WSJ article and reaction

On the Wall Street Journals website this morning I found an article that might interest people regarding the shut down of SL banks and its regulation isssues. This link is: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120104351064608025.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today

I found this article quite interesting, especially considering that the likes of the WSJ is posting about SL on its website. The WSJ is generally geared to audience that I would imagine isn't too entrenched in the SL world, free marketing for SL?

We spoke last class about the very issue of regulation and keeping avatars responsible for there actions. I never thought about the fact that people might have real money in these banks and not be able to withdraw it in the near future if they never re-open. I do believe however that the some of the people who started banks had the right idea, all a bank does is borrow at low rates from depositors to invest in higher return projects. Alot of the banks in SL were doing just that, however many of the projects they undertook went bust. It might be in lew of Linden Labs to create some sort of FDIC insure plan for the chartered banks so that SLers aren't afraid to deposit money into the new banks. It would be very difficult to develop a true economy without a banking system in SL. Who knows, maybe one day we will see the virtual banks giving out loans to avatars to buy property and automobiles???

More and more I realize that the opportunities for SL are truly endless. In my mind this world is still remarkably underdeveloped...what everyone recognizes as an "economy" in SL is really nothing more than a trading system of goods and money. In time I can't imagine the effect of a truly developed economy with banks and lending systems in the SL world. The question I ponder is how much Linden Labs will push the development of the economy through regulation, or just leave it up to survival of the fittest and free market competition to determine its future???