B$ at spcxn.got.net

Prolly no one who reads this blog will care, but FWIW, Blog$hares is temporarily at http://spcxn.got.net/.

Edit: Everything is back to normal at B$.

Comments

[Toastie]

I just had a fantasy baseball draft. This could be fun, except I only follow about a dozen blogs. I imagine people who are good at this follow at least hundreds, and they probably have automated bots that send them reports of rankings and such. And then it seems impossible to prevent cheating, although maybe that's part of the game?

...hey! I can't add my own blog because someone added it already...some JHV person added it back in July...and owns 80% of it...this is wacky...wacky, wacky, wacky...

[Joe]

Blogshares is lots of fun, and it's addictive. It's pretty much the only type of computer or net.game I've played for a long time. There are different kinds of subgames within Blogshares, and different metrics for who's "winning." But a big part of the game is the side effect of generating the Quacktrack index, which is why many people are serious about keeping voting in B$ clean.

Players do sometimes try to cheat. If they're noticed, a "case" is opened, and a body - the BSEC - deliberates on it.

One of the things I do with Blogshares is try to keep the Durham NC listing clean and as full as possible. I also like to buy up shares in blogs where I know the author, or that I just like to read. Some folks (like Lenore) own part or all of the shares in blogs they've created. Most folks don't.

If you want to get started in B$, let me know. You'll get a 20% stake in your own blog merely by claiming it. I'll also give you half of what I own in your blog (this should also go for pretty much anyone I know). It's free to join and play, or you can pay them $15 for a year of "Premium Membership" (or $3/month), which gets you access to some nice tools and also gets rid of some limits that non-paid players have to work under.

B$ can be confusing, with lots of little pieces. But there are a number of support channels, and I've found almost everyone who plays to be helpful when I had a question. That's not to say there aren't rapacious players out there, but generally the whole game is fun and neat. Sometimes folks get torqued about something, just like anywhere else, but it's generally a lot of fun.

[Toastie]

I'm in, and I may have jumped in prematurely, as I gave your URL instead of account ID for referral, so I don't know if they counted it or not. If not, maybe I can put in a request to get you proper credit.

So I've got my 1000 shares in my own blog now...since you don't get much money to start, is it worthwhile for me sell some of my own shares to generate revenue to buy shares in "better" blogs. :) You've been doing this for a few years; I shouldn't expect to get to the Top 100 like you in three hours.

I think I'll be hooked on this shortly.

[Joe]

Cool! Read Getting Started and the rules. I'd read whatever seems appropriate or interesting in the forums. Also, go post in the new player thread. Someone will probably just give you something for the hell of it. That's what happened to me when I started, and I didn't even post where I was supposed to. :)

I'll also gift you with some stuff to help get you started (including more shares in your blog), assuming I can figure out how to do it right. :)

[Toastie]

Ok, I finally put 2 and 2 together. I had been following your temporary links earlier and didn't understand your post at all. You were saying that the regular site was down and they had a mirror site, but that didn't translate to me. So a few hours later, when I saw blogshares.com was down, I didn't make the connection.

Anyway, thanks for making me one of the very few newbies who's a billionaire on day one. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with $500 like almost everyone else. It kinda seems like cheating a little. Then again, I've always wanted to know what it feels like to be a Duke undergrad with a Lexus SUV. It's nice to get a little bit of a head start. :)

[Joe]

Sorry: I guess that was confusing.

Enjoy yourself on B$. It can be a deep well, but you don't have to go all the way down at first. :) I played very casually for a long time, not getting into big parts of the game at all. And there's still stuff that I don't even know how to do, like offering bonds for sale.

You know, you're actually ranked #1501 as of 12:23 today (11 March). :)