12 APR 05: BIG BLOG BUCKS?
Psst - hey, buddy! Wanna buy a blog? Several blogs in this area could be worth thousands of dollars - which should stun some local officials, who don't think they're worth the cyberspace they occupy.
I discovered the estimated value of my blog recently, when I stumbled onto a web site called "Blogshares." It's a fantasy stock market, only you buy and sell shares in people's blogs. Now I'm learning what it's like to be Dan Amos of AFLAC -- and learning if people you've never met think you're completely worthless.
You can join the Blogshares virtual market, and receive a fictional $500 to invest. As with stocks, some blogs cost more per share than others. If there's any fairness in life, stock in blogs kept by oil company executives aren't worth one red cent right now.
There are plenty of blogs to choose from - as Blogshares keeps track of more than 2.3 million of them. If you put all those blog writers together, do you know what you'd have? A typical Atlanta rush hour traffic jam....
So what is this blog worth? As of Monday night, its total value on this virtual market was B$2,244.27. (That's in "Blog Dollars.") If you want to round your PayPal donation down to $2,200, that's fine by me.
Blogshares figures the value of a blog based on how many other blogs link to it. The Monday night report showed four blogs link to this one -- so maybe my friends are right. I need to get out and socialize more....
As for virtual stock trading, a "share" of this blog was worth less than 50 cents Monday night. I cannot tell you how humbling it is to know my blog is cheaper than a Hershey bar.
So who has the most valuable blog in our area? Based on the ones I checked, it's the Phenix City blog "Redneckin" at nearly B$5,700. One share is trading for almost 140 bucks - making it almost a 21st-century "Beverly Hillbillies."
Second place in the local blog race goes to the TV "Sportslady," Kirsten Olesen. A virtual share of her blog sells for more than 49 dollars. But I think we need to investigate this. After all, she has a second blog -- and her fiancee has two of his own. [True!]
Blogshares also has other curious things going on. For one thing, the web site already has a contest underway to pick the next U.S. President - and it declares President Bush a "lame duck," less than three months into his second term. These Democratic webmasters always give themselves away....
BLOG UPDATE: Since most of you voted for daylight time in our last Big Blog Question, how would you like more of it? Monday night's "Marketplace" radio program reported a proposal in Congress would expand daylight time to almost nine months a year. The trouble is - would "standard" time really be standard anymore?
Some members of Congress say if daylight time lasts from the first weekend of March to the end of November, our country will save one percent a year in energy costs. Yeah, right. The oil and natural gas companies already have shown they can take of that....
(There might be a fringe benefit to expanding daylight time, though. Have you noticed when we change our clocks in the spring, it suddenly starts getting warmer?)
Now in the time that remains for me, let's check some Monday news items:
+ The brother of Lester Zachery said the family may file legal action, in the wake of Zachery's death from Columbus Police beanbags. They'd better hurry up and decide - because if the Kenneth Walker family wins its $100 million lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department, there might not be any damages left to win.
+ The evening news revealed Phenix City Councilman Arthur Sumbry has turned himself in to police, on charges of writing a $7,200 hot check. If he actually had the money on him, his South Phenix City district might look a lot better than it does....
+ The Georgia and Alabama contestants struck out at the Miss U.S.A. pageant, failing to survive the first cut. And was I ever surprised when the "Miss Congeniality" award did NOT go to Sandra Bullock....
+ Two defensive players for the Georgia football team were arrested after a fight at the "Classic City Saloon" in Athens. I can hear the players' defense lawyer now - telling the jury if law officers or the bar owner had blown a whistle, everything would have stopped.
+ Instant Message to the driver of a car in Phenix City with the Alabama license plate, "ILUVME:" I know they're called "vanity tags" - but you've pushed that phrase to a whole new level.
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