Actually, Minecraft model and appeal is different, because it's a game which is mostly geared towards your inner will to create, assemble, like a kid (or, you know, grown up kids) with Lego bricks.
SL has two sides, the creator side is one, but most people, like you describe, are here mostly to "be" in a different world, and chat, not to create or shape it.
Creating something in Minecraft takes a few minutes, you hit blocks to gather them, you reassemble them somewhere else.
In SL, to create, you have to be in a place which allows you to create (most likely one you rent, or a sandbox). You have to know how to create, and the learning step is quite high. You have to pay actual money to upload any texture or mesh to the game.
So the "god" possibilities are high, but not accessible to most of people. Minecraft is the opposite on this point.
SL has two sides, the creator side is one, but most people, like you describe, are here mostly to "be" in a different world, and chat, not to create or shape it.
Creating something in Minecraft takes a few minutes, you hit blocks to gather them, you reassemble them somewhere else. In SL, to create, you have to be in a place which allows you to create (most likely one you rent, or a sandbox). You have to know how to create, and the learning step is quite high. You have to pay actual money to upload any texture or mesh to the game.
So the "god" possibilities are high, but not accessible to most of people. Minecraft is the opposite on this point.