Empire Avenue – Making Fun of Social Media and Influence

Empire Avenue – Making Fun of Social Media and Influence
Launching today, virtual stock market connects like-minded people and businesses as they measure and benefit from their online influence.

Today’s launch of Empire Avenue (http://www.empireavenue.com) heralds the beginning of a new age in social media, where anyone can measure the value of their online influence while having fun buying and selling virtual shares in other people and businesses for free.

Created by former BioWare, Electronic Arts and MySQL employees, Empire Avenue makes social media fun – and measurable – by tying users’ virtual share price on the site to activity, reach and engagement on external social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and blogs. The more active and influential a user is on the site and around the web, the higher their virtual share price.

Emerging from an invite-only beta test that attracted people and businesses in more than 70 countries, Empire Avenue has helped influencers around the world get exposure for their content, build value-driven relationships with other, like-minded people and brands, and expand their influence across the social web.

In the coming weeks and months, the company will unveil several initiatives to connect consumers and influencers with relevant brands to the benefit of all. Its game-changing advertising platform will allow users to carry advertising from brands they trust and choose, earning a larger portion of ad revenue than other networks. Additionally, the upcoming Avenue Rewards platform lets users redeem the virtual currency earned on Empire Avenue for discounts and other offers from businesses relevant to them. Businesses interested in reaching influencers on Empire Avenue should email bizdev@empireavenue.com.

A video explaining Empire Avenue, its team and its values can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naVkQyCCYzI
Forgive the rather poor audio quality... we're working on improving the balance, but the message is there. Quietly... AND THEN LOUDER.