M's letter to (premium?) users

 *A Message from M Linden*

Greetings,

Yesterday was a challenging but historic and important day for Linden Lab.
We undertook a strategic restructuring to strengthen our business and enable
us to move faster and with more focus on the things that matter. While it
will have important ramifications down the line for Second Life, rest
assured that there are no fundamental changes planned to our experience or
platform, and that both the company and the inworld economy remain in a very
strong position.

Our decision to restructure the company was based on our feeling that we
were moving too slowly on important strategic initiatives, so we have
decided to consolidate software development in the US and combine our
product and technology organizations into one. We have also streamlined
customer support so that it can scale economically as we add users. These
decisions resulted in significant job eliminations and this tends to be what
press and bloggers focus on because of the human dimension. It is indeed
difficult for us to see our colleagues leaving.

I am writing to you directly because I want you to know that Second Life –
and Linden Lab itself – is in very good shape. As a company, Linden Lab
remains financially very stable. Our balance sheet is strong and we are
well-capitalized. We will close this year with record revenue and hopefully
record users, and – with your help – record user-to-user transactions and
record landmass. In May, we recorded more than 1 million logged-in
Residents, 37 million user hours, US$52.8 million in user-to-user
transactions and 31,800 enabled regions. Second Life is sound.

As a platform for the world's most robust virtual economy, Second Life
remains as vibrant and healthy as ever. By bringing new people to Second
Life, and by increasing the ways in which people can interact with the world
and with the people, places, and things within it, we are paving the way for
more growth. We remain committed to supporting and improving the SL
Marketplace, to pushing forward on IP protection, and to growing the number
of Residents that participate in the inworld economy.

It is during times like this that partnerships are tested and I – as CEO –
want you to know that we value our partnership with you and that Second Life
and Linden Lab are solid. This kind of transition is difficult for any
company, but it need not be difficult for our customers. Our restructuring
leaves Linden Lab in a stronger position; Second Life remains the creative
and inspiring platform it always has been.

Best regards,

M Linden