality is permitted here, so the half-nude posters, ass-crack jeans, nipple-baring tops, and other terrifyingly bad “clothing” is totally permissible, leading to lax, trashy areas. Volume must play a part as well. The Main Grid has more amazing designers simply because there are more people, and more terrible designers for the same reason.
The TG only has a few greats and a handful of really terrible creators for the same reason, reversed – there are less people. If one took a survey of all the creators and their talent level, then scaled it, the results would probably be similar. It isn’t that there is some huge amount of greats, it’s just that there’s more people to draw from to become greats.
As for fears of teens transferring and losing it all, there’s at least one great success story: Asuka Martin. Starting on the Teen Grid, Asuka transferred in March of 2008 with her island, Dernier Cri, her created objects, and a head full of ideas.
She now runs a successful store on her sim – still called Dernier Cri – and is fairly well-known creator. Teens with already established businesses do stand a chance to do well, even with suddenly increased competition.
Fuck armidi.
You had to remind me about “those malls” LOL
Your comments are on target. Especially with the recession there are fewer juggernauts. And some of us go for months without entering the Armidi sim.
There’s an Armidi sim?
Never been an Armidi fan. Now if you had been here in the Last Call days….there was a designer!
I love Dernier Cri! I think that is some of the best hair out on the grid.
‘fuck armidi’… what’s the purpose of the hate armidi bandwagon you’re on? just because they choose to run a VERY successful business their way, while maintaining high-quality designs at decent yet appropriate prices, you feel the need to attack them? what are you, the jealous little boy on the playground who has to make fun of others to feel better about yourself?
is this about individual style? well guess what, SL mirrors RL. i’d rather wear a shirt or shoes that other people have, which is better than wearing the same tattoos that others have, right? since, you know, tattoos are supposedly to be the epitome of individual style and expression. right, blahblahblahwhatever?
stick that in your juice box and suck it.
Your observations are quite correct — especially in the quality of most of the Mainland malls. Far too many of them are simply “box” stores thrown up by some nascent land baron who thinks he/she can make tons of cash without having to work up a sweat, and the occupants of most of the stores are “designers” who don’t practice at their skills enough to really develop, for whatever reason they may have. (Some legitimate reasons, it should be said, but Your Mileage May Vary.) Many complain about how business doesn’t come their way, that “only a few big-name designers get all the glory,” but it can be ascribed as much to quality of their work as well.
If you’re going to make it on the Main Grid, I’d suggest, off the cuff, the following:
1. Hone your skills! There’s no time like now to improve your work with prims and PhotoShop/Paint Shop Pro, and if you think about it, you can find the time to do it in. (Succeeding in business takes time — though you shouldn’t totally neglect your family and other personal life in the process, remember!)
2. Find a business location that has at least a decent amount of traffic going through. I would bet that if you check with the storeowners (just discover the creator of a piece with Edit, then IM or notecard them), they’ll be reasonably willing to let you know how well they’re doing in that location.
3. Also, if you’re trying to sell a quality product, get a quality location in terms of appearance. It’s unfair, but appearance does matter to many people. Something that looks like a strip mall won’t attract customers. You may pay stiffer rents, and you may have to subsidy your work with your PayPal or credit card for a time. But if you get noticed, it’ll take off.
4. Don’t be afraid to send out stuff for review. The reviewers will be glad to praise to the skies this fantastic new designer that has just dropped something on them. And I’ve rarely seen a negative review — usually because we prefer to write about the good stuff, and not dis the bad. But we may also offer constructive criticism as well, that will help you improve your product! Many bloggers, especially in the fashion world, will be pleased to consider your stuff for inclusion in their writing; remember, we’re usually on the lookout for article fodder ourselves! (Blogs are like Tyrannosaurus Debt; always hungry, feeding time is all the time.)
Best of luck to you all as you migrate over!
Gosh Bridget, there was a whole lot more vitriol in your comment than in BlahBlah’s…
And let’s not forget the insanely popular (although short-lived) FOAM hair outlet for proof that teens can create quality material.
~V.
I’ll agree with blahblahblahwhatever “Fuck armidi”
I think of Armidi as so 2007. I was caught up in that great 2007 gift card system fuckup. I buy accessories off their website from time to time. I thought there were supposed to be skins.
—–
I agree with your observations so far. There is alot of crap on the main grid, people rushing to put content up for sale. The rush probably comes from making tier payments. I get nagged at, and ridiculed by friends about taking months to produce. When something is created fast by one person it shows.
Has Armidi even put out anything new in the past ten or twelve months?
I continue to admire the quality of your observations and writing. I think the TG produces excellent writers as well.
A fave quote I like to use is “The absence of constraints is the death of creativity.” Similar to your own observations, I’ve seen in RL business waste and exceptionally sub-standard results when too many people have too many resources to dedicate to solving a problem. Elegance is in the mind, not the arm.
I suspect that there will be many very successful MG designers come through from the TG, even if their results there were mediocre. We all need to learn, and SL is very much a learning curve.
Keep the posts coming. Just excellent stuff.
@ A nony mouse
No
<– loves Armidi. I like good quality, I don't discriminate where it comes from.
@ bridget
No I’m not jealous I’m just tired of them being the standard with the way they treat customers and the people who work/worked for them
Regardless of if I’m a content creator or not I’m still an individual with the right to like and dislike others products.
I have NO problem with people who produce great work and am not scared to say so. Infact, I love dernier Cri and send all of my friends new-to-the-grid female friends there.
Others product and/ or services*
Given most businesses in SL are about to go poof when the new but should have been all along policy against ripping off rl trademarks and designs goes into effect I see no reason why imaginative creative teens have anything at all to worry about. Find an established person you get along with to carve off a spot for you to get a foothold with and grow from there. Make a new market. the wrinkled brownish green clothes market is getting old.
A couple of the top stores in SL have products which are sponsored by RL brands. I don’t think a RL brand will sponsor any teen business.
I’ve seen some great designers from the teen grid join the adult grid. They make some of the best roleplay costumes in SL. If you’re looking for gothic style vampire stuff, you’ll be in for a treat when the teen grid merges with the adult grid.
I am so curious to see whats going on with the top Teen Grid creators Id love to see what they are doing.. I think no matter what the age someone has the chance to create something wonderfull… you can be uber talented regardless of age. Also armidi is awesome.. no they havent come out with anything new but they still provide quality items. I remember when there was a little Elephant Outfitters making people anticipate the official opening and they exploded and surprised with Armidi ..it took 6-8 months so im hoping and am sure that the next thing they do come out with will be worth it… so dont hate on em …they work hard to make sure we are clothed in awesomeness.
Angry Jeffrey-[A couple of the top stores in SL have products which are sponsored by RL brands. I don’t think a RL brand will sponsor any teen business.]
If a business is smart teens are the first people you want to market to.
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