It is widely known that social media has been a maker or breaker of careers, relationships and in some cases government policy. You can hear it’s impact at water coolers, church and even casual conversations in Walmart, don’t ask. With all that said, I have found that there are few “new” trends that actually make us any more social, until now.
I have been participating in a, what I will call a social media experiment, called Empire Avenue. At first I thought it was more of a game than anything else. In fact, when I was first turned on to it, that was exactly what it was for me. It seemed initially the goal was to get your virtual worth up above anyone else's. You did that by simply buying and selling shares of people who participated in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or blogging. You invested based on their activity and how relative they are to their friends, followers and subscribers. That was how it started.
But, like all experiments, it has undergone an evolution of sorts. The obvious is its growth from BETA to release in the time that I have been using it. However, that is so minute compared to its evolution from game to social compass.
In my search for finding the right investment, I realized that I also had to do market research in the people that I was buying virtual stock in. I had to find out if they were sensationalists, garbage collectors or real people. In doing that research I discovered that the people that I was trying to invest in were more than just statistics and dividends, they were interesting people that I probably would have never had made an acquaintance with otherwise.
What made them a good investment was the face that they were interesting. What they had to say extended beyond, the realm of burying my Twitter account with fluff, but sharing and interacting about things that I found I was interested in.
So, to those of you wondering what Empire Avenue is, don’t judge it solely on “building a portfolio.” Sign up sit back and do some research it won’t be long before you rediscover the “social” in social media.
Oh, and buy lots of (e)MHIP. ;-D
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