#Winning-- Christopher Baccus, Jane Fonda and Shannon Morgan

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with @Charlie Sheen,  #tigerblood  nor the Like button reputedly tattooed on Ryan Zeigler's junk.


Some days,  things go really well.   For instance,  yesterday evening I got the chance to chat a bit further with AT&T social media director Christopher Baccus.   I told him a bit about my own relationship-based investment strategy on Empire Avenue.  I mostly invest in people that I talk with and chat with.   Unless I am quite certain that I don't want a relationship with someone who buys shares in me,  I always buy back-- even if I can only buy a handful of shares.   As relationships progress,  I make further investments.  When I have invested in shares in someone who owns no shares in me,  I look at those shares as "money in the bank"-- the shares I will sell first and without hesitation when funds are needed to invest in a more promising prospect.    Chris seemed to really listen to this little speech that I fired off.    He pointed out that Monday was only AT&T's  second day on Empire Avenue and that frankly they haven't yet figured out how they will approach things like buying virtual shares in their own virtual shareholders.  I was even more so than during our previous conversation impressed by Chris' listening skills and have the feeling that we may see great things from the AT&T team in the days ahead.

In addition to the huge corporate brands that began appearing on the Avenue late last week,  Monday evening brought about our first bona fide celebrity siting.   Not merely a "social media" celebrity- an actual movie star-- the incomparable Ms. Jane Fonda listed herself on Empire Avenue around 5:30 pm.   My good buddy Travis Tripp was the first person in my orbit to break the news,   and by 6pm like many of my friends who happened to be online at the time,   I owned 200 shares in (e)JFONDA and spent the evening watching their value rise.   As of this writing ,  the value of my Fonda shares is up nearly 1,600.    I get the impression that Ms. Fonda is frankly more interested in promoting her exercise videos,  rather than meeting and greeting her legions of fans,  but I have to confess I felt more than a little thrill at leaving a Welcome to Empire Avenue note on Ms. Fonda's EA profile.    The very astute Anise Smith not only snapped up two hundred shares in Ms. Fonda but also invested in her Public Relations man (e)INFLUENCER.

One might expect that having interacted with a social media heavyweight and brushed close to a real movie star,  that my third coup of the evening might have proved something of a let down.   My good friend Shannon Morgan posted the first two paragraphs of a short story on her blog and invited readers to continue the story, promising to use the best entry in her next blog post.   Somehow,  in between selling shares in people I am somewhat less than bullish on,  purchasing shares in Ms. Fonda and serving an hour on the #SocialEmpire chat room help desk (where I answered a number of questions and helped three new users make their way into our group-- I was surprised that it felt a great deal like when I used to do IRC customer support for Sprynet,  and I genuinely enjoyed it),  I managed to write two paragraphs continuing Shannon's story.   I was one of the last to turn in my entry as it happens and I was totally overjoyed when Shannon declared me the winner around 10pm.  (Shannon has said before that I have good #InternetBodyLanguage and I certainly give her props for her openly declared #heteroflexibility,)

Since Monday proved to be such a #candylandofawesomeness,  I am almost afraid to imagine what extraordinary surprises Tuesday may bring to Empire Avenue and my #SocialEmpire friends.   But however it turns out,  I resolve that I will return to this space and share all the news of everything from #EAvKink to the soon to be officially announced Remarkable Association of Writers Who READ.    Have a great Tuesday!