XStreet SL Marketplace

Via email:

Dear Xstreet SL user:

On January 20, Linden Lab, creators of the Second Life virtual world, announced that it acquired the Xstreet SL marketplace. We wanted to write to you today to address any concerns you may have and to discuss the benefits this move will offer to all Second Life users, existing Xstreet SL customers or otherwise.

Fairly early on, Linden Lab saw the inherent value that a web marketplace offers to buyers, sellers and content creators. After watching this industry grow, we recognized that the reach of these services would be greatly improved if they were integrated directly into the Second Life experience. Xstreet SL offers an incredibly advanced, flexible and functional e-commerce platform, and Linden Lab will be leveraging that technology to build out its own marketplace moving forward. This will create one centralized marketplace for all Second Life goods, which will greatly improve search, help drive traffic to inworld stores and enable merchants to market their products to a global audience.

Okay, so now you’re thinking, “sounds nice and all, but what does this mean for me?”

Since we’ll be using the Xstreet SL platform moving forward, very little will change for you in the near future. You can continue to purchase items just as you have and your current listings will be there today just like yesterday. For information on what minor changes we’ve had to make immediately, please see our Acquisition FAQ.

In the longer term, we have plans on how we can better integrate Xstreet SL directly into the Second Life experience. As we move forward with the integration, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the forum on how the Xstreet experience can be improved and what features you could use that currently don’t exist. Your commitment and ingenuity have enabled Xstreet SL and the industry as a whole to grow to this point, we sincerely hope you’ll continue to play an integral role in this next stage. { Read more }