Is it a game, a social media exchange, a social media measurement tool or a rating system? Empire Avenue has been the eye candy of the social media world since the last month or so. Being an avid admirer of innovation in social media, I couldn’t resist the temptation to jump aboard the Empire Avenue bandwagon.

What is Empire Avenue?

To be honest, I think it’s difficult to design Empire Avenue in one word. It’s a social media exchange – part game, part ratings that simulates a virtual stock market based on social interactions and the concept of online influence. It provides a stock exchange platform where you can literally buy and sell shares in your ever-expanding network and be rewarded for your strategic thinking and tactful maneuvers. There’s an Empire Avenue website and an associated Facebook appwhich doubles up the fun.

How do you play Empire Avenue?

It’s a virtual stock market game that thrives on social media. Every new user who signs up becomes a “stock” that can be bought and sold using play money. Whether anyone buys your stock depends on your perceived value which in turn is determined by 1) how many people have bought shares in you and 2) how active you are on leading social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. In my opinion, the underlying concept behind Empire Avenue is simple yet brilliant – it leverages a person’s social media activity graph/ popularity to determine their net worth. The more active you are on social networks, the higher your stock price goes.

Why Empire Avenue?

Empire Avenue provides a fun way of tracking your ability to leverage social media effectively. It serves as an invaluable social media exchange and connects you to some of the best minds (me included) in the social media world. In business terms, Empire Avenue can be used to connect with individuals for recruitment, advertising or reaching out to like minded individuals. Moreover, since your perceived value is at stake, it gives you another reason to be serious about your social media endeavors. Business Perspective It would be foolish to write off Empire Avenue as just another social media game/ pass time. A number of heavyweights including Audi, FORD and Intel have joined the Empire Avenue bandwagon and I’d expect other leading B2B brands to be on board sooner than later. Buy me out! I’d encourage my readers/ followers to join Empire Avenue and purchase my shares. Here’s a link to my profile – I am still pretty inexpensive but it’s a matter of time before my shares skyrocket Have you explored Empire Avenue as yet? Do you think modern-age tools such as Empire Avenue will redefine the concept of social media exchanges? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment below this post.