From the outside, things at Empire Avenue do not look good.
- In the 9 months of 2012, Empire Avenue has gone from 3,000 active users (users with at least 10 EAv actions in the last week) to 2,560.
- At the beginning of the year it was averaging around 100 new sign-ups a day, but now that’s down around 50.
- No major improvements to the platform have been announced in 6 months.
- Instead developers have created and launched a new site GamrCred.
- EAv has been almost completely silent when it comes to these recommendations. Do they have plans to implement any of them?
All of these things could easily lead one to believe EAv is dying and it’s time to move on, unless…
Unless, Empire Avenue gives us reason for hope.
How Long Can EAv Survive?
I’ve never seen Empire Avenue’s books, but there is no way EAv is generating nearly enough revenue to cover expenses. Unless there is a significant change, it’s only a matter of time before they run out of venture capital money and have to shut down.
I wish I had thought to poll EAvers on this, but there’s no time like the present…
Lost Hope
When people think a ship is sinking, they head for the life rafts. That’s been happening with EAv for most of this year. This year 20,000 new accounts have been created but active accounts have dropped by 15%.
Dups can say things like “every individual is committed to long hours of work to help make all our products as good as they can be” but does that convince anyone that EAv will survive long term?
Personally, I do not question the EAv team’s work ethic. I question their priorities (GamrCred) and question whether they have a plan that can right the ship.
Restoring Hope Through Transparency
I believe the only way for EAv to survive is to show that it has a plan that will truly make it “social media rocket fuel” and as a result grow its user base and become a profitable company.
EAv, like most Internet start-ups, has been extremely tight-lipped about their future plans. Most start-ups have a great fear bordering on paranoia that if people find out where they are going, someone else will get there first. But Empire Avenue has two dangers bigger than someone else beating them to wherever they’re going. The first is they will run out of money before they get there, and the second is they won’t have any users when they get there.
That’s why I believe EAv’s best option for restoring hope is to be transparent about their plans for the future. Dups, it’s time to tell us:
- What is your vision for the future of Empire Avenue?
- What’s your plan for getting there?
- Which of these recommendations do you plan to implement?
- What are your current development priorities?
What do you think?
- Please vote in the poll below.
- Please post a comment and share your thoughts on this recommendation.
- Please share the link to this post with others, encouraging them to weigh in on this issue.
.
Read & vote on all the recommended improvements at 12 Critical Improvements Empire Avenue Should Make
Empire Avenue Tips 
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:19:31
EAv is so incredible. Is a way to connect real people over the social networks. But good ideas need to improve some implements all the time and need to start to make the contacts over this networks more and more real.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:21:34
The first step is a mobile app. By now!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:51:29
There is http://eavmogul.com
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:12:18
iPhones are not the only mobiles in existence. 😛
Sep 27, 2012 @ 16:29:28
Ya. But I need the android version.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 01:53:48
Yes Android is definitely needed as well!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 15:12:49
I agree that a mobile app is a must. Based on my experiences, the user experience is not as good on the ipad or the android phone that I have.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:34:17
One thing that surprises me is that they do not seem to have canvassed their existing users to see what they like, what they don’t like, why they stay and why they leave.
Without such fundamental user research they are building in the dark, not knowing what their real customers and fan base value and what they need in the product.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:54:57
Thanks for commenting, David. We don’t really know if they canvass exiting users or not, because as far as I know they haven’t said.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:28:33
well they don’t seek much input from those of us still here.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:33:01
Yeah, they don’t seem to.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:45:57
Paul, as you probably know, I suspended my account on July 4, 2012 after reaching the top ten in nearly every category, with a 465e value. I didn’t see things improving and I was burned out. So I completely left for two months. On September 4th, I returned, thinking I would pick up where I left off, with a renewed enthusiasm. Sadly, what I returned to after only two months gone was exactly the same, but with far less excitement and energy. Less active people, less buying, less interaction, and even less playing the game! After just two months away, it was very noticeable to me. I’ve been back for only three weeks and I’m already bored. Even the recent Xpendapalooza was a snoozer. I appreciate your desire to help things improve, but I have serious doubts that will ever happen. But it was fun while it lasted!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 01:58:12
Steve, thanks for sharing your perspective as one who quit once and returned. I wish I could say I disagreed with some of it, but I don’t. I don’t have much hope either.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:02:14
I am a newbie to Empire Avenue but in the short period of time I have made some great connections & it has helped me out tremendously. I think it would be a great loss if enhancements were not made. Social Networking sites need to change & improve daily in order to maintain and grow with followers.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:01:29
Thanks for sharing your perspective as an EAv newbies. I agree with you that EAv has great potential to empower social media users. It would be a shame if did not make improvements and survive.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:12:14
We live a global shift, people is afraid of tomorrow, enthusiasm isn’t a fuel anymore that’s why I think, a lot of people can’t understand what really happens with their job, business, bank account, house and so on. It’s not easy at all to be sociable, to interact or to help others.:)
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:15:42
First, if the conditions remain the same – EA is KO’ed on Boxing Day!!! At best I give EA about 6 months. GameCrude dies shortly after, or possibly even before since it is built on the same poorly conceived platform and the known association of the two will deter people from joining it to begin with. Actually I am surprised every time I login the past couple months that it’s still up and running.
I think a significant part of the drop in “new members” is that fewer members are creating multiple accounts. Time was that many people would create a personal account and a business account. It became apparent, and known beyond the community, that EA required too much time commitment for more than one account.
Also in the past there were a lot of people setting up multiple accounts to try and bolster their primary account. Some of those people are still onboard but not pimping their account as much or have abandoned the extra accounts all together. The biggest of these players have instead gone on to create multiple FB and G+ accounts to pimp content that is mostly stolen photos to game their network activity and scores.
Inactivity percentages are definitely rising as members just give up. Some may take the time to delete their account – “I Quit” refunds are again on the rise – but most kick EA to curb and never return.
Dupped-us has been almost invisible since SXSW and the pop-bottle rocket was revealed to be a dud!
I don’t think Dupped-us et al even have a plan.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:18:40
It would behoove any business to not announce future plans – when they have them. Typically, if a company is silent, it’s in a state of transition. It looks like the company’s strengths really lie in the gaming world, anyway. The new product, GamrCred I’m sure is inspired by the influence of a large number of the company’s investors who come from BioWare – another gaming company, owned by EA.
So some things begin to make much more sense to me now… Interesting how they’ve turned social media into a stock market game. Maybe their goal was to develop and sell it to Zynga so people could play the game on Facebook. Maybe they’ve got all of their internal resources working on the new product. One thing I know well is software start-ups – or any start-ups for that matter, they’re all usually tiny. Taking on one product with a skeleton crew is nearly impossible, then they set higher hopes to launch a second product. Who knows what’s going on internally. They don’t owe anyone transparency, though. It is a business, and I’m sure there’s a lot they intentionally keep confidential.
What should they do?
I think that your polls are extremely valuable. They should take them into consideration, enter each recommendation into their user requirements database, and review them when it’s time to roll out the next version or upgrade. They should thank you for going to the trouble to conduct user surveys at no cost to them, and I’d dare say they should show their appreciation with some freebies of some sort. Even a thank you $25 gift card would be nice.
As for their implementing those user requirements – well that’s all in the stars then… again, who knows. I wouldn’t expect them to come back with a response as to why they chose not to implement a suggestion, and I wouldn’t expect changes to be implemented in a certain time frame, either. I would expect at least an acknowledgement so I know they take their members seriously. Then, you’d know they’re got your feedback and they’ll think it over.
That’s all that anyone can expect.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 12:33:40
Thanks for your perspective Christopher. The EAv team hasn’t communicated much in response to these recommendations, but they have basically done as you’ve suggested – acknowledged them, said they value users feedback, yada yada yada.
I realize they don’t owe me or anyone else anything. They don’t have to explain their plans or their development decisions. But we don’t have to stay here either.
It’s essentially a political decision. A candidate running for office doesn’t have to create or explain detailed plans of what they’re going to do if elected. Some choose just to run on broad platitudes and tell constituents “I’m like you” and “I’m listening” But some of us have been there done that. Some of us want to know the plan before we give our support.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:27:58
Will the faith of Empire Avenue be the same as Ecademy in UK? Honestly, soon you kinda grew tired. Some new ‘out of the box’ thought/s and ideas needed to be injected soonest or else, it will be just another one of those statistic ‘in the making’.
Those that overseas the Empire Avenue doesn’t seems to run it like a Business. Whatever the reason of coming together to set up Empire Avenue remains to be seen (grey & Foggy).
After awhile, “trader/s” like us will just simply walk away…
-MountShore-
Sep 27, 2012 @ 02:45:21
Despite what it looks like, EA is still one heck of a way to meet like minded individuals and even come out with a few new friends and acquaintances! Everything you said is true … although I probably voted in the polls all the opposite ways (I think they will last more than 2 years and disagree with the recommendation)
I’ve got three accounts and manage them in different ways,and can’t offer recommendations for the company and don’t think it’s any of our business to ‘look at their books’ or force them to tell us what they are planning to do with their company. If you don’t like – leave. Of course, if a lot of people leave they will have to take that into effect and maybe want to tell us what they are planning to do with their company in the future .. who knows? :durr:
I hate to say it outloud – but, I think one of the hardest things that makes it less exciting for me is the ability to use software and scripts to purchase stocks and, yes they are great and easy and I have used and prefer Dennis’s program the best …. but // I prefer to buy all new stock purchases manually and max out at that time. Its pleasurable in one way seeing familiar faces coming to say hello or buy shares of me, but it’s quite annoying to see the BOT come and say “hello i’ve bought 8 shares today” and then there is no interaction. I don’t want to acknowledge or thank or meet or mention or post or even thumbs up their purchase, because they didn’t purchase my shares – a bot did. Then, you seem less involved with the people coming around more. I actually get a kick when I upgraded to pie #9 just so I can go around (once again) and manually buy 100 shares of everybody I own. Then, I see the ones who appreciate that and in turn come and buy more shares manually almost immediately in me .. And, when you look at these names of people buying me – I’m already connected with them reading their tweets, talking in groups, “+K” or maybe +T’ing them now or reading their blog and/or newsletters.
How can you say EA isn’t working? // Anyway .. thanks for letting me vent here Paul … PS what is GamrCred ?? seems closed and still in testing.
/HART
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:13:45
Hey Hart,
>>don’t think it’s any of our business to ‘look at their books’ or force them to tell us what they are planning to do with their company. If you don’t like – leave. Of course, if a lot of people leave they will have to take that into effect and maybe want to tell us what they are planning to do with their company in the future .. who knows? :durr:
That’s exactly my point. Many EAvers have lost hope and are leaving. EAv has every right to stick to their current method of not saying anything about their future plans if that’s what they want to do. However, I think it’s in their best interest to start trying to convince people to stay before they have to shut it down.
>>what is GamrCred ?? seems closed and still in testing
It is trying to be for gaming what EAv is to social media – a way to earn points and rankings for your gaming.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 03:13:45
I’m afraid EAv is a dead duck – it needs new active users badly!
I’m addicted but sometimes I wonder why, what I’m going to do when the final nail is put in the coffin, does anyone know of an alternative?
Sep 27, 2012 @ 05:25:18
Sep 27, 2012 @ 05:50:09
Paul, IMO, part of the reason EA is looked upon as a game rather than a viable working platform is a lack of membership fees. This would also produce funds, so they could focus on research/development. As it is now, it is more like a shareware version.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:19:11
I don’t know Dennis. I appreciate the idea, but Klout and Kred don’t charge. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc are all free. Even social media sites/tools like LinkedIn and HootSuite are essentially free but have upgrades available.
Personally, I think if EAv charged a user fee they would lose 80-90% of their remaining active users and new sign-ups would drop below 10 a day because EAv hasn’t yet shown itself to be effective “social media rocket fuel.”
Sep 27, 2012 @ 18:46:27
Paul, the links named are free, yes, but can any of them provide the extras, that are in play on EA? I’m not experienced enough with LinkedIn, to compare them with the others, and Facebook is probably the next closest to EA, because of the extras available there. I’m probably looking at EA from more of the gamer’s viewpoint, than social media, but to me, EA is more like QuikBooks, or TurboTax, in its function, than the platforms that you mentioned were free.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 22:00:34
Yeah, it’s tough to compare EAv because there’s nothing exactly like it, but personally I think its most like Hootsuite in the sense that it’s a social media tool that is free for the average user but has extra features geared towards helping businesses manage social media which are only available for paid subscribers.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 06:00:11
Reblogged this on charlieslang.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 06:28:03
I still have hope and faith that the Empire Avenue team will not forget about us. I have always described Empire Avenue as part game-part social analytics-part social network-part business network-part social education. I am a social media nobody. I like many others have invested time, money, and effort into the product. It’s certainly allowed me to expand well beyond my borders in Indiana and develop worldwide relationships as well as learn about products and causes, blogs, and websites that I would have never known about otherwise. As I have said many times before Steve, myself and others GREATLY appreciate your efforts to communicate and publicize Empire Avenue member feeling and sentiment in a constructive way. I really do hope someone is listening and paying attention.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:29:08
Thanks Omar. I agree with you that there are positive things about EAv, but as I said in the post, unless they can increase revenue and become profitable they won’t last long. As I’ve said numerous times, I think their best shot at doing that is to focus on making missions as effective as possible. Effective missions are worth real money to businesses and non-profits.
I just have my doubts that the EAv team has much interest or understanding of social media. They seem to be mostly gamers who like making games about gaming.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 09:28:37
Paul and Everyone who posted. I couldn’t agree more. Empire Ave takes time, has expanded my contacts and empowered me to grow my other social network sites. At my core I am an introvert [INTJ] and the game provides ‘cover’ and opportunity for growth. I’ll miss it when it’s gone. Perhaps it’s time to organize our own ‘place’ or group to insure at some level we aren’t lost in the fog afterwards.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:32:47
That’s an interesting idea Michael. I will do a blog post about what’s next for EAvers after EAv. I know many of us are connected via Facebook, Twitter, G+, etc and Facebook EAv groups will still exist if EAv ceases to be, but I like the idea of brainstorming about what else we could do take our connections and shared interest in using social media to achieve our goals beyond EAv.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 09:51:37
Hi Paul,
Wow, this has generated a lot of discussion since I first read this recommendation last night. Looks like I have a lot more reading to do, which is all good, right.. you want discussion. Interesting title, and perhaps a bit pessimistic… okay… but you may have a better understanding than I have.
As in any enterprise things develop and change. While the existing population of Empire Avenue grows there will naturally develop niches. The interest of my son, who is 15, for example are going to be quite different from those of a 23 y/o SEO genius, or a home marketer, business promoter, etc.
I suppose I could go on… however, the point is that if there are problems keeping an influx of new members then that has to be addressed, and so do the operations of Empire Avenue need to become transparent so that the membership can see where that there is direction and development.
Look forward to reading more as this develops.
Cheers,
Duane
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:42:41
Thanks Duane. Good point. The problem is that the existing population of Empire Avenue isn’t growing. It’s shrinking.
EAv needs to think about what their business model is and who their target market is. As a small business owner myself, I know you can’t be all things to all people. Be who you are, focus on your niche and if you can provide them with value you will succeed. That’s my philosophy.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:51:25
Hi Paul,
I agree, that is an alarming statistic which if left unchecked could be future trouble. Without attention to the existing business model and promotion to ensure renewal and growth the system will likely stagnate which is not sustainable.
I suppose that then leads to the next question… what do we do about this? This is a business game right? If the game is flawed and the operators/owners refuse to address the situation… why play?
Not that I am heading for any door … just that this can become serious if not addressed. I hope that my opinion helps this cause, as I agree this is serious.
Cheers!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:10:20
While I know a lot of EAvers think of EAv as a game, I do not. (See Recommendation #8: Communicate “Social Media Rocket Fuel” – http://ow.ly/e2qco)
What do we do about it? Well, I’m trying to help the EAv team understand the depth of the frustration their users feel, where the specific “pain points” are, and solutions to overcome those pain points. But as they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
We can’t make EAv do anything. And each person has to decide for him or herself if continuing to stay active on EAv is worth the time in its current state.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:13:33
Sep 27, 2012 @ 10:23:53
Wow. First, there is so much intelligent, rational thought expressed here in well written English with correctly spelled words. With the participation of people like you (above), this domain must survive! : ) I jumped into EA blind after seeing a Tweet from a colleague to invest in him. Thinking it was like Klout, I signed up. I’ve stayed in because it is different than any other platform I’m on and because of the nagging need to succeed! I have made some connections and have access to individuals for future reference, which is of great value to me.
EA definitely needs a burst of fresh excitement, although I cannot suggest exactly what that might be. Meanwhile, the absence of a mobile app is shocking and reveals the creators lack of continuing investment.
I’m in for the long haul and if the ship goes down, I’ll be one of the Quartet on the deck still squeaking out background music … that’s just how I roll.
: )
Melinda
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:27:22
EAv has been very useful to me. In the few months I’ve been active, I’ve helped a friend win a tablet in a competition, and gotten tons of G +1’s and likes and tweets on my blog posts, which has actually helped them in search rankings, indirectly making me (and my friends) money. So, if it goes down, I’m going to want a replacement. Maybe I’ll even make one myself. If I do that, I’ll definitely use all these recommendations and make it much better. But I’ll need help of course…
Sep 27, 2012 @ 11:33:15
I’ve tried a lot of different social network sites. I’ve got accounts everywhere and post to most of them. Like someone else, I thought the EA was a measuring tool like Klout. That’s why I signed up. When I found it was far more than that, I became curious and stayed. When I discovered it’s actually a game, I was completely turned off. I wasn’t planning to stay.
I saw a correlation with EA scores and social network scores, and how investing / engaging with people on the site can give you a serious boost outside. I didn’t consider the game aspect at all, and didn’t pay attention to “investment strategies” at that point. My only interest was making connections.
Then I discovered missions. I completed every mission I could, and as I did it, I began to see a goldmine surface. I started creating my own missions, but without any real investments and investors, I didn’t have the funds to support them. Missions are extremely valuable. I’ve created an amazing buzz around content that I’ve published – so much so, Food Network took notice and asked what I do to draw so much attention to the content I publish.
The surge of new fans, new Twitter followers, and intense blog traffic has been priceless. The value I see in what I get from EA compared to other forms of advertising and promotion is monumental. So, I continued creating missions, but I paid for the eaves to do it. It’s been the most effective advertising tool I’ve used, so it’s been worth the money. I’ve spent thousands already, but I’ve attained more traffic and followers than I did by spending three times as much.
Now, in the process of all of this, I’ve made connections with people. I’ve added 16 new friends to my personal Facebook page – people I’ve actually interacted with and engaged with. I’ve gotten to know people – there is no dollar amount I can place on that, and that part was free.
Social media rocket fuel? Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that EAv lives up to it. I would like to reduce expenses – who wouldn’t. So I’ve become more willing to play the game to earn eaves. If it weren’t for players like you, Paul and others I’ve talked with, I probably would eventually just trim back on my use of the site, occasionally paying for missions. Now, I’m working on understanding the game better… looking for investment strategies so I can earn enough eaves on a daily basis to promote my content outside.
Why don’t people stay?
1. It’s a game. Many of us in the working world don’t have time for games. It’s all about time. Spend as little of it as possible to make money. EAv can be a serious chore.
2. It’s complicated. EAv requires some understanding of how the stock market works, though I think the biggest misconception is that the game is a stock market game. That’s not true. The game is about social media. It turns people into stock tickers based on their social network status. When you produce a product – your content/posts, they produce a return. I understand there’s a lot of grief over how EAv calculates their stock prices and makes adjustments. Go on over to Klout and any other social measuring site and you’ll see the same argument.
And that’s about it. If it takes too much time for me to figure it out, and manage it, I’ll begin to scale back on the eaves purchases, and become less visible on the site. If I can get it right – get a strategy and start earning more than 30K a day, I’ll be encouraged to stay and continue playing the game.
One thing I don’t want is another social media site I need to be very active on.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 12:41:11
Hey Christopher. That’s a great story! I’m glad EAv has been effective “social media rocket fuel” for you. Stories like seem to be few and far between, in part because EAv doesn’t do a good job of capturing and publishing stories like this, and in part because while EAv can be very effective with content that has broad appeal (like foodie stuff) it’s less effective the narrower ones niche is.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:50:17
I’m an old school marketing guy, Paul. SMM is an evolving new concept, and I’ve thrown myself into it. I think EA is what people make of it, like anything else. I’m only using it for the foodie stuff I’m involved with, and I’ve wondered how effective it would be in the other areas I work.
I work in three areas – most know me here as a foodie. I’m a media correspondent for Food Network and run a food blog. I consult for food and beverage businesses and promote their services and events.
I also work in the fashion and entertainment industry. I work with designers, fashion merchandisers, marketing and advertising, etc. I’m a professional photographer, specializing mostly in fashion, and work mostly with Los Angeles and Hollywood designers and entertainers.
Last but certainly not least, I’m a consultant in the medical industry. Very highly specialized field, working as a liaison between corporations and government agencies like FDA and health departments, as well as international agencies.
I did an experiment with fashion – that seemed to go over well, but I’m not sure how substantial the returns could be in the longer term.
I think my work in medicine is probably too specialized for EA. I’ve only had success in SMM on LinkedIn in that business.
Food is universal – it’s the easiest content to promote.
I may try some experiments with the medical consulting, after I launch a blog for that business. We’ll see how it goes!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:16:21
I appreciate connecting with new people, missions and buying and trading shares but it is very time-consuming and many didn’t do my mission – my first one.
Not sure what to make of that. I hope empire is not dying but apparently from this discussion something new will be created in its place.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:32:17
Hey Lara, thanks for taking the time to comment. The buying and selling gets easier and faster as you figure things out and developer a clearer investment strategy. Tools like http://www.empireave.net and http://dr-dittrich.de/eav/eav.pl can speed things up too.
Mission cheaters can be frustrating, especially the first time when you’re not expecting it. Until EAv decides to do something about it all we can do is guestimate that somewhere around half the people will take the eaves and run and then just factor that in as part of the cost. If it’s still worthwhile, then great keep doing missions. If not then don’t. But I’ve decided I’m not going to let them get under my skin.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:57:59
Hey Lara!
I’ve only been on EA for a few months. I’m just now learning about the investing part. I’ve focused a lot of attention on missions. I’ve created more than 90 already.
I’m all about marketing, so the missions really caught my eye. They’re extremely effective, but I believe it totally depends on the content you’re promoting, like Paul mentioned earlier.
Here’s what I think may have gone wrong with your mission:
1. Content was too specialized – people weren’t comfortable sharing, liking, or whatever you asked.
or –
2. You asked too much for the eaves you offered. I see so many 500e or 1000e missions, but they ask you to like their Facebook page, then bomb it, comment on something and share something. That’s just not worth the time!
Remember also that if you’re asking people to share something – retweet, repost, etc, you’re actually asking them to endorse something. Any professional will consider endorsing something, if they feel they can actually stand behind it.
3. The mission may have been too stringent – ie. if you make too many tasks and make them all mandatory, people will be less likely to respond because it’s too complex.
People will be more likely to pick up a 500e mission if it’s almost effortless. They may be willing to do a little more for 1000e.
My general formula is to offer 1000e per action. So, if I’m asking for a simple FB bomb, I’ll offer at least 3000e. If I want a comment someplace or a share as well, I’ll bump it to 5000e (which is the offer for the majority of my missions).
I usually post missions with only a couple of “musts” – For example, if I post a link to a blog post on my blog, I’ll say, “Share my food blog post for 5000e” then say “at a minimum, TWEET and FB Share, then share anywhere else possible. If you’re not shy, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment”
Most will share it everywhere, pin it, and even comment. People respond far better to generosity and flexibility than stringent rules.
One caveat… More than half of the people who take the eaves never complete the mission. But, it’s still worth my effort and worth paying for eaves, because I get such a great return from the other half who do complete the mission.
When I first started creating missions – I’d say at least the first 25-30 missions were all almost 100% completed. I think it’s because of the style I wrote in. I made it very personal and fun. I appealed to people as a newbie who was excited about this really cool mission. That appeal wears off when people constantly see me creating missions, so eventually the thieves started robbing me. It’s now running at the average 40-50% completion rate.
I’m no expert on EA by far. I don’t know anything about investing, and Paul has been really generous with tips and advice, both here and in email. But one thing I do know is marketing and SMM – If you’ve got shareable, interesting content, and you offer a fair price for the missions, people will gobble them up. Mine always sell out in 3 hours. If they don’t, I archive, take my losses and move to a new mission.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 03:53:57
And there they are right at the end – thank you to @PaulSteinbruek & Christopher Ford for your concise answers and to Lara Harlow_hentz & eMarkBern44 for two top questions.
Ah, so it’s a game! Been here over a month, the only help coming from a passing few comments on the Shout Outs I’ve left after investing – not as many answers as questions, that’s for sure – and not a sniff of a how-to nor a sign of who run this joint (or their purpose for the site) worth mentioning.
Guys – thanks for posting those links – I’ll be sure to check them out as half of the stuff long-term users have referred to in #11 has gone way over my head.
It’s simple – you lead by example, behaviour begets behaviour.
If there’s no sign of the site owner (something else I didn’t know until this thread) and they’re doing nothing for its ‘staff’ or customers – it’s almost as if the owners have let the experienced shareholders get on with teaching the newbies if EAv is to be worth their time – they’ll walk away dissatisfied, but worse, commenting online about their negative EAv experience.
Winning customers from fresh is hard – enticing one’s back you’ve pissed off is nigh on impossible.
It’s back to Pareto – 80% of growth will come from customers you already have, and the top 20% of them to boot, to compound Pareto’s theory. Look at ways to retain your customers before searching in the market place for more. It’s old business practise that seems overlooked here.
There is much EAv could offer, but whilst the short-sighted will say ‘they owe you no explanation’, anyone who’s been in management will tell you that the more you share with your staff and customers, the more they feel part of the organisation and the more they are willing to do for you in return.
It’s time for this duplicity to stop and give it us straight – what’s going on!?
Sep 28, 2012 @ 05:52:57
I’ve noticed when I ask people to do something simple, like just hit a +1 button, I tend to get more than what I asked for (some people tweet it and hit Like as well, some even comment). +1’s are my favourite because some people run missions asking others to +1 bomb their accounts, so if they shared my post there, it gets a lot of extra +1’s from that as well.
But when I ask people to do something more complex (vote in a contest, leave comments, anything requiring more than one step), then about half, sometimes even more, just don’t do it. It sucks, but I guess that’s how it goes. Even when I made those missions for shareholders only, half of them still didn’t follow through. Doesn’t seem to matter if I pay them 2000e or 5000e. Haven’t tried 10k yet. Maybe that’ll help? xD
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:30:27
I’ve met terrific people and really grown my network thru EA. I appreciate what Paul and others are doing to reach out to the founders
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:34:11
Thanks Susan!
EAv Recommendation #11: Restore Hope | salesgamechanger
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:31:19
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:35:07
why they dont stay?
they think it takes too much time?
they dont know about the app?
that said…
some drop off…a bunch…
My philos
some will some wont so what
that said
maybe they can add at a minimum 3 impprovements to the site per year so members see the equiv of a new paint job…
new always excites…
like dave thomas, deceased, founder of wendys, always painted the store for staff and guest morale…
online, web, no different…
need a new paint job or 3 new features…
dont have to be big…
just something new….
Sep 27, 2012 @ 14:48:40
Empire Avenue needs to be sold to an individual/company that knows how to capitalize on its awesome potential (hint: it’s not by charging people for virtual currency and upgrades that are of no value outside the application).
At the rate it’s going, I give it another year or so at the outside.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 15:03:10
Paul,
I am new (just 8 days) here, but there are some things that, from my perspective need to be implemented that could help encourage more activity and retain members better.
1. More FAQs and a really good tutorial about how to play, what to expect, how to achieve your goals (not just within the game, but personal and business). I couldn’t find any detailed explanation on missions, why people post them, what the benefits could be, how to use them to promote traffic to sites, etc. I am just leaning as I go. It seems like there are almost no rules!
2. There needs to be a forum (or may two forums, one for those who have been here for more than a month and one for the newbies) where members can exchange ideas (like you are doing here) to help improve the site. The forum(s) need to be open but monitored and they would need a representative of the EAv staff available to respond if things get heated and to thank members for their contributions occasionally. The staff would also be able to take the recommendations to the rest of the staff and developers for implementation consideration. Then the staff monitor could come back to the forum and provide an update on some of the more promising recommendations. That would go a long way toward developing a better relationship between the developers and membership. Members need to be listened to!
3. There could be a mentoring program to help newbies connect with experienced networking members, establish better, more fully integrated connections and provide the guidance that so many new members are coming here to learn.
4. There needs to be more teaching by the site. The developers seem to be content to let new members sink or swim. If the site directed new members to other sites (preferably member sites) that could provide a short free tutorial on networking do’s and don’ts, how to increase connections for Twitter, how to increase connections for LinkedIn, etc. and then how to make the most of those connections, then I believe the site would become what it purports itself to be.
5. Finally, the developers should actively solicit success stories from members like the one posted above in the comments. New members need to understand that this can be much more than a game and that EAv can actually help members to grow their businesses. Five to ten such testimonials would strengthen the value proposition and become models that more members could employ bringing real world success to more members, which is what we all really want anyway.
I’m managing to learn and improving scores, but it is so time consuming. It would nice if someone would just explain things that I need to do so I could just become more effective sooner. Then the game would be much more effective and efficient. Of course, new members could opt out of any of the offerings but making them available could make an appreciable difference, in my humble opinion.
Thanks for taking the time to post this mission and solicit the comments. It’s been very educational for me.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 15:28:12
Hey Mark, thanks for taking the time to comment and offer your suggestions.
>>1. More FAQs and a really good tutorial about how to play
Yep, absolutely!
>>2. There needs to be a forum
There are lots of forums – called communities – including:
They are not well publicized to new users, though, and I’m not sure how well moderated the first 2 are b/c their admins are not as active as they used to be.
>>3. There could be a mentoring program to help newbies
This has been talked about many times, but honestly I have yet to see anyone who said they would be willing to volunteer their time to mentor.
>>4. There needs to be more teaching by the site.
Yes, I’ve also recommend EAv… Hand-hold Newbies Through an EAv Orientation Process – http://ow.ly/e2W65
>>5. Finally, the developers should actively solicit success stories
No kidding. I’ve been saying this for more than a year.
All great suggestions, Mark!
If you haven’t seen it yet, you might find value in this blog post: 9 steps to take when starting Empire Avenue to grow quickly http://ow.ly/e2WqG
Sep 27, 2012 @ 16:57:28
Empire Avenue has been very beneficial to me and I have made many great connections and learned much about social media through those connections. While strategy details may be tough to get, a general sense of direction would be helpful to the community.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 22:52:30
Thanks Steve! The more detailed the better but I’d take a “general sense of direction” over what we’re getting now. 🙂
Sep 27, 2012 @ 22:31:30
Just kinda surface thought.. I think new users don’t stay long enough because it is a very time consuming platform and they need to put a very significant effort before an account would be able somehow to fly on auto-pilot for a certain period of time of inactivity on EA.
As for new accounts, I don’t see any meaningful efforts from EA in marketing the platform or at least in offering any kind of perks for its active users to do this.
But I still love EA. I am addicted to it! 🙂
Thank you Paul for all you do for EA!
Sep 27, 2012 @ 22:54:12
I agree on both points Alex. It’s rather ironic that EAv claims to be social media rocket fuel and yet they don’t use social media or their own rocket fuel to market themselves.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 02:28:56
I believe EA can be done by most users in 10 minutes a day.
Sep 27, 2012 @ 23:39:36
Great ideas.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 02:27:27
I’ve been here about 19 months, #57 value portfolio & #51 share price. Has to be more than whistles and bells, flashing lites. Should be some practical value for the 2500 active users still left, they have 10,000 in a year come and go and are lost? That’s foolish. Users are here to promote their product, any relation to increased success in that & EA activities? Must be only the top 10 or so I guess, should let it trickle down a little.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 03:34:00
I love EAv and whatever happens, at least I got to meet a great group of people.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 09:35:35
why do you care? are you one of those who see glass half full?
Sep 28, 2012 @ 10:33:52
Yep. I believe EAv has great potential but it’s dying instead of living up to that potential right now.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 12:30:00
I love EA for its innate ability to improve my social presence while I meet new people almost everyday!! I hope and pray its not a sinking ship! EA must be more transparent about their future plans or I’ll dive off the boat like everyone else!
Sep 28, 2012 @ 14:17:43
Thanks Paul sharing their future plans would definately create confidence, especially if people saw them being implemented.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 16:58:44
Great discussion, Paul. The feel of EA has definitely shifted over the past year or so. EA tried to make a big splash with the revamped UI earlier in 2012, but it took away some of the more personal aspects of it.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 17:29:33
Thanks Shaun. The shift was monumental. It wasn’t just a change in UI it was a complete change in focus and business model. I wrote about this all the way back in December: https://empireav.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/empire-avenue-is-missions/
The SXSW announcement & rebranding in March just made it official.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 17:39:18
Believe that all the suggestions are good, especially the one about checking with present members for their opinions on what should be done.
Sep 28, 2012 @ 22:18:49
Are you serious guys? If EA shuts down anytime soon, I better need to steer away from it right now!!
One major drawback of EA is its time consuming nature!! It’s definitely enjoyable for game-lovers to buy and sell a bunch of shares! However, for social media marketers like me, that part isn’t very enticing. What keeps us moving are the missions and the connections we make through it. Otherwise, wasting time in it can be a significant loss of time for us.
Sep 30, 2012 @ 09:51:43
There are a few more recent comments about the time-consuming nature of EAv and I totally agree. It’s not necessarily about the action, it’s deciding whether each mission fits in with the theme you’ve targeted with your OWN online presence to date.
If the mission conflicts your own message, you’re not going to want to endorse it. But it still takes the same amount of time to figure out if it does or not.
However, the mission description can often be so tame, it just says ‘simple re-tweet’ – if that tweet contradicts everything you’ve worked for building your platform, the EAv reward can seriously undo the ‘real time’ graft you’ve put in – then it starts to become so ‘not a game’, it’s untrue.
Each mission should be created with a category – the time spent on EAv is often deciphering whether a mission fits your online profile, not the action itself. There really ought to be more filters imposed for mission creation so that users can, at a glance, see if the product they’re being asked to endorse fits their existing online presence.
At present, EAv is not doing anything for me – in fact, it is costing me money as the time spent devoted to it, I could be earning in the real world a lot more than the rewards delivered through EAv. And I think why so many people sign up is because the concept is great, but they soon realise that the tools fall way, way short of the ‘social media rocket fuel’ the site portends.
In fact, I’m so very disheartened by the experience, I’m thinking of chucking the whole social media kit and caboodle out and going back to the freelance sites and picking off work there. Okay, long-term benefits may be limited, but at least you see cash in your account for your efforts week in, week out. And that’s what we’re all online for, innit – $$$/£££ in the account!
Sep 30, 2012 @ 10:27:14
Thanks for the comment zebedeerox. I completely agree with you concerning missions. The way I recommend EAv address that is covered in – EAv Recommendation #5: Promote missions from my fellow community members – https://empireav.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/eav-recommendation-5-promote-missions-from-my-fellow-community-members/
Sep 30, 2012 @ 21:08:31
Yes, it does look like EAV is dying Paul. Perhaps the developers are working on improvements or perhaps they have moved on to the GamrCred project you have mentioned. However, if they have decided to let EAV die then there maybe another company out there that would be interested in building a better game with a similar concept.
Oct 01, 2012 @ 13:07:10
Having only been on EA for 4 months, this news is both surprising and worrying. There are so many people who have been able to achieve such worthwhile causes and engage others who otherwise would have known nothing about them in those causes. EA certainly needs to change in whatever ways will improve the experience for users, give a reason for others to join, and ensure its survival and growth. Paul, I appreciate the hard work, thinking, and time that you’ve committed to this process. I don’t know much about the “behind the scenes” of EA, but this blog gives me a little bit more of an idea. EA not only needs more transparency – that implies simply sharing what the thoughts and plans of the managers are – but needs to be more engaging in seeking the opinion of EA users, responding to suggestions from EA users, and dare I say it – collaborating directly with EA users in policies and change.
Oct 01, 2012 @ 19:37:36
Paul, this is a great post and interesting discussion you’ve got going here. But here’s the problem with that — sadly, you’re more interested in the future and fate of EAV than those who introduced it.
EAV hasn’t put anything all so special, monetarily, into my pocket. And sure, like a bunch of other people have said, I’ve met some pretty rad people on EAV and that’s been good. But, I have a tendency to always meet cool people; online and offline. So, I think EAV has only helped me to a small extent. It’s been more of a game, than anything else. What I have liked about it is that it allowed me to learn about new people. I can;t say that’s done anything in dollar value for me, but it is nice to find out about people I didn’t know before.
I identify a lot with how Lara Harlow-Hentz said. I put up a Facebook like/share type of Mission and didn’t really get anywhere with it. Around the same time that I published it, other Missions of the same type were offered by Leaderboard-er’s, some of which were of a lesser eave value, that went like hotcakes. It only seemed kind of natural to derive the opinion that I guess I’m not popular enough.
Having said all that, I have to admit that like others I agree that the “game” aspects of EAV take up entirely too much time. I’ve been thinking about deleting my account for some time now. I see user like Guy Kawasaki for example “coasting” and probably not stopping by but once in a blue moon (why should he stop by EAV, he only has 7 users in his portfolio, but has 1886 shareholders. Kind of underscores the popularity factor; I’m just sayin’. Not hating, just saying. I like happen to like Guy Kawasaki. And I see the same thing with Robert Scoble (who I know lot of people seem to detest, and I think he’s “okay people” too) who has 303 users and 3487 shareholders as of today. Clearly, this displays that it’s true, given you meet the “right” criteria — you actually can “coast” here on EAV. Pretty pathetic, game-wise, and possibly a BIG wake up call to all of the “not so popular” players who have to work their butts off to keep their stock in the black. This wouldn’t work for me for 10 minutes (okay, so I exaggerated – just a little though). If I don’t hang out on EAV almost daily, my stock price drops pretty quickly.
I mentioned that I’ve been thinking about deleting my account, right? You know what? I think after reading everything stated, I’m done. EAV takes way too much effort. A good online friend of mine signed up (upon my recommendation) and the same day that he did so, he deleted his account, citing “It’s just too time consuming”. And now like my friend, I’m not willing to give EAV anymore of my time or energy.
I so respect the fact that you’ve brought the topic of “Restore Hope” up for conversation. But for me, it’s like this Paul… now that EAv has introduced us, I can connect with you on G+ where I’ve done so before. Others I can connect w/via Facebook and/or Twitter. But how I feel is, I don’t want to waste anymore of my time on EAV, a place where a player named Paul is more concerned about it’s outcome than it’s inventors and investors apparently are.
No sour grapes. It’s just (past) time to leave.
I’m really glad I got to meet all of you that I didn’t know!
– Carlo
PS I’m including a few things here that I forgot to add in the main part of my comment.
PSS I contacted EAV “customer service” or “help desk” on August 21st and after five (5) follow-ups on my part, I haven’t heard one peep from them. I guess they didn’t like my question; regarding why they “un-verified” my account without being gracious and kind enough to let me know (which makes sense that they didn’t – now that I see how they operate; since they still haven’t responded to my question as to why they did it w/o saying anything). Kind of lame, even though it is their site and they have the right to do whatever they want to (and pretty obviously, don’t want or choose to).
PSSS Last year I started an EAV party-related group (since I’m a caterer/event planner who noticed a few other players joining EAV; thought we could get to know each other better). However, due to the lack of participation of the members, I gave it to them to run (if they wanted to), stepping down from it (after also facing “smart alec” remarks, and like I already mentioned, the lack of involvement/engagement.) “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. That saying, is as pertinent today as it is in the age of the other saying, being “as old as Methuselah”. .
Oct 01, 2012 @ 21:59:10
Hey Carlo, sorry to see you go, though, I understand and can’t rally blame you. I appreciate you describing your experience and frustrations here with us.
For what it’s worth, I think you were focused a little too much on the game part of EAv and didn’t fully realize the potential of missions.
Sure famous social media users can “coast” and still get lots of investors and a high share price, but so what? What has that done for them? The real winners on EAv are people like Chris Ford (see his comments above), who has used EAv to take his work with Food Network to the next level.
Just to be clear, I’m not blaming you, Carlo. As I’ve said in this series, EAv needs to make missions easier to target, deal with mission cheaters, and provide tutorials and guidance on how missions can empower ones social media.
Oct 02, 2012 @ 10:00:10
Thanks Paul,
Quite frankly, I’d been thinking of leaving for MONTHS. Your post just kind of helped to solidify why now was the right time for me to leave EAV. Let’s face it, it’s bad when you feel like something is a chore or when you feel like you’re only hanging out somewhere because “certain people” are hanging out there too; without much real regard for your own time and what you AREN’T getting out of something.
In my opinion, the bottom line is…
The “game aspect” of EAV is what you’ll end up with when little else is coming to you via Missions or anything else; just ask MOST OF THE PEOPLE on EAV who aren’t on the leaderboard. Irregardless, some things just aren’t for everybody and EAV never really was for “me” or my style. I’ve never liked games (online games, board games, or whatever). I’ve never been into games, any type of games. They’re just not of any interest to me, so EAV wasn’t for me anyway.
So focusing on the positive, which — now that I’ve expressed my experience on EAV is more about how I roll, like I said, I can connect with you on G+ (and other people that I’ve met on other social network sites). After creating and producing parties, wedding receptions, and special events for business owners – which takes focus to be excellent at and do well, I’m not willing to “play” EAV because for me (a person producing parties and writing about them, not just writing about them like the other person you referenced in your reply), EAV takes up entirely too much of my time; it was one more place to have to go on the Net to social network, in the guise of a game, that just wasn’t conducive to my personality, nor my offline busy lifestyle.
Again, I salute you for all of your efforts to breathe more life into EAV.
And I sincerely hope that @DUPS and the others behind EAV will respond to your call.
Blessings to all…
EAv Recommendation #11: Restore Hope « Empire Avenue Tips | Empire Avenue Rocks! | Scoop.it
Oct 02, 2012 @ 01:41:09
EAv Recommendation #11: Restore Hope « Empire Avenue Tips « Empire Avenue Rocks!
Oct 02, 2012 @ 01:41:53
EAv Recommendation #11: Restore Hope « Empire Avenue Tips | Digital Marketing for Business | Scoop.it
Oct 02, 2012 @ 05:54:39
EAv Recommendation #11: Restore Hope « Empire Avenue Tips « Mick Say: Online Business Development
Oct 02, 2012 @ 05:55:22
Oct 02, 2012 @ 09:25:01
I think the solution to EA’s financial woes, may be to look to the power of the crowd itself. A kick-starter campaign started by EA’s own users to ensure EA’s survival, while guaranteeing it’s evolution. All we need to do is use the power of social critical mass to spread the word, each lending our weight to the push.
This will simultaneously expose new users to the platform & expose them to the benefits that EA provides for all who choose to play the game. Perhaps it will be a simple case of real change makers getting the job done in the best way they know how.
Just a thought 🙂
Oct 05, 2012 @ 04:38:04
Best thing EAv can do now is fix all bugs. They should hire some of the real active players to advise them what need to be fixed. I’m available.
Oct 07, 2012 @ 01:07:47
Thanks Paul for helping to steer the ship…. It would be unfortunate to put a lot of time and energy into EA and then see it go down…. I guess it could happen, but i would not have “thunk” it if you had not broght it up.
Oct 07, 2012 @ 09:02:40
I agree. I think some people aren’t using EAv to the extent they could because of the uncertainty of it all, which is due to EAv not communicating about their future plans.
Oct 08, 2012 @ 23:47:13
Reblogged this on Criatividade e Inovação todo diae comentado:
Vale a pena acompanhar esta analise do Paul sobre o empire avenue
Oct 11, 2012 @ 19:38:30
Here is a thought Paul,
I think the drop off came in part because EAV put a limit how fast you can do missions. Talk about frustrating. Do say 5 quick RT missions and you get blocked for at least 30 minutes. I have suggested a better way to reduce mission cheats did not hear a think back.
I think the drop off in part was because of the blocking I know myself quite often I do missions and get blocked and I leave the game or leave and do not return for a day or two as something else in my life seems easier to do.
The fact I can trip the block so quickly has meant I spend at 50% less time on EAv maybe EAv should take a good look at the average time someone spent on the game before they decided to put missions blocks on and immediately there after,…. I think they will see a big change in active time on the game after the missions blocks to the negative
regards
Barry
Oct 12, 2012 @ 11:09:27
I don’t really get the purpose of the mission “slow down” feature either. If it’s supposed to reduce abuse of mission cheaters, it’s not a very good way to do it because it still allows them to steal eaves from a lot of missions and it hinders those who are doing missions completely.
Oct 17, 2012 @ 22:22:06
My fear is that if people’s suspicions are correct, EAv will string us along until the new site is up and running. They could ask for our continued support and promise us prime property in the new site if they think the new game will be a vast improvement over Empire Avenue. In that case they may be thinking they’ll just sell EAv as is and let the new guys get us (ah, more collateral damage). No good answer here without more transparency. Sorry, boss.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 09:17:59
Great effort Paul
Oct 22, 2012 @ 09:28:29
A mobile app (iPhone and Android) is a must. It’s a mystery to me why one hasn’t been developed already!
Oct 23, 2012 @ 04:57:10
Sounds to me like EA need to get you on their board.
You obviously care about it, you have written some awesome blog posts about it and you show some great ideas here.
EA definitely has long term potential and indeed has enabled me to speak with interesting people I would never normally have spoken too, and indeed learn about your Oktoberfest plans!.
It is however definitely quite time consuming and it is only in the last week or so that I have realized that it could be quite valuable, so I have spent a bit of time trying to figure it out and build up my dividend income so I can start offering missions, which seems to be where the real long term value comes from.
Today I discovered Dr Dittrich’s tool for portfolio management, so that will be useful too I think.
However I may well end up just getting a bit bored of it. I suspect that I should probably just invest a few hundred bucks in Eaves to buy high yield shares and then just come back in once a week or so to spend the dividends on more investments and setting up some missions.
I hadn’t realized that it was likely to crumble or fall, and I would be disappointed if it did.
My final vote is to put you in charge, Paul!
Oct 23, 2012 @ 05:48:59
Thanks Justin! Laughing at the last line. 🙂
Oct 23, 2012 @ 18:28:56
🙂 Don’t laugh.. I am sure there are some disconcerted VC’s out there hanging on your every word Paul!
Jan 16, 2013 @ 23:49:45
I’m a little late to the party…LOL
I’ve spent countless hours investing eaves on EA since it was in beta. My reasoning has been threefold: First, we were initially promised “real world” purchases with our eaves, but I highly doubt that will ever happen at this point. Second, with missions in play, I figured having a network of people to ‘like-bomb’ something could come in handy in life. Third, I was interested in the game element and figuring out if I could make eaves without being artificially social.
At this point I’m making so many eaves a day that EA sometimes feels more like a hassle. I wish there was a feature that allowed me to sell eaves to the people who wanted them for missions and social media promoting. That would be an awesome pay-off!
I think a big part of the past year’s slow down is that the most engaged individuals at the top of the leader boards have lost interest now that they are making millions of eaves a day and have to use third party software to keep up with investing.
One of my favourite features was ‘luxury items’, which were ridiculous, but made the game fun.
Anyway, I’ve often thought of going out with a bang – selling all my stocks and doing a few days of 50,000 free eav missions to get rid of my 140M eav fortune…LOL… we’ll see!
-Mark, CNKMRK (I kept my original 6 character restricted ticker…speaking of which, I miss the ticker line that used to go across the top of the screen!)
Jan 17, 2013 @ 07:27:12
Mark just on a side note, from a marketing perspective. I think you should also look at #Xeeme as another platform to connect with other networkers. I believe that Empire Avenue will have to evolve so we can introduce new people to the platform. The learning curve is quite fierce & the reality is most newbies don’t understand how much work they need to put into social media.
I found out by empire avenue by a happy accident, I think this is part of the problem. No marketing so to speak, that combined with a steep learning curve for lower ranked players is what is counting against it. I hope that you will continue to be a part of the community rather than shut it all down, seems like a waste. Just my opinion 🙂
Jan 18, 2013 @ 15:59:49
Thanks for the feedback Jonny!
In terms of staying, I agree with you, overall. I’ve put too much into it to stop now. Inevitably life will lead me to something where having a strong social network connection will be a good thing. The eav wealth I’ve amassed is enough to effectively use the mission feature to generate likes, thumbs, views etc if I need them.
Who knows, if gamerrank takes off, maybe they’ll sell EA to a company who cares!
Cheers!
Mark
Jan 17, 2013 @ 08:58:16
Hey Mark, thanks for the comment. I think for a lot of people the fun of EAv as a “game” has worn off. EAv has not done much lately to keep things fresh and fun for those who are just using it for fun.
EAv can still be used effectively as marketing tool (missions) and for meeting and building relationships with people. So, those of us who are using it as a means to an ends, to accomplish larger life goals, still find value in it. I just wish EAv would address the issues outlined in this series which make EAv far less efficient and effective than its full potential.
Jan 18, 2013 @ 16:02:21
I hear ya Paul. I won’t reiterate any feedback that I left to my comment for Jonny above.
I had seriously thought about selling off all my stocks and doing 50,000 missions for people to invest in the people who I thought were most worthy on EA. But after a good night rest I don’t think I’ll do that. I’m in the midst of a career change so I think I’ll hold out and see if life takes me in a direction where I can use the power of EA social media networking to my advantage.
Have a great day, brother!
Mark