{EAV_BLOG_VER:367b9e9109263b16}

I don’t know about you, but there are definitely times that I feel like I am throwing pebbles at a giant, when it comes to making genuine connections with people using social media.

We have recently had an opportunity to take our blog international by connecting it to our Empire Avenue social media account.  Empire Avenue is a fun way to make connections with others for business or personal reasons.  It turns social media into a game, and creates a fun atmosphere for connecting with others.

The way it works:  Empire Avenue gives you a ticker (stock symbol) and you are given a value based on your social interactions.  It is like a stock exchange of social value.  Kind of different, but fun!  After that, you are not rated on some ambiguous challenge, but more on your ability to connect with others and to have genuine conversations with them.

I don’t know about you, but there are definitely times that I feel like I am throwing pebbles at a giant, when it comes to making genuine connections with people using social media. Social media is such an incredible opportunity to find like-minded people that really want to make a difference, yet Facebook and Twitter are so well-populated that it is sometimes difficult to wade through the masses to reach people you really hope to connect with.

Empire Avenue, at least for now, seems to be very different.  I totally dig the fact that it has a game feel to it so that it keeps you interested, and coming back.  More importantly, it also allows you to set up customized communities based on location, personal interests, and more common, global interests. This creates the ability to really target specific folks you want to meet.  It also provides the opportunity to start great conversations without some of the initial awkwardness and pretense of typical social networking.  Also, it seems as though the community is still fairly new, and because of that I have already been able to meet some very influential and fun people.

Check out Empire Avenue if you get a chance and make sure to give Stinky Kid Math a “shout out” and buy some stock; our ticker is SKM.   There is a lot to do, and it can be overwhelming at first.  Let me know if you have questions and maybe I can help you get off to a great start.  Once you get the hang of it, it just becomes fun!

Also, just as a side note, since it does mimic a stock exchange there is a lot of math that that can be used to increase your chances of success!  Just sayin’!  Remember…

Anyone can do math!!