So I have played a bit with EmpireAvenue (hashtag #EAv) and, although I don't really see myself using the web site every single day, I like the idea behind it. If you don't know what it is; EmpireAvenue is a web site where you can setup your "personal brand" and get people to invest in you, as if you were a company, by buying stock. As people buy more of your shares, the price goes up. If people sell your shares, the price goes down.

In EmpireAvenue, it's a good thing to link your Twitter and Facebook accounts, your blog, and your Flickr stream. The more active you are on the net, the higher your share price and dividends will be. If you have a good reputation online, with many friends and connections, you can generate a lot of hype around your EmpireAvenue share and get a really high price.

EmpireAvenue also allow corporations and groups to create "Business" accounts. They are similar to personal accounts, but targeted toward corporation. The share price of corporate accounts reflects how much people like the brand, not how well it's doing from a financial point of view.

I have seen a few systems that come close to Cory Dotorow's (@doctorow) Woofie system described in "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", and hinted at in "Makers", and EmpireAvenue might be the one that come closer to it. The more someone is liked and trusted, the more people are likely to buy their shares. The price goes up. So, if someone has a high share price, one could deduce that he's respected and liked. Sure, there are ways to cheat; there is no perfect system. But I like this one and I think that, in the long run, with some tweaks here and there, it could be very fun and even useful.

The site will be open to everybody in a few days and, in the meantime, you need an invitation to join. I have a few left, you are interested. Send me an email or leave a comment here and I will send you an invitation code. And, if you want to invest in me, my stock code is FORTRL.