Every once in a while I come across a blog where I waste a whole afternoon reading all the back-posts.I don’t know whether to thank you…or curse you….

It looks to me like 1. They fired a bunch of people that were about to qualify for their first vesting of stock, which I explain in more detail at my blog. And 2. They just freed up more then $100,000 a month in expenses with these firings.

These two things add up to one very likely result. They are showing more profitability so they can sell the company, and the founders get to keep a bunch of stock they almost lost to those employees. It’s a win-win for everybody involved. (everybody being the founders, long time employees, and investors)

I think the story is simpler: they ran out of money. You keep mentioning CBS; they only got so many millions from CBS (was it $7 or 8?) and there wasn’t another round. They couldn’t live forever off VC infusions, they have to start showing profit or potential somewhere.

I view CSI:NY as a flop, having been at its roll-out in San Jose at VW07, where they bragged that a million people would come in the door and burn down the servers. They got 120,000, many who didn’t come back. But I’m told by those closer and more knowledgeable to the scene that it wasn’t viewed as a flop because *they got the old media hits they needed, and that was that*.

However, that is a one-trick pony.

And Gwyn, you’re not making sense. If the Sheep drop their main content and events people, because corporations like AOL and Pontiac quit and others weren’t in the pipeline, that’s rational, but then…why spend development time and dollars on a shopping site for avatars that will be of absolutely no interest to something like CBS or Pontiac? That just sounds like double talk.

And wait…they are working on AI and bots and such…yet they are giving up the search bot? Again, doesn’t make sense.

It’s not clear where these more vaunted “software suits” would find a home, if not in SL, and if in SL, who will pay for them.

To be sure, they have their hooks into Metaplace, and perhaps that will be interesting.

I think the most important point you’ve made is that the MDCs aren’t needed as much any more because companies are able to put their own staff in, and they ramp up pretty fast. If you are already clever at PSP and 3-D modelling, it isn’t such a big deal to adapt to SL. The complexity of SL is often overstated by those who need to make a buck off the steep learning curve.

I remember saying a year ago that when these RL corporations got smart, they would put their own people on the art work and building and such. But…they didn’t because it was actually more expensive, and more of a ramp-up, I guess. I’m not persuaded they are doing it now. But I’d recommend it just because it is part of learning the environment.

We’re told that the people who remain in the Sheep are the top content makers and the sales force. So they have clients that still need hand-holding by a sales team — but they don’t need big builds for that to be taking place in, if they’ve gone over to the teen and pet worlds.