Facebook - Friends for Sale

A few months ago I kept getting messages informing me that different friends had purchased me on Facebook. It sounded too weird to me and so I never checked into it because any widget you "check into" on Facebook seems to automatically force you to display the widget on your page. Since I'm a big fan of simple and effective online design, I don't like to participate in a lot of the little widgets, decorations, gifts, etc. that seem to detract from the main ambiance of the message.

However, I finally gave in and had to check it out since my value (about $8,000) at the time seemed so low to the million or so dollars that a few of my friends were worth.

I'm glad I did.

First, you earn money for yourself if you log in every four hours. It seems to consistently be $10,000. Don't ask how I learned this fact.

Second, you earn money if you invite a certain number of friends to the application. That seems to be around $40,000. This is allowed once a day as far as I have been able to gage.

Third, you can invite the same people day after day and so you can keep re-earning $40,000 even if you select the same people.

Fourth, the more people you invite and gain as "pets," the more likely that the percentage of participants will go up which will put more money into the "pet marketplace" and the more likely your own value will go up because there are more people participating in the buying and selling process. More money in the game literally.

Fifth, you earn money when you buy or when you are bought...putting more money in your spending pocket.

Wow! This game has nothing to do with buying or selling people as pets. It's all about cost-push and demand-pull economics, stock market, finance, money management, etc. Very, very interesting.

It really is a safe environment for learning some things about the market. Now my task is to figure out how to capture this into an interesting game for kids, as well as adults, to teach those market skills. Hmm.