Photos by Duncan Blackburn
The Sun Goes Down, The Stars Come Out
When the sun dips behind the horizon after a hard day out surfing - the party continues onshore under the moonlight at Surfer’s Bay. Known for its hedonistic vibe, the sim hosts regular DJ slots throughout the week to cater for its group members across all time zones, but Surfer’s Bay has also started to attract a large non-surfing crowd thanks to the introduction of some special events…
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Surfer’s Bay was packed for three hours with over 60 visitors all enjoying the party atmosphere, joking in local chat and delighting in their free sexy swag kindly donated by Stroker Serpentine. One lucky winner even walked away with a raffle prize worth over L$5,000. It was a memorable and exciting event for everyone that was part of it, and a great opportunity for surfers and non-surfers alike to meet and mingle on the dance floor.
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| Jori Jewell Bay Girl |
Events such as these at Surfer’s Bay help to attract the attention of non-surfers, which leads to new visitors, new donations and by default – new group members. If any community (including SL surfing) is to survive and thrive, then fresh faces and new ways of thinking and working should be welcomed. In turn, more people take up SL surfing: I have personally tutored 20 people at Surfer’s Bay in the past two months alone how to ride a C-3 and all are now addicted to the sport and happily buying and customising their own surfboards.
“Surfer’s Bay always has – and always will – place surfing right at the heart of its activities. The sim was constructed with surfing and beach fun in mind,” says Duncan Blackburn, the owner of Surfer’s Bay, “but by actively reaching out to other SL residents and engaging them in everything that we do here, we have managed to grow our paid group membership to over 4,000 people.”
This inclusive approach makes sound business sense. As any of us that have been part of the SL surfing community for a while will know, surf sims are very much a labour of love for their owners. Behind the sandy beaches, the swaying palms and meticulously rezzed waves are many real-life hours spent creating and maintaining the sim – plus cold, hard, RL cash, so diversifying your activities and attracting new communities and individuals from outside the surfing scene is well worth it.
“We have got a lot of plans for Surfer’s Bay in 2018,” Duncan continues, “and many of those plans have been directly inspired by listening to our members and being proactive in responding to their ideas. From having a greater online presence outside of SL to installing new facilities on the sim for our members and hosting more surf and non-surf related events, my hopes for this year are that we continue to expand and therefore introduce more SL residents to the joys of hitting the SL waves.”
Surfer’s Bay: Top Tips For Diversifying Activities
*Listen to local chat – spend time hanging out with your visitors and ask them how they feel about the sim and what they would like to see take place there.
*Promote your events well – let people know via your Facebook, Flickr and group chat about upcoming events a week in advance. Also let them know if the events will be attended by non group members out of courtesy.
*The power of the image - got a sim related Flickr group? Then post regularly and encourage your visitors to do the same. Try running a photo contests with a season twist for fun.
*Timezones – create opportunities for visitors across the world to feel part of what’s going on by hosting events at different times and by providing a touch of ‘nightlife’ no matter what time SLT!
*Photos – create photogenic spots across your sim to encourage SL photographers and politely ask that they include your SLurl in all uploads to encourage new visitors.
*Advocates – can your visitors be your sim ambassadors too and let other know about events via word of mouth? At Surfer’s Bay, a new ‘Bay Girl’ is voted in each month based on how well she mixes with others and her time spent on the sim. They win special clothing and a cash prize as their reward.
Visit Surfer’s Bay at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunny%20Shores/117/146/23
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| On the beach at Surfers Bay by Duncan Blackburn |
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1 comment:
Surfers Bay is one of the best places to throw a party and I'll use them for my special events and happily spread the word! They went above and beyond for the Bachelorette party which included decorations, music, dancers, even the other party goers were fun and welcoming!
In terms of growing a community, Surfers Bay continues to successfully operate and add new members and is a great model for other communities to follow!
Awesome write up, Persia!
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