Empire Avenue Fail 5 post overview: Over 5 posts on my blogs I documented issues with Empire Avenue, from their rogue volunteers, running a “wall of shame” on Brands, attacking Brands reputations online, not answering complaints, having a “goon squad” of endorsed volunteers attacking customers who complained, refusing to discipline internally thereby encouraging more attacks on Brands, etc. What I witnessed was the worst travesty in the annals of customer service I have ever seen. After a month of private discussions with EA to change things, I went public. Only then did they begin to change, but the attacks on me and others grew by their “goon squad.” In the end, I went to EA’s Angel Investor and EA had to shut down its Chat Room and Chat Mod “goons squad.” EA shamelessly has never apologized or produced it damning chat logs as promised by their CEO. This is one of those posts, you can read the rest by Search in the upper right for ‘Empire.’ Don’t play EA or if you do save your REAL money.
Greed is NOT good. I’ve been on EA longer than most and we’re advising to give some thought to your Brand being on EA. There is an old adage: Money and friends are like mixing oil and water, they DONT mix well. It can hurt relationships. I’ve see much ugliness and friendships lost on Empire Avenue and had my Brand tarnished on there. It’s not EA, it’s the way people emotionally react to “money” in a social environment. The Fail is Human Nature. I downgraded my recommendation of EA after seeing another EA customer publically complaining to Dups, the CEO on Twitter, about being abused by their Chat Mods. I’ve seen and experienced too much of this personally.
We’ve HIGHLY recommended our clients stay OFF of it and if they do go on, save your money.
Companies spend millions of dollars to have people mentally ASSOCIATE their brands with success and positivity. Since most companies can’t be on EA all the time, their stock eventually loses. On discussion boards Companies and Brand get kicked around and trashed with the association of their name as “losers.” They are listed in categories as Losers. It doesn’t seem that smart to me. (*Note: Hours after this EA changed the term Losers to Sliders)
I recently updated our warning on playing Empire Avenue and given my initial promotion of the game, I want to go on record with the results we’ve experienced so far. Right now everyone’s aglow with the newness but I’ve been on for a while and lead in the top 6 or so of the game and I think many people will arrive at my conclusions as time goes on. Over the past month we’ve seen a fun game turned very vitriol with human nature and dealing with the “money” aspect of the game. I’m going to be one of the first people to say this but I don’t think anymore that Social Media and “Money” mix well. Hence the adage earlier. Tons of complaints have come to me about people being mistreated by other players and losing friends.
I wont get into details, but we don’t see how a Brand can be on EA and make everyone happy or not look like a loser. It can’t work both ways. The more successful you get the more the ugliness grows and attacks on your Brand. Your Brand will at sometime be labeled a Loser. We’ve seen people massively blocking people who sell them, trolls and mods that are out of control in the volunteer chat rooms that EA seems unable or unwilling to control after we’ve lodged numerous complaints. Massive fights on community boards over strategy that are at the level of anger like arguments over religion. People outright attacking each other MLM’s and business’ over which is better. The sad and sometime ugly emails I’ve gotten for selling someones stock. People begging you to invest in them and when you don’t have any available cash or feel their stock is still developing, then outright attacking you for not buying immediately. The issues we’ve seen go on and on with people EXTREMELY negative in dealing with money aspects and Social Media.
Initially, I saw that it brought people to my Brand and Social Media outlets which most people are thrilled about. I can say now after over a month of being on EA, that the friendships tarnished and lost out of human natures greed of the game have us really wondering if the gain IS larger than the loss. Money and friends do not mix well.
I’ll be 100% honest with you as to why I’m still playing the game and I’ve come within an inch of quitting many a time. Being successful I got attacked very heavily as many others have on EA. 1. I’m on there to prove a point to the losers who attacked us, that we’re still winners. 2. Foolishly I invested REAL money into the game to buy upgrades, I’m kinda stuck. 3. I’m experimenting and hoping that in the end we’ll make more friends than we lose. I can honestly tell you I WISH I’D NEVER STARTED THE GAME and I would warn anyone NOT to start it or spend their REAL money there. The fact that I’m in the top is the only reason I keep playing otherwise I’d quit.
The Company and people behind EA I’m sure have the best intentions, I think the grand fail here is human nature and unsportsmanlike conduct during a game. Old adages are there because they have stood the test of measure against human nature. If you’ve ever involved money with your personal friends in real life you know the issues. Money and friends are like mixing oil and water, they DONT mix well. Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware. Greed is NOT good.
Before you argue the point with me in the comments, be on EA as long and successful as I have. The last time I spoke out, the haters we’re endless. Please also avoid the irony of being ugly on my comments thereby proving my points about these issues.
UPDATE: As predicted much ugly hate has been spewed at me over sharing my comments about Human Nature and money. I amazed again how hard people worked to prove I’m right. I cant wait to meet these folks in person at a social event. EA is not the issue and many people are missing my point. Human Nature and “money” is. One of the challenges is people assume most of my success comes from my high traffic sites. This is what Im constantly attacked for. Here is EA’s proof that 52% of my success is strategic investing. I’ve spent up to 3-4 hours a day to be a successful investor and made tons of REAL money as a day trader whose skill have helped me play EA. So for all the people who attack me, heres the proof, I work hard at the game. THE AWFUL PART IS MOST PEOPLE HAVE MORE SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC % THAN I DO AFTER WE DID RESEARCH. I’m getting attacked by people who are bigger social media “spammers,” what precious day for humanity.
I can understand your point of view, I even agree with it to some extent. I have no idea if I will stick with EA, but I have already come to one conclusion.. winning is not everything. Like the real stock market there are those that choose to invest ethically. I am now choosing who to invest in based upon whether they are a good match for my values.
Maybe I am an exception, but the idea of winning is overrated, if it is at the expense of my social network of friends, clients and peers.
I agree, Greed is not good… but greed is not the only reason to play
Cheers
Scot
Chris
I both agree with you and disagree. I think Empire Avenue is what you make of it. If you join to only win, get the highest stock price and become famous based on Eavs then yes it’s going to back fire
However, if you join for the game if it, to connect with and meet new peeps and invest ethically then I think it’s fine.
I personally spend no more than 10 min or less per day on the platform. Yet I have a stock price of $71. I have met new folks, had some good conversations and had fun playing the game.
I have also obtained several new and high quality leads. So in summary for 10 minutes a day I have a nice ROI plus I have had a little fun.
I haven’t seen the negativity you have but could be because I’m not in it to win per se. I’m in it for the people and the experience.
My 2 cents
Pam
Thanks folks for your comments I’m not in it to win or be #1 either. I know
a bunch of people in the same category who’ve been attacked.
Have fun enjoy the game as long as you can keep it fun.
Interesting thoughts. I have to say I haven’t seen those kind of issues, but maybe that’s because I write a prosperity blog, so my tribe is pretty high consciousness people.
Also, I wrote a manifesto about EA (http://www.randygage.com/blog/the-empire-avenue-manifesto/) and made it clear I wasn’t in it for the gaming, but the connections. I set the expectations that I wouldn’t buy shares just because people asked, and would only do so if it raised my value and allowed me to make more connections.
Now I haven’t been on as long as you, and it’s still a work in progress. But so far, it’s all been good for me and my brand. -RG
Thanks Randy, love your stock and blog.
I agree with Scot. I can fully understand the points you make, Chris and they’re good ones. At the end of the day for me EA is about making connections with good people and brands. For now, I’ll continue to invest in the people and brands that I like (that includes you both) and let the haters hate.
Chris, I can understand your point of view and respect it. I have not personally seen much negativity, however, there has been increased messages of people “begging” to buy back if they invest. EA is both a game and a social media tool. It works for me because I’m a gamer and a business mind. Greed in any form is not a sustainable action, to include self promotion, regurgitated posts and old fashion name busting.
Watching your success thus far, I know its due to the massive amounts of info you share and re-share across your own networks. Not everyone can do this or has a system setup to be even half as successful that way. I think some of the ugliness comes from those that are focused on the wrong thing and start looking at what you are doing to be that successful. The “copy cat” is always hard at work but forgets the fact of personality, knowledge and “influence” of the one they want to mimic play a significant role.
Since I have come back to get active on EA I have had nothing but a good experience seeded in making relationships work offsite. Investing my time does cost me real money since my main business is not one to be outsourced online. Investing my social capital by sharing blog posts, photos and other material of my EA friends is priceless. Its what you make of it and how you manage being at the top or at a comfortable average.
Greed is not good. Quitters never win. Slow and steady wins the race. Leaders know when to up the ante and take control. Keep moving and pay it forward.
Pam, no wonder I get to interact with you much. 10 minutes a day?
Nakeva – Thanks, actually I spend or have spent up to 4 hours a day. I keep
getting attacked because people think its like you said. If I wasnt a great
investor with my stock investing background I would not be winning. When
people look at my activities they can see 1/2 of it is my investing ability.
This is one of the reasons I’m upset that people attack me and others for
cheating. I’ll but up EA’a numbers that show its my investing ability. The
other thing is everyone has amped up their game and by that measure is
spamming the system. Its all relative. I’ll post up my investing box in
the post.
Chris
Investing strategy is a good part of the “winning” since dividends usually make up more than 50% of your income stats. From what I’ve seen, Chris, the number of blogs you have added and the number of posts that get cross-posted make it look like its false success putting you at the top. The thing I have to look at, no matter what any other EA player believes, is are you engaging with all that content? Following you on Twitter, there are times I don’t see you with a lot of “at” replies and in conversation, I mainly see your scheduled posts. And I’m sure the same could be said about me now that I have opened the gates on sharing more content I like across my sites. This is part of what comes into question by other EA players.
The other thing about your in-game interaction: From my point of view, you are super confident and have a way to cut the bull and express that. However, it is seen by some as aggressive “me, me, me” activity, in particular, if you post it on their walls as a message. Not everyone is confident to say directly, “I’m the best stock you can buy” whether or not they can back it up with statistical proof (as your numbers do show). My own opinion, its a game with the good, bad and ugly and I take it all in perspective. Others, it may mean something different to them and, therefore, the attacks you speak of will occur.
I’m not going to tell you how to “play” this “game” but I would say that you should think about the social aspect. People want to connect, talk, discuss things and get to know who they are investing in on EA (not all, but most). The messages about getting you to buy back in someone, BS to ignore and move on. The messages about how your strategy and you come across, worth noting and thinking about even if its just a game. For those that know you outside of that pic on the internet, they know the true Chris, but wouldn’t you want the online persona to match?
Actually I’ve tried to go in and engage the discussion boards. Being
friendly has just gotten me hate which is where this derives from. Yes I’m
confident. Lance Armstrong has gotten called a cheater cause he’s a winner
all his life. Same thing with Donald Trump. The same principal is true
here. In fact most people would do well to see they get more off of SM on
EA than I do.
In the end this blog gets over 50,000 views a month. I think we have our
social media right.
The problem is haters spreading lies against a winner. I blogged about sick
human nature and tried to report the truth.
Chris
Good thoughts Chris. I just got on and am already thinking about what will happen when I sell someone’s stocks. The last thing I want to do is break apart some great connections I have made. I’m in it for the people and the connections. That’s the real value. I’ll be watching. I appreciate your honesty and friendship. ~Jeff
I completely agree with you, Chris. I joined EAv not too long ago and if there’s one thing I’ve learned: It’s ruthless. I don’t take it seriously and I definitely don’t approve of spam tactics. It’s for that reason that I don’t follow everyone who invests in me (and whom I invest in), because to me, it ruins the fun of social media platforms. Do I really want to read 47 tweets in a row from one person who is trying to get their EAv numbers up? Goodness no. I don’t really care to add 5 more Facebook friends so I can them spam my walls. I want to interact with people I enjoy. So yes, my numbers aren’t fabulous on any of the sm platforms, but they’re me.
The only reason I stay around on EAv is because it is a good gauge of my activity and I have met a few people who are knowledgeable about social media. Yet, my stock will probably never get up over 100 because of the way I am and I’m okay with that.
Randy,
I can tell you that I have seen first hand several instances to back up what Chris Voss is talking about. There is definitely a lot of this going on. I have heard/seen trash talking about a few brands on EAv, and when I looked into it, it was much more emotional and less logical. Mostly just players who didn’t agree with how another player was growing their stock. Perhaps out of jealousy?
Either way, this is definitely an ongoing issue and I am very glad that Chris Voss has voiced his opinions on it (although exposing things often leads to more hate from those exposed…)
The biggest problem that I see is that some players are very judgmental over how other players choose to play the game. But if someone is not following EAv guidelines, just report them and move on. If the player is violating rules and guidelines, the proper action will be taken. But if EAv looks into it, and the player is doing everything fine, then no action will be taken.
And there is definitely some conflict of interesting with mods on the site. Personally I think that chat should just be taken away. It served a very great short term purpose, but as the site grows, this is an area that will continue to cause problems over and over again. BUT, until it is gone, it is a resource that could and should be used by active players, so the mods need to understand that they represent the company and shouldn’t be crossing lines like they have multiple times.
I don’t agree 100% with everything in this article Chris Voss, and we definitely have different styles, but I respect that you are playing the game with your style, and I am playing with mine. Professional respect from me…
Good points. As long as there are people, there will be issues. Same as you can get on a blog, Twitter, FB or anywhere else. But as Scott Stratten likes to say, “Don’t feed the trolls. You’re not then jackass whisperer!” RG
Nakeva, the answer is Yes. Chris Voss does engage. The problem is that people haven’t looked beyond his profile to really get to know him and his brand. I am following Chris Voss in all his networks and he has been a major source of information, links, thoughts, and other great resources. He is the “hardest working player” that I personally know on Empire Avenue. I am sure some players might outwork him, but I am not aware of it. And unfortunately people would rather jump to the conclusion that he must be automating something because of all the work.
I get personal HeyTell voice messages from him nearly every day as part of his way of paying it forward to the EAv community. He is always sharing hot stock tips and strategies to help other players. He hasn’t asked anything in return. Just purely paying it forward.
He is at or near the top all the time because of his work ethic. EAv could change overnight and decide not to count blogs towards activity, and he would still be at the top. Why? Because he is a hard worker and when he puts his mind to something he goes after it. It’s a winning attitude.
When I joined Empire Avenue, I was highly encouraged to read Chris Pirillo’s article on “How to Win at Empire Avenue”. Then on the Empire Avenue website I was directed to corporate pages they put out on how to win as well. Clearly the vast majority of people on the site are there to “win”. But everyones definition of winning is different. It’s the idea of winning that drives entrepreneurs to perform at their highest levels. To lose sleep if they have to, to experiment with ideas, and even use their own cash on games to see how it might help. Winning is an important ingredient to the success of what Empire Avenue is. And EAv knows it, which is why they have articles teaching new members how to win at the game. And that is why they are labeled a game in the first place.
The core problem is that people will “hate” on other people at the top. Chris clearly isn’t violating any guidelines because EAv has approved his blogs and approved his networks.
And here is a very important fact to add. So far I have been with EAv for one month. I have reached out to hundreds of people and made numerous connections. But so far, Chris Voss is the only one that has physically reached out to me in person, off the site. Personally calling me, adding me to his free tips network, and helping me out as a new player.
I have had help from many others, but nobody has personally reached out to me. I know that this will happen more in the future, but I can tell you first hand that Chris Voss engages more than people give him credit for. And how ironic. Here we all are talking about it in the comments on his blog. We are all engaging here. And Chris Voss has bene responding to everyones comments.
And how exactly do you “engage” on the Empire Avenue site. Everyone says that they are there for engagement, but there is no real system to engage there. 99% of the engagement takes place on the other social networks where you wouldn’t see it. I am highly engaged but if someone looked at my profile on EAv it would look no different than if a big brand joined. They all look/feel the same. So to assume someone isn’t engaging is kind of far fetched.
One last point. I see a lot of hate coming towards Chris Voss, with specific issues mentioned. But if you look at the top of the leaderboards, there are numerous cases of these issues going on, but the other people are respected very highly. Why is this? Because there are a few influential leaders that decided not to like Chris Voss and they started threads that threw him under the bus. In each thread there are numerous instances of new people that didn’t know Chris Voss that were asking how to block him, sell his stock, etc.
So brands can be hurt if they join and don’t play to the standards of other players with a lot of influence.
Chris Voss has consistently been one of the best investments I have made on Empire Avenue. He has produced great dividends and steady appreciation, and is always high on the leaderboards. As the site grows, he may or may not be there for long. So his personal style is to use that to his advantage. He maxes out and buys 200 or 500 shares in someone and then instead of just asking them to buy back like most players do, he points out the reasons why someone would want to buy back, and clearly it is very effective. Personally that is not what I would do, but if I were to throw him under the bus for it, then I would be doing something far far worse than what he is doing in the first place. Go figure…
Pam, there is nothing wrong with playing for just 10 minutes per day. Or for 10 hours per day. I know some people that live on Facebook, and others that rarely ever check in. Even more so with Twitter. I know some people that cannot put their phones down!
But all styles should be accepted.
As the site grows there will be players that join to win. It has how Empire Avenue promotes itself. As a game. They even have articles on “How to Win”. The site will potentially grow into millions of users and continue to evolve. There is no reason that something should “backfire” because someone is “winning” or has a “high stock price”.
I would hope not because my stock price is around 130e/share as I write this! Am I about to backfire?
I play to Win. Why? Because I have a winning personality. And I know that by playing to win, I am more likely to work hard, stay engaged, and build relationships. A winning attitude is what keeps me so engaged. Because of that attitude, I have met some of the most amazing connections with Empire Avenue and I have been telling people to get involved with as much passion as if I were shouting on top of a milk crate! Heck, it’s the signature on every email I send!
There is no difference between joining the game to win and joining the game to connect and meet new people. That IS winning. You are winning if you are getting what you want to get out of it. Chris Voss is clearly winning and he is clearly enjoying the game. Unfortunately there are haters that are creating problems for him, and he has tried to deal with those problems for the past month or so professionally directly with EAv. He only started blogging about it because the problems were not resolved. And it’s good in a way, because we are already seeing changes by EAv as a result! (As mentioned in the updates above).
The more we build each other up, and then less we tear each other down, the better overall the community will be.
My 2 cents 🙂
Jeff, buying or selling stocks should have nothing to do with meeting and engaging with people. If you own 500 shares in me, I am no more likely to do business with you than if you own zero shares in me.
I separate the emotion out of trading shares on EAv, and keep the emotion on engaging with people. Who do I invest it? Stocks that pay great dividends and have steady appreciation. Blue chip stocks. I give new people a chance, but if they start to dip I sell them off, so that I have more funds to invest in better performing shares.
If buying and selling stocks had anything to do with making connections (other than initiating the conversation, which you could do a number of other ways besides buying stocks) then this game would be far too emotional for me. It would create stress over selling a friends stock because they are tanking. Do I keep them? Do I sell them? What do I do?
When really, what does it matter? It’s just a game. And, the more I learn about EAv’s algorithm, even if I get a bunch of people to buy their stock it may not even fix their problem, because share trading is only part of the equation. So owning stock in someone won’t prevent it from going down. And selling stock in someone won’t keep it from going up.
The most important thing someone can do is get their divs up over 1% and keep the divs growing as their stock price grows so that they remain over 1% at all times. The more that people get educated and learn how to play the game, the more they will buy stocks with 1% or higher dividend yields, as well as all the top players on the weekly earners leader board: http://www.empireavenue.com/leaders/earnings
Thanks Chris. I want to clarify what I meant by “to win”. What I was really trying to get at (and didn’t do so well) is that if you go to the extreme to get your stock price up it is going to backfire. I’m not stating because you want to win, play the game it will backfire.
The other thing I thought of after this post yesterday that if a potential client is going to make a serious judgement call on if they want to work with me based on my EA price then honestly they probably are not the right client for me! It’s obviously a social platform that is just that, social. People are going to engage the way they want to engage. Of course it’s okay if I only am on 10 minutes a day. I am slammed and don’t have more than that on most days. Wish I did as I do enjoy my time there and have met some great people, connected with new brands and enhanced relationships a bit w/existing. What I was really trying to get at was the repeated emails, pop-ups and other “ads” I get form people telling me to buy from them. My personal opinion is it “bugs me.” Am I going to go complain about it and start stuff on walls, communities or other, absolutely not. I just choose not to read them, the same way I and many others turn off the noise of direct messages, spam emails and billboards. It’s all the same, just a different medium. I think it’s the greatest risk EA has is the “noise factor.” For me I can easily tune it out but know others have a more difficult time doing such. To me it all comes down to inspiring your audience to connect with you. If your audience is engaged with you and you are providing them value on a regular basis, chances are you will have organic stock price growth as more join the platform. I haven’t sent one email, no ads and only a few tweets here and there to help promote the platform b/c I like it. However, my stock price is at approx $70+-. Most of that growth is from people I am already connected with on other platforms as well as new people I am meeting who I didn’t even knew followed me so close. Also includes people I engage with all day every day, on twitter, FAcebook and LinkedIn. Yes, it’s great to connect w/them in a new venue and the idea of investing in one another is fun too. It’s too bad what happened to Chris & others. There are always going to be social party poopers. Goal is to see thru the poop to the shining stars that inspire my days! My 3.5 cents… take it or leave it ;)Cheers,Pam
Nice and very well thought out post.
Having just experienced the absolute worst of human nature last night in Vancouver my home town when the canucks lost to boston and subsequently trashed their city (yes, a small minority but still disgusting) I am saddened by the all too easy nature of social media to “jump on the hate wagon” and think that just typing something and pressing SHARE is OK. What you put out there is there forEVER. Do you really want to be THAT GUY or THAT GIRL who made someone feel like crap? I believe very passionately in leadership and the brilliance we have in all of us. I also believe the following: “the manner in which I conduct myself has a tremendous impact on how others FEEL about themselves”. How we “show up” for people, for brands, for games, for LIFE says a lot about WHO we are. Thank you for pointing out Chris the best and the worst in human nature.
BTW, it’s relevant and timely- because we are talking about poor sportsmanship and sheep mentality of people…. my blog post reflecting on last night’s events in Vancouver
These are good points and I guess I’d agree for really competitive folks. I find it a fairly harmless way to have some fun meeting new people, but I’m not overly picky about who I invest in or ultra completive, although I do have to say it would be nice to get to one of those top three positions in my little Education exchange.
Chris, I have seen all these things you mention and know the impact of certain EA player’s influence. Voss’s game doesn’t meet the those player’s standards and really, its of no importance. Some could say the same for me or you. The point is, as you also stated, each of us is working through EA in our own way. I shared my point of view based on what I see for myself. You and Voss both have a certain type of personality and ability to influence, market, engage and make real dollars from what you do. EA is only part of this picture.
If there is a question of fair game play, then I agree that person should use the EA tools to report or email the EA support team to check into the matter. If this has not been done, then its good old name busting. It won’t end with Voss, the site growth is bringing in several personality types that are more aggressive in strategy and little to lose in real life reputation. So be it. I say play on, live life and be you. That’s what I’m doing and never forgetting who is in my circle and why, but not losing my “self” to this game or its players.
Chris once this negative run has started, you can’t win for losing 😉 Just do what you do, the value is there for straight gamers and those that look beyond your EA profile. After chatting last evening, the light is there and so are my eaves. If that should render backlash against me, well its nothing I haven’t experienced with school children. Now can we get back to the game? It was a slow day for me since I was working on real business offline 😉
Hello Chris – I read this with great interest. Being at the top will attract fans but it will also attract opponents. People have different beliefs and strategies and that creates debate which I think is healthy because people can voice their own opinions. It would make a better learning experience if we can all keep respect in place when communicating rather than trying to tear one’s tower down. Even those at the top have feelings and no one enjoys being attacked or judged… it’s not easy to be at the top… although no fun being at the bottom. I may not share all the beliefs you have or what other people have on EA but I enjoy reading the comments, posts, and learn from them, and take on what I like.
I personally have only experienced enjoyment in being on EA – buying/selling stock is the game but the people connections are the richness I enjoyed since I joined a month ago. I also used real money but I know it helps EA so I never thought it goes to waste – that is what I love about enterprise – EA gives me the service and I enjoy the game. Any extra cash in their hands is great business for them (although I may have squandered the money as I was learning by doing the trades…. I then read Chris Record’s tips and got a bit smarter at it). I enjoy seeing my dividends rise so I tend to spend far too much time on EA but the good thing is that it really started to help me focus on giving more value and good content out there.
So I personally like playing on Empire Avenue. I see EA as a way for me to learn and have fun making connections. I trade shares logically rather than emotionally but through the trades I come across great people I connected with. That connection goes beyond EA so it’s not about buying or selling each other’s stocks out of obligation. My little two cents worth… 😉
Thank you Chris for sharing your thoughts. I also enjoyed reading the comments and replies posted below 🙂
Nice post! Interesting discussion! Thnaks it was very interesting!
Great post! Thanks a lot.
super photo on the top!
I found your post really helpful. Thanks for posting such informative content. Keep posting.
i love this article
your tips is usefull for me thanks for share
The great dark empire wii soon collapse this word! So I denied to pay money to that evil!
Right before I read this article, I was posing a discussion in EA asking if people are making quality connections, or if they are just trying to swap virtual shares with people and nothing else. It’s a GAME for crying out loud. When all is said and done, unless you invest real money, you can turn your computer off and go read a book.
I haven’t personally witnessed the haterade but I know some have. Art imitates life. You’re right, friends and money don’t mix. I don’t believe any of my friends would light into me for not buying into them. However, some people are as hateful with fake money as they are with real. What a sad situation.
It’s hard for me, a stay at home father of four kids, to compete and win at EAv with all the noise the top peeps generate. They seem so busy generating topics and sharing they are missing the point of listening and conversing with their shareholders. My experience with EAv thus far has been great, I’ve connected with great people in my index who share my same interests and passions. Stop with the me me me and connect, then you’ll truly see a ROI.
GREAT blog Chris!!!
Fortunately I havent experienced the hate you mention – or heard of it till now!
Only negative feel I have had, is when peeps (incl. my own peers) are leaving when my div goes down, even if just a nudge – for just a day or 2 (so much for the network solidarity :-0)
As many others, I am only here for the networking!!
– and I have actually gotten a lot of new friends from EA 🙂
You and I are both BlackStar members of Ecademy, where we are used to that special community feeling in our network – and of course that will never be possible in a “game” mixing friendship and money as you soo truely observe (even if many are connecting daily on the EA Facebook groups etc. – but still only about the game, and selfpromotion mostly).
Admitted I too fell for the game spirit, the first few days – but then luckily woke up to reality, and realized;
yes I am working on my brand value – but with very little time left over to actually to out there and do my normal work; networking, engaging = making money :-0)
So while I was busy “polishing my brand”, it was starting to crumble underneath 🙁
Sadly I see more and more people totally misunderstanding the game;
spamming with likes, pokes etc. – instead of ENGAGING
So the irritation of that, I am cutting my EA time down to an absolute minimum!
Not leaving yet though – because as long as the rest of you are there, and there are talks about the whole concept in my Social Media World – as a Digital Mind I “have to be there” 😉
Anyway I still think, that if you go about your normal Social Media business;
engaging on all the other platforms – the true value of your brand is reflected on EA – no more no less – thus showing who you / your brand really are (aside from the “game face” 😉
About the Real Money part of the game
– I am not recommending it to any of my clients either = total waste of money!!!
(even if I too fell for it in the beginning, and bought myself a few “luxury items” = showing off 🙁
– “excuse” being a woman, and even a blond one 😉
+ still a bit naive, I bought my first upgrade – from 200 to 250 investment opp = $20 down the drain 🙁
After that I have “upgraded” twice, now with the possibility to invest in 350 shares – for the price of the EAv 250,000 a pop – simply because I had accumulated the EAv´s during my “vacation from the game” 🙂
Of course I would like to show my close peers the respect and invest 500 in them – but it shouldnt be necessary to pay really money, for them to trust that I am still there for them (as a dear friend – and even a Social Media professional – directly wrote and asked;
“I have 500 of your shares and you have 250 of mine – so a maximum share purchase in me really does make great sense.”
That really made me start to think about HOW, WHY & WHERE WILL IT LEAD US…………………………..
interesting) thanks alot for sharing) there are some things to think about1
Very informative, thanks for having the courage to state your views.
Excellent blog…thank you for sharing your experience with the masses.
Chris, I appreciate your insight on this topic. I joined EA several months ago so that I could test it and see if it is a tool I’d recommend to my clients. I test a lot of platforms but recommend and use very few. Not long after joining I wondered if I joined some sort of cult because it did not feel like a game. Some of the people were so hard core that it was scary. I have not invested real money. I had no intention of spending hours a day on the site and honestly wasn’t all that interested in promoting my own brand. I have not and will not ever recommend this to my clients. I’m not bashing the site or the players but realize that it’s not for everyone. I’m still in trying to fly under the radar but there may come a time when I will make a quiet, graceful exit.
They have made many changes under the duress of these posts. But yes I cant see how Brands can win at it unless they just advertise on the site.
EA reminds me of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (which may still exist). I refuse to take it seriously — if I get tired of it (it takes a lot of WORK) I’ll warn my investors and quit. Life will go on. After Klout klobbered my score, I’ve decided that as long as I interact with people on my social networks, I’m fine. No way I’m letting my well-being and sense of self be defined by anyone else any more.
Chris, I love what you do and I do not question what you claim in the slightest. I run some very large groups on LinkedIn and I get a lot of flak, both to my face and behind my back, but I just attribute it to knowing that 50% of people will like you and 50% will not generally..
As far as EAV is concerned, I listened to Randy Gage after reading his manifesto and he was very clear about not letting the tail wag the dog on EAv as I am sure many do. I have also recently had people take lots of mission money without completing the mission so I know there is greed for fake money on EAv… silly as it may seem, there are some competitive suckers out there…
I decided to use EAV as a guage of my activities and have stuck to that till recently. I believe with the addition of missions EAv does have some real power to get people to check out your brand, if used wisely.
I believe I have made some solid connections on EAv, but unlike Randy it is not what I use EAv for generally.
I totally get the brand issue, I have seen company profiles that look awful based on their connections to various social media platforms, but we are at a time when most companies still do not realize how to use or what to do with social media so none of it surprises me.
Social Media is kind of like the cell phone, the microwave or the fax machine.. in the 80s. We all knew they existed, and that they were cool and interesting, but we had no clue what to do with them or which way the tech would take us.
Again I love your stuff and feel bad about your experience, but maybe what you went through, though unpleasant for you, may help many others going forward.
Thanks and this was over a year ago and EA changed their ways and fired those people involved. Things have improved greatly