It was a thread in Team Zen,  but it felt as though it really could have used a bit of self help from the 1970′s.    Empire Avenue is a very intriguing and complex web site.   It is in one sense an equivalent or perhaps competitor to sites like Klout and Peer Index.   But at the same time it is most definitely a social networking stock market trading game.    And I honestly don’t think it is in the least bit fair to criticize one’s friends because they are  ”playing to win”  in what is most definitely a game, that has been specifically offered as such by the gentlemen  (Are there any ladies on the EAv  Team?) who put the site up on the web every day.

Some people are on Empire Avenue because they are trying to be or consider themselves or are paid to be social media rockstars  err managers or managers in training.   Some people are just using EAv as a tool to see how they’re doing elsewhere.  Some folks are playing the game,  and some of those folks are playing to win.  Some folks care mostly about the play money and the score.   Some folks care mostly about the people.  And everyone really IS trying to promote not only their stock but also in many cases also their ideas.   Some folks are using Empire Avenue primarily as a social network on which to meet people with whom they are in fact trying to change the world.   And you know what?   They are all friends of mine.    Empire Avenue is a tool as well as a game as well as a social network.   And like a good party,  it’s also whatever you decide to make it.

So if you’re old enough,  do a little mental time travel and remember when I’m OK, You’re OK was a best seller.    Try at least for a little while to remember the days of TM and est.     Recite your mantra if you remember it.    And repeat after me.   There is NO Right or Wrong way to play Empire Avenue.     Brad and the EAv  team have made clear that they are strongly committed to enforcing the rules and there is no reason that any of us should ever turn away in friend ship from one another who do follow the rules.   In my considered opinion Brad and Dups and all of the rest of their great team are more than quite capable of enforcing the rules.    And if you see anything  that you think is wrong,  but all means press the report button and talk to them about your concerns.

But I respectfully state that criticizing erstwhile friends for choosing a different style of game play which is in fact perfectly within the rules and is not in fact per se harmful to the game or to any of the other participants in the game or in the communities.   It seems to me there was very wide criticism of some very over the top blog spamming.  (eg publishing Project Gutenberg is perfectly legal,  even in 300 word bites with dozens and dozens of posts per day, but is so obviously cheating that it was intolerable— they got rid of that) although as a person who is very serious about blogging I was disappointed that part of the fix was that they greatly devalued even the five blog post per day that they count.  But I can live with that.   I’m doing what I’m doing on my blogs and social networks because it is Exactly what I want to do.   For me that is HUGE.       So please,  no matter how passionately you feel about newbies needing a better welcome experience than getting bid up and churned down (In my case only if they DON’t connect) all in their first week,   don’t blame folks who try to buy and connect with new folks most every day and hold them for a while,  and then sell them if they don’t connects.    That’s just the game and if you’re really saying that folks who take it first as a game shouldn’t be welcome on the Avenue?   Well then I can only say how presumptuous of you.