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Geek Culture / Last 1000 pixels from Milliondollarhomepage being auctioned on eBay...

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hyrichter
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Location: Arizona
Posted: 6th Jan 2006 04:13 Edited at: 6th Jan 2006 04:14
And as of writing this post, the current bid is over $150,000
Maybe I'm just jealous of this kid, but someday I'll think of a good way to make money. Hell, he's probably going to get another $100,000,000 just off the last 1000 pixels alone!

I just thought I'd take a look at the milliondollarhomepage to see what had become of it. Apparantly, it was an amazing success. Anyway, here's the eBay auction.

soapyfish
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 04:29
Why didn't I think of it first?

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Dave J
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 04:31
Wow, and to think I never thought this would take off. It makes sense though, with all the publicity it's getting, I still wouldn't advertise on it though.

Interestingly, a large portion of the pixels have been bought by other sites copying his idea. Although these other sites aren't doing as well, they're still selling quite a lot of their own pixels.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
soapyfish
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 04:56
I suppose it's all about thinking of a way to let people advertise their product to millions of people for a relatively cheap price.

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Megaton Cat
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 05:08
This guy and his page is the biggest fluke recorded in human history.




The cat era has begun. Shedding light onto out dark and humourless world.
soapyfish
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 05:12
Anyone know how to work out how much of the final amount is going to the tax man?

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Wiggett
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 07:39
holy sheeps that is a damn good money making idea, why didn't I come up with it.

David T
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 10:21
When I first saw this only a couple of banners were there. Looks how it turned out

Torrey
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 10:44
If one of us could come up with a better domain name (and shorter) the idea would still work.

Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 11:15
I hate him... Its up to $152,300 now and there is over 5 days left!!!

Here is a link

Fallout
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 12:02
The thing is, it's not actually a very good idea. I mean, look at it. There's no reason for anybody to go there, and when you get there, nobody's ads really stand out. It's just a mishmash of random images. I think if you turned back the clock, 99% of people couldn't make this work. He probably worked really hard to get this thing going, so fair play.

Just like engineered pop bands, it's all in the marketting. The actual product sucks big time.

dark coder
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 12:07
well 1000pixels is just 10 squares and there probably dotted rndomly so its kinda stupid to pay that much for them, not that anyones going to click on these companys logos.

Halowed are the ori.
Dave J
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 13:01
Actually, if you look in the screenshot in the auction, they aren't dotted randomly. The make up a nice rectangle in the mid to upper section of the page.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
Dazzag
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 16:13
Quote: "Although these other sites aren't doing as well"
Still making a living out of doing pretty much nothing you will notice. Even so the initial money making phase has probably gone now. Should have jumped on the bandwagon when it was big news.

Oh, and b*****d.... gotta hate students. Bet he's one of those rich english ones too who doesn't need the money. Git.... BTW, you have to admire the bloke, don't think I would have thought of that idea in a million years (and thought it would make any money)

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
soapyfish
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Posted: 6th Jan 2006 17:55
It would have felt even worse if you HAD thought of the idea but hadn't done anything about it. Only to see it make someone else a small fortune.

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Dazzag
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 01:47 Edited at: 7th Jan 2006 01:48
Quote: "Only to see it make someone else a small fortune"
Wouldn't say thats a small fortune. Is over a million dollars so far. Not including whatever he has got from interviews. You are seriously hard to impress Soapy.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
soapyfish
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 02:50
Well what do you expect, I earn twice that in just a week working on Half-Life 3. I only go in 1 day a week though because I'm so good they'd have to fire everyone else if I worked any harder. So they literally pay me to stay at home, I'm that good.

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Insanity Complex
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 04:35
Thta is ridiculous...



Under Construction
Ian T
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 04:52
But that's just the thing - there is no product. It's simply marketing in its purest form, without any pretense. And it doesn't matter that it doesn't have long-term value, because it's already a victory for him. I can't find it in me to blame somebody for taking advantage of the predictability of the human race

hyrichter
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 05:12
Quote: "I can't find it in me to blame somebody for taking advantage of the predictability of the human race"


Same here. That must be my biggest mistake on trying to make money off what I do...I keep trying to make useful things. I've just got to think up something totally useless that I can convince people really is useful.

Grog Grueslayer
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 05:56
What's interesting is he's already got copycats. One actually bought space on the million dollar page. If you look in the lower middle area you'll see a block that says "20cent pixels".

Here's the link:
http://www.20centpixels.com/


soapyfish
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 06:03 Edited at: 7th Jan 2006 06:12
And then there's just the completely irrational, such as bidding over £1,500 on a Brussel Sprout

Back on topic, I wonder if it's actually possible to sit down and think of an idea like this or whether it's the sort of thing that just randomly pops into your head hoping you'll do something about it.

Mucho appreciation to Nicholas Thompson for helping me and my mac get along with each other better.
Ian T
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 08:02
Well viral marketing is the new big field. "Meme"s spread pretty fast, and if it happens to be something that can make you money, then you're in luck. I think it comes down to thinking of something that will remain new and interesting long enough for it to spread. How to make profit is a different matter of course... but the tequnique has been put to other interesting applications, such as the lead-up to Halo 2 (Ilovebees I think), Gmail, etc.

That's the great thing about the internet. There's so much capability that the limits are not in the technology, but in our comprehension of it. So many 'inventions' in the internet in recent years could have been created 10, 15 years ago; they just hadn't been thought of yet. It is, I would venture, the first time that sheer critical thinking ability has been able to pay off in such a grand scale in a long time. Of course that's a big statement ...

Chris K
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 12:01
Aren't Dumbo and Cool on there somewhere?

I remember there was a thread about this ages ago and Drew said we was going to buy some squares.

soapyfish
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 12:09 Edited at: 7th Jan 2006 12:15
Yeh, he made a little icon to be displayed, don't know if he ever got around to buying the pixels though.

There's someone here trying to sell their pixels, they proably aren't the only ones although it says quite clearly on milliondollarhomepage that he won't change any of them or their links. And rightly so. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5653848225

*Attempts to think of witty and original signature*
*Fails*
Darkbasic MADPSP
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 13:48 Edited at: 7th Jan 2006 13:49
Quote: "History: 151 bids (US $1.00 starting bid)
High bidder: ast1155td ( 1188)
"

AGHH loads must...do...this...with....a game

Quote: "Approximately £86,059.78"


Experienced DB http://www.greatgames3d.com (work in progress site)
Dazzag
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 14:37
Quote: "because it's already a victory for him"
Exactly. Bloody brilliant basically. Much like Ebay and Gambling online (where the site just gets paid commission from your winnings and doesn't cost anything to play - genius). Simple ideas (although the million dollar homepage is even simpler) that require a relatively small amount of development and support time, but pretty much run themselves. Damn.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
Medieval Coder
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 22:25
He just copyed my idea....just a little copy cat
Did i say i thought of that firt?
Kangaroo2 BETA2
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Posted: 7th Jan 2006 23:02
I (honestly!) wrote a plan for the orignal gameboy and sent it to Nintendo.

My plan was basically because I liked the NES and I liked the cheapness and portability of lcd games, and came up with the idea of making a portable nes system with a more complex grid based lcd screen and then keeping the games on cartrdges rather than making complete lcd units for each game.

The plan I drew looked almost exactly like how the gameboy turned out, with the NES button layout, even the (rough) resolution of the screen, the positioning of the headphone socket, power switch, cartridge slot, battery compartment etc. I wrote a fairly detailled plan and typed a few pages of theory as to how it worked along with very neatly measured out orthographical plans on squared paper.

I sent it to Nintendo. This was in 1988, I was 7 and obsessed with the idea convinced it would work (I was a little boffiny kids with a fair bit of experience of making spectrum and commodore games) At the time when the Gameboy was released the next year I was 100% convinced they copied my idea, I never recieved a letter to thanks me or a free one or anything, and was COMPLETELY devastated.

It has since occured to the more rational adult part of my mind that actually they didn't copy my idea, it was more a glaringly obvious progression based on similar ideas to their existing hardware, and that they probably came up with the idea completely by themselves quite a while before me in their R&D dept. and didn't even bother reading the ramblings of a 7 year old kid.

But still, to this day, it kinda annoys me that I could have essentially invented one of the most successful product lines of all time, and if I had lived near Nintendo head quarters and pitched my idea to them in person, I could be a multi, multi millionnaire by now


Preorder EA here:http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=67575&b=8&p=0
+ Model Pro out now in Program Announcements!
Jeku
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 00:01
Cool story, Kang Although logically they were probably developing the Gameboy before '88, as it was like you said released in '89.

On a side note, I had no idea that you are younger than me (if only by a year). I come from a family of inventors (my father to this day is inventing useful things, just doesn't have the time or knowledge on how to sell them), and my sis and I tried our own hand at inventing, too. The original Gameboy knocked my socks off when I first played Super Mario Bros. on it

Megaton Cat
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 00:28
Quote: "At the time when the Gameboy was released the next year I was 100% convinced they copied my idea, I never recieved a letter to thanks me or a free one or anything, and was COMPLETELY devastated.
"


Don't worry, it's still not to late for us to nail them.


Model packs found on "Web" icon bellow.
Dave J
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 02:52
Quote: "There's someone here trying to sell their pixels, they proably aren't the only ones although it says quite clearly on milliondollarhomepage that he won't change any of them or their links. And rightly so. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5653848225"


He's not actually selling the pixel space though, he's selling the domain the pixels link to. So technically, it's not breaking the rules because neither the link nor pixels are going to be changed.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
soapyfish
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 03:06
Ah, that's fair enough.

*Attempts to think of witty and original signature*
*Fails*
Kangaroo2 BETA2
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 16:11 Edited at: 8th Jan 2006 16:14
Jeku - "Cool story, Kang" thanks

"Although logically they were probably developing the Gameboy before '88, as it was like you said released in '89." Of course I realsie that now But at the time I was convinced they had copied my idea, I didn't know how long these things take to make

"I had no idea that you are younger than me (if only by a year)"
Really? I keep getting people on here saying they thought I was older than I am - maybe cos I'm married with 2 kids? lol Funny cos in real life people presume I'm younger than I am, which is quite weird. In fact my wife and I are often asked for I'd when buying alcohol (18) - or even blummin lottery tickets (16)

"I come from a family of inventors (my father to this day is inventing useful things, just doesn't have the time or knowledge on how to sell them), and my sis and I tried our own hand at inventing, too." Cool Unfortunatley for all of us, patenting is expensive and akward

"The original Gameboy knocked my socks off when I first played Super Mario Bros. on it"
Yeah it rocked Although the mk1 Supervision was arguably even better (bigger & clearer screen, more memory, better battery life) and the system and games were half the price Still, I love the Game boy too

Megaton - "Don't worry, it's still not to late for us to nail them."
Awesome I knew you'd be on my side - lets set our cat army on them - mines an evil psychopath!


Preorder EA here:http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=67575&b=8&p=0
+ Model Pro out now in Program Announcements!
Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 16:16
I had a supervision!! DAMN good machine considering the technology available at the time. I really enjoyed the tennis game. It certainly made family holidays in caravans in Yorkshire much more barable (bearing in mind I would have been about 12 at the time... Its nothing against Yorkshire. Its very... scenic!)

Kangaroo2 BETA2
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 16:53
Nicholas - Yay supervisions rock!

I have a boxed mk1 (looks like a gameboy) and mk2 (has a bendable middle) and every game available, I collected them up off ebay over the years There are some really great games for them, especially the scrolling shooters and puzzle games


Preorder EA here:http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=67575&b=8&p=0
+ Model Pro out now in Program Announcements!
Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 17:33
I must have had the mk2 then as mine was bendy

soapyfish
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 17:56
Quote: "ts nothing against Yorkshire. Its very... scenic!"


If you say so, I think it's boring. (j/k)

*Attempts to think of witty and original signature*
*Fails*
Kangaroo2 BETA2
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 18:00 Edited at: 8th Jan 2006 18:01
Yeah they were the most common in this country - funky units, it was cool to bend them to an angle for tabletop hammering at buttons, and then straighten it to play in your hands [edit] um no pervy comments people


Preorder EA here:http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=67575&b=8&p=0
+ Model Pro out now in Program Announcements!
Benjamin
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Posted: 8th Jan 2006 18:23
My hands are good for playing in.

Tempest - P2P UDP Multiplayer Plugin - 70%
the Last Programmer
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 08:26
I think the kid is using bots to make it look like more people are going to his site.

Then stopped using them when more people really went to his website.

I think it's all just a lie. There's no way success can be found by being honest; not this big of success, at least.

I mean, if you think about it. How does anybody really know how many people go to his website? I certainly don't, and I don't how any of you could prove it to me. And those so called "reviews" from customers, how do we know those are real people? Anybody can write a good review and lie about it.

Also, if this kid is caught lying then no skin off his nose. There's nothing anyone can do about. NOTHING! He's got all their money already, if there is really any money involved in this whole charade, (ebay can easily be faked with false accounts).

So in my opinion this whole website seems like a total scam. Great job kid, you fooled us all.


www.fishbrosentertainment.com
re faze
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 10:01
what are you playing with in your hands?

Dave J
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 13:06
Quote: "So in my opinion this whole website seems like a total scam. Great job kid, you fooled us all."


The media attention the site has got and the mere fact that we are talking about it right now is proof enough that it's popular and that there's reason to advertise.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
soapyfish
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 17:35
@the Last Programmer
Green eyed monster?

*Attempts to think of witty and original signature*
*Fails*
Kevin Picone
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 17:53 Edited at: 9th Jan 2006 17:55
The Last Programmer,

Welcome to the internet. People love these sorts of gimmicks, it has that 'why didn't i think of that vibe to it'.

Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 19:18
Nah, I'm betting it's totally real. Especially with all the coverage. Millions of people saw him yabbling on about it for ages. No doubt about it I say. Totally novelty value basically. Works amazingly well once and then thats pretty much it. Like a Pop Idol (or X factor - whatever they are calling it this year) winner for instance. Especially that bird who ate too many pies

Come to think of it, the total time we spend on this forum, coupled with the amount of intellect that must be here (geektastic basically), then surely we can come up with something in superfast time..... Like..... erm...... erm....... Online Pottery Portal?.... Bums......

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
the Last Programmer
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Posted: 9th Jan 2006 23:54
Well, sure it's getting coverage now.

But from the beginning the site has been getting great volume. It got popular on the premise that it has a lot of page hits. What if the kid lied about how many page hits he got, then got attention, and took off from there?

Anyone can lie about page hits. I can go to the library and hit my website a hundred times a day until it's featured in a magazine or newspaper, just like this website in question.

Maybe I will...


www.fishbrosentertainment.com
Les Horribres
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Posted: 10th Jan 2006 00:23 Edited at: 10th Jan 2006 01:07
Well, I am not part of that million. I never heard of the thing until now, but I LOVE the way idiots bid.

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=5652179487

Why do people allways bid high? Then bid multiple times. Because this is a timed auction, the end price would be cheaper if you only bid $1 higher. And even cheaper if you didn't bid until the last minite. Of couse a few people do that, so you need to bid at at least 10%

Anyone know how long this guy will keep this site up? Perhaps right after that guy buys the last square he will close!



The next big online gimmic, by some guy who knows how to drive it.

Online History. What sites you have gone to, how long you stayed, for a mere $20.

Merranvo, The Cool One

Anti-Noob Justice League, an ANJL of Mercy.
soapyfish
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Posted: 10th Jan 2006 00:31
Starting your own cult would probably make you a bit of the folding stuff.

*Attempts to think of witty and original signature*
*Fails*
dark coder
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Posted: 10th Jan 2006 04:28
also some areas have a big 'r' guess that means reserved so they could probably sell those for more than the this acution goes for.

Halowed are the ori.

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