Empire Avenue was never intended to be a “serious game” in the sense that games designed purposely for learning are. Rather it was just put together by some young Canadian guys as a fun way to figure out what a personal brand might be worth.
What they ended up with is a serious game – one that is fun but is also educational and results in a useful outcome. Of course, it can be played purely as a game and that’s okay as well. It can be used at several levels.
Each person who joins becomes a “stock” that can be bought and sold using play money. Whether anyone buys your stock depends on your perceived value. That value is based on two factors: how many people have bought shares in you and on your level of participation and engagement in various social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and You Tube.
The more you participate, and the more others retweeet, comment on your posts or engage in conversation with you, the higher your stock price goes. Each stock pays dividends and so when you purchase someone’s stock it is important to determine how it will improve your own wealth. It is always wise to choose people who have a significant social profile.
Empire Avenue then is both a social media aggregator as well as a way to score and track your ability to leverage social media and use it effectively. By experimenting with various ways of tweeting and communicating, by building larger and more useful networks of people who respond and engage in conversation, the faster and higher your stock prove will rise.
Here is a lengthy, but very interesting, interview by Robert Scoble with the founder, Duleepa Wijayawardhana (@Dups):
I look at this as a useful recruiting tool, an educational product, and a fun experience. And, if you are so inclined you can purchase shares in me by joining Empire Avenue (free) and going to my profile. I still pretty inexpensive! Empire Avenue is a fascinating product that has the potential to raise the SM game to a new level of interaction and understanding.
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