Does the Great Gatsby Live on Empire Avenue?

I meant ! not ? Damn Ajax commenting crap :-)

Sweet? the ROI of a liberal arts education is the ability to make a metaphor on The Great Gatsby to social media experts. Love it!

I just don't get it. I've been told I should, but like so many have said, I don't have the time to be an "early adopter" of something that I'm pretty confident won't bring me added value to my life or my business.

I know that might sound like the same comment any naysayer would have for any one of the many social platforms we use, but I think I'm ok with that. I'm good with what I have now, thanks. I'm influential with my kids (most days), my clients (usually) and the people in life that count. They wouldn't even begin to know where to find Empire Ave much less begin 'trading' on it.

Like @Adam | Customer Experience noted, the breadth is out of whack with the depth and the quicker we all take a stand in that regard and begin to cultivate some depth in our relationships, the better we'll all be!

Now, I will climb down off my high horse and get to Amazon so I can buy your book. Can't wait to crack it open!

you've got to love what social media has turned into, ( for the most part), a never ending battle to prove that you are an altruist while accumulating on the backs of all the other altruists out there. There is an inherent conflict which will ultimately destroy many of the social activities currently engaged in social. Fatigue, gaming, "network marketing", and the transparency of self-serving behavior will change the way social develops

Thanks for the post, Geoff. In answer to your question, I don't think about Empire Avenue much. As you said, it's basically a game, and I have more enjoyable games to play in the little spare time I have.

Love this post Geoff. Empire Avenue is actually a ripoff of InTrade which existed back in 2007 and allowed people to make bets on politics and other subjects. So i yawned when I saw it.

But I ask you this. WHY do so many people get suckered into this online influence thing? I have seen some very limited value specifically if I am trying to find a key blogger for PR or Marketing. But for the general public it means less than diddly squat. And for most PR and Marketing it means diddly squat. Twitter is more viral than Facebook yet it is not viral. It takes something huge to be viral. Small group influence rarelymoves sales numbers.

I love you point on how Social Technology is a non-stop evolution and should not be caught in finite systems.

Great analogy Geoff. Sure, gaming for widespread "influence" is self-absorbing fun. Gets you as far as looking in the mirror. The real measure is how many will show up to pay their last respects. Empire Avenue could be a great platform for brands, charities and influencers to come together and turn social currency into hard cold cash to buy those supplies that central Wisconsin school district is gonna need.

Well, actually, I realize the previous post contains insider trading information. I should have posted a safe-harbor statement.

Geoff, your post has given me a reason to finally stop ignoring the daily messages from EA and delete my account.

Nice experiment, but a game about gaming the game isn't so much fun anymore. There are better ways to spend time than fending off random chat requests to buy shares in people. I don't have to buy shares in my friends to show them I value them. I can comment on their blogs and add resources to their online or in-person lives that are helpful or funny.

And, I can stop that feeling of manipulation that is "am I posting enough to keep my ranking up?" Not a useful feeling at all.

You have such a great talent for telling a story, Geoff! I know it won't surprise you that I'm a big fan! :) I love the analogy between Jay Gatsby and influence. It's a good reminder of what is truly important. And, as much passion as we have for this social media world, it's a flash in the pan. Go home, kiss your wife, kiss that sweet little girl (and a couple extra for me), scratch the pug's ears, and really remember where your true influence lies.

@angelambrown I freaking love "incredibly vain"!!

Good stuff, as usual, Geoff. Your parallel to Gatsby reminds me of a similar post I wrote a couple of years ago, drawing a similar parallel to the characters of Scarlett and Melanie from Gone With the Wind. One character garnered a lot of attention; the other had influence. Both can be valuable at different times and in different ways, but they're tough to quantify, much less valuate. :)

I've tinkered with Empire Avenue, but I find it to be less worthwhile than the other sites out there. It's impossible to spend time on all these sites, so you have to pick a few and concentrate on those. To me, EA isn't worth the effort to help me further my goals. If you have time to play, have at it. But, for me, it's not worth the time that it requires.

I am enjoying EA and find that it doesn't take much time at all. Truth is that if it did I wouldn't use it. But it is sort of pleasant diversion.

@geoffliving I don't get Empire Avenue. I created an account about a month ago. I just don't see the point of it. It's rather lame.

First Geoff, I'm a new fan of yours since reading Why Every Marketer Should Run a P&L, which I discovered from a link here at SS. Great post!

In line with the Gatsby analogy there's a phrase that really seems to describe what you are talking about. I've heard it most often in referencing political support, but it applies in many areas: A mile wide and an inch deep. Most of the social media metrics (Klout, # of followers, etc) measure breadth not depth.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with things like Empire Avenue (at least for people who have the time) but do they do much to deepen relationships? Not much I imagine. I have been debating Paper.li recently with some folks, and the question seems to be the same for EA: what value does it add to an already crowded information landscape? Looking at @ginidietrich 's post from this morning, I noticed her pulling in comments from LinkedIn and YouTube. How many more places can even the best social media citizen actively engage with? What does a new social media outpost have to offer to get widespread adoption? EA seems like it might be fun, but to what end other than amusement. Maybe some EA patrons can answer that. I will admit, I gave it only a cursory look and decided not to join.

@ginidietrich yes, he does.

You should engage how you want without being rewarded with Klout, Eaves or otherwise.

Great post Geoff, and fun connecting to Gatsby.

These systems that reduce people to a number that boils down to "worth paying attention to/not worth paying attention to" really bug me. I'm not sure if it's my aversion to the whole work at personal branding thing, or if it runs deeper. Given my visceral reaction to them, I do wonder if it's the later: that women have long had numbers that they use to assign personal value to themselves, from the number on a scale to numbers assigned to them ("she's a 10, she's a 4"). Not to mention that it has little to do with influence at all, which is contextual.

I dunno. It just leaves me underwhelmed at best.

Deleted my account a while ago. And go figure - never made a dramatic statement on Facebook, or a self-loving post on my blog about it. Damn - I'll never get in with the cool kids that way... ;-)

Geoff, thanks for the post :)... that

Great look at Empire Avenue! Whether it is this or klout, they just simply boost our ego! Both can fluctuate so erratically that you can't fully see how they measure success! but for the time being it is fun to play!