The Million Dollar Blog
Tuesday 11th October 2005
1/3 way there!
I have now passed the 1/3 of the way mark - wow! Thanks to everyone who has purchased pixels. Curiously, in the past week the site's stats dipped slightly (still very high though - 30-40,000 unique visitors per day), but they now seem to be on the way back up. I think it must be new press articles that are coming out. Infact, check out the newly updated press coverage page that now has loads of links to articles from across the globe.Thankfully, my cold is beginning to clear up and I even went for a 30 minute run around the University campus today which was very uplifting. Nothing beats fresh air. Right, well everything seems to be going well, site is busy, lots of new orders, loads of e-mails as per normal (I'm trying my best to get through them) so I think I'll leave things there, as far as this blog entry goes. Speak to you soon.
Posted by Alex @ 8:35pm
Sunday 9th October 2005
My cold and my thoughts
Oh dear. My cold got worse over the last few days and I've been coughing and spluttering pretty much non-stop. I've been tanked up on cough medicine and paracetamol today, so I'm hoping I can get a proper night's sleep. I was up all night last night, which actually turned out to be quite good - I did some serious brainstorming on some new concepts.I always find late at night is my most creative time. I think possibly it has something to do with the fact that usually at night we'd be dreaming, which is a very creative process itself, and if we're awake, our brains are still in that creative mode, making loads of new connections deep inside our brains. Of course this is me just speculating - I'm no scientist - but to me it makes sense. Food for thought anyway.
The site has been going well - at last count the total was now 320,300 pixels sold. There's also a constant stream of copycat sites appearing, and I understand there are now literally hundreds of them. What have I started!? Is this a new trend in advertising? Personally, I think not. I believe this idea is a one-off that will only really work once. It's only unique the first time. However, there may be some future mileage in this 'pixel advertising' or 'micro-ads' concept in terms of fundraising for charities or other good causes. But of course, only time will tell.
Posted by Alex @ 11:30pm
Thursday 6th October 2005
Video report
Just a quick blog entry, as I keep spluttering onto my screen - I've got a bad cold developing (also known as 'fresher's flu'). Anyway! Another busy day, loads of e-mails/orders/press stuff.Check out this Sky News report, where if you click 'Video: Selling Pixels' you can actually see my talk and stuff... in like, real life, rather than just pixel form (edit: apparently only UK people can view this video, for some reason, sorry guys).
At the time of writing only 1300 pixels off hitting the 300k mark - wow! Things seem to be picking up more each day. 65,000 unique visitors today. Cool. Need to sleep off this cold... catch up soon.
Posted by Alex @ 11:58pm
Wednesday 5th October 2005
More more more
Busy day today: more pixels, more visitors, more e-mails, more publicity, more everything. I have no idea when I will be able to answer all these e-mails. I've never seen anything like it, there's thousands of them - hundreds I've not even opened yet. Sorry again for not replying. Bear with me. Pixel orders are getting through though, Gav is doing a great job as always and the counter is going up.I have been made aware of some people who ordered pixels more than 48 hours ago, and their pixels are still not live on the homepage. If this is the case, firstly, sorry for the delay. Please get in touch again with your pixel info and attach the exact sized image, and please quote your PayPal or 2CheckOut order number. The e-mail system crashed briefly the weekend before last so some may not have got through, although I did my best to chase them up. I guess these are some of the problems of running a site that becomes very popular overnight.
On the whole though, pixels are being uploaded pretty fast, usually less than 24hrs, and Gav's been putting the finishing touches to an automated system that will allow people to order and upload your pixels directly to the site (all we will have to do is quickly moderate uploads before they go live on the homepage). That system will hopefully be online by the end of the week.
The site has remained in Alexa's movers and shakers list for what I think is now the 4th week running, and currently up in 4th place. UK folks may have seen some stories about the site in the press in the past few days and I understand there have been loads of articles appearing in many corners of the world, from Israel to Australia.
I really need to update the press page! Just one of many things on the ever-growing 'to do' list. Infact, if some lovely person out there has some time to research and collate all the press stories into a single page, together with links to respective websites if possible, I would be eternally grateful.
This afternoon I was filmed for a Sky News piece that will go out tomorrow morning (Thursday 6th October) on their 'Sunrise' breakfast news show, and then again throughout the day at various times. Sky News goes out in the UK and Worldwide. Keep an eye out! I may also appear on Five News (UK). I've got a few more press interviews lined up in the coming days, in between everything else, like, er, lectures. These are busy, exciting, and dare I say it: profitable times!
Oh yeah, final thing, the old click tracker page has been re-born as the 'Pixel List' page. For the cynical people, this is not because advertisers on the homepage are not getting good clicks (infact I've got lots of glowing testimonials to add to the site), but because most people wanted direct links to their sites, not tracked ones, so we couldn't track clicks. Apparently there is a way to have direct links and still track clicks, but this won't take into account retrospective clicks, so for the time being the page will just be a big list. Pixel owners, please check your own site's logs/stats to get an idea of how many visitors you're receiving.
Well then... this whole thing is rather surreal. Beer helps. Time for a pint.
Posted by Alex @ 8:56pm
Monday 3rd October 2005
First lecture
Had my first lecture today - funnily enough it was accounting. Here's a [dodgy] picture I took with my phone:
It was nothing too heavy, more of an introduction to what is coming up this term/semester. My second lecture, unfortunately, was one I missed out on (although I'll get the lecture notes tomorrow). I had to take some calls and handle some urgent e-mails. Infact, I've got so many 'urgent' e-mails now I'm not sure what 'urgent' means anymore!
Anyway, smashed through the $250k barrier today - hoorah! A big milestone. Just been out drinking to celebrate... though celebrating in my mind only; I'm still anonymous on campus (no one has said anything), at least for now. Right, time to sleep.
Posted by Alex @ 11:18pm
Sunday 2nd October 2005
Enf of week one
My first week of University is coming to a close, and it's been fun. Met lots of new people, had a good laugh and started to settle in. The real work starts tommorrow: my first lecture is at 10am. Ideally I will get a good night's sleep but there are a few end-of-week parties happening tonight so it may be a late one!The site has continued to grow at a rapid pace this week, with more visitors and orders than ever and at the time of writing, only 700 pixels away from 250,000! It doesn't feel like I'm making real money, more like monoply money. But it is real... US$250k in 38 days is unbelievable. Oh yeah, the site has remained in the top 10 movers and shakers on Alexa for the 3rd week running - I'm now at number 2!
On the admin side of things, I've spoken to an accountant and yes there will be a hefty tax bill but there will still be a significant sum leftover - enough to cover uni, get even more socks, send my parents on holiday and then invest and save the rest. My notepad is packed with lots of new ideas I've been having recently. This site is just the start! There's a lot more to come from me. I don't want to seem like I'm jumping the gun, but I'm excited at what the future holds.
Finally, there have been a few people still doubting whether I'm genuine, if this is a 'scam' etc. Well needless to say this site is totally above-board, I am genuine, and my question would be: what is possibly a 'scam' about my idea? I think people who criticise/slander me should really get their facts straight first. On a lighter note, I've seen some very funny imitation sites that have been great fun to check out. Keep them coming!
Posted by Alex @ 7:24pm
Wednesday 28th Sept 2005
Fresher's week
Hoorah! I've now got an internet connection in my room at Uni, so here is my first blog entry as a fully-fledged student. I'm currently in the thick of fresher's week - been a fun few days so far. Been out every night! Lots of new people, and, er, lots of drinking, it has to be said. I have had a few 'induction' lectures but the real work doesn't start 'til next week. This is me on campus:
Went to the fresher's fayre today where I signed up for a few socities, including the drama society (enjoy a bit of [amateur] acting), the philosophy society (to ponder the big questions of life) and a few others. Going to hook up with some musicians later tonight; I'm big into vocal percussion (beatboxing). Check out this site which I founded a few years ago.
On the site, my man Gav's been doing a great job handling all the pixel orders and enquiries - so some orders maybe uploaded faster than 24hrs, but still please allow upto 48hrs max, as they're still flowing in thick and fast.
I remember posting how the stats have 'gone through the roof' on more than one occasion, but they really have this week - with over 200,000 unique visitors in the last 3 DAYS! 91,000 uniques on Monday alone. Currently 3rd in Alexa's movers and shakers list, and ranked in the top 1000 sites on the internet in terms of pure traffic / visitor numbers.
I'm still facing a huge backlog of e-mails, like 2,000 or something, so I'm afraid it will be a while before I can reply to all of them, but once again thanks for all of your messages and enquiries, and I promise to respond eventually. Also got lots of site updates coming in the next couple of weeks; I know a few pages on the site have some cobwebs that need to be swept away, apart from the homepage of course which I think is looking great!
Posted by Alex @ 7:02pm
Sunday 25th Sept 2005
The big day!
This is it, today I'm off to University. So this is just a quick message to say farewell - for a couple of days at least. I'll get online as soon as I can, but don't worry if you've ordered pixels - I now have a very capable guy in charge of fulfilling your pixel orders (thanks for your hard work Gav!).The site's stats have once again gone through the roof - over 100,000 unique visitors in the last 2 days. UK folks may have seen my story in some of the national press on Saturday (The Sun, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Express - any others?).
It's been a completely amazing and hectic few weeks. Once again, thanks for all your e-mails and support and sorry I've not got back to you yet - please give me time.
Right, I have to finish packing!
Posted by Alex @ 8:04am
Friday 23rd Sept 2005
4am again
The backlog has got the better of me. I must sleep - got press interviews in a few hours time. The total is 108,000 pixels including the backlog, but I won't update the counter at the top until those remaining pixels are actually up.Ok, so for new orders, please allow min 24hrs and max 48hrs for pixels to go live, although I'm getting some people to help out so it may well be quicker. All those waiting for pixels to be uploaded, they will be up later today (Friday) at some point.
Once again sorry for the delays, but please remember I'm human not a machine! Although soon the machine should be taking on some of the extra work :)
Posted by Alex @ 4:03am
Thursday 22nd Sept 2005
This thing...
...has gone completely nuts. I mean, like, absolutely proper nuts. I'm currently working through a massive 30,000 pixel backlog (yes - I've broken through the 100k barrier!) and once that's completed I've got over a thousand e-mails to get through. Plus I've got to get to Uni on Sunday!Yes, I am overwhelmed, but I'm getting those all-important pixel uploads done each day (so keep ordering!), and I'm also organising to have some people I trust to help me out with the site's administration.
So, for the time being at least, please bear with me if you've ordered pixels (allow 24hrs minimum for uploads, max 48hrs). Also, I do read all the messages I receive and I will reply eventually, but please give me time. Oh yeah, aside from staring at this screen all day, I did manage to buy some more socks today, but only some boring ones (part of my mission to never run out at uni).
Right then, back to the pixel factory...
Posted by Alex @ 10:27pm
Wednesday 21st Sept 2005
Pixel avalanche!
Phew. Just finished uploading a whole load of pixels (like, 12,000 or something... I'm losing count). So the total is a whopping 64,500 pixels sold. And there's still more in the queue, like, a few thousand or something. This thing just keeps getting bigger!What's also cool is because I've now sold enough pixels to cover my entire 3 years at university, there's a new story as far as publicity is concerned. Infact UK mag The Register has already done a follow-up article. So expect to see more press articles appearing in the coming days and weeks (and let me know if you see any). I'll do my best to keep the press page up-to-date; sorry it's been neglected so far (also thanks to everyone who's sent in stories and links).
Oh yeah, PayPal enabled my account again, which is good. I'm keeping both payment options open though, so you have the fun of choosing how to buy your pixels. And what a good time to buy pixels it is! There was a bumper harvest this year, and the pixel factory is about to become even more efficient when I get my hands on a new server later this week (dual Xeon for those who know about that sort of thing).
Right then, time for bed - 4am is not a healthy hour to be awake!
Posted by Alex @ 4:15am
Sunday 18th Sept 2005
University and socks: all paid for!
I launched this site 3 weeks ago thinking it was a fairly interesting idea that might well make a bit of cash if I could generate some interest. Well thanks to the awesome power of word-of-mouth, I've now sold enough pixels to cover the entire cost of my forthcoming 3 years at University! Which, if you want the figures, is approx. £20,000 GBP ($37,000 USD). Infact, I've made quite a bit more than that already.At the time of writing, I've actually sold 46,500 pixels (although there are still quite a few in the ever-growing backlog, so the real total is over 50k now). It's quite extraordinary, and I keep saying it, but I can't really believe it. However I am beginning to realise that this is probably not a dream! (They don't last this long, surely, well, apart from lucid dreams?).
Anyway you'll be pleased to know that I've made THE all-important purchase. Check out these little beauties:
What do you think? Personally, I think they kick ass. They only cost £3.00 GBP so I'm not sure if they will be long-lasting, however, I can always buy more pairs. I thought it was more important to get some visually-enticing (and contextually appropriate) socks rather than some indestructable ones made from high-tech spaceman material (not that I could find any of those though!).
In other news, there are quite a few site updates and new features on the way in the next week or two. Keep logged on or join the mailing list to be kept updated. Will hopefully have my PayPal account back online and accepting payments on Monday or Tuesday, although 2CheckOut are coping fine with all the orders, so maybe PayPal won't be my pal for much longer, haha.
A few people have e-mailed me saying things like "I don't think you've sold any pixels" or "you're site is a scam". Deary me. Well, just so we're all clear, I really have sold all the pixels you see on the homepage, for the full price of $1 per pixel. What more do you want me to do? Draw out all the money from my bank account and photograph it? Er, no. As for my site being a scam, well if you think that, then you are probably missing the point entirely. In which case, feel free phone a friend or ask the audience :)
I've got a feeling there is a busy week ahead. Not least because I actually go to university in 7 days time (I can't wait!). Saying I've got a lot of stuff to sort out before then would be an understatement. I mean, c'mon, I gotta buy more socks for a start! Oh yeah, and as some people have been asking, I will indeed be seeing an accountant this week, before the taxman comes knocking.
Have a good week people :)
Posted by Alex @ 11:50pm
Sunday 18th Sept 2005
Backlog cleared!
Woah - just finished clearing a mammoth 12,500 pixel backlog. So you'll notice the total has gone up quite a bit (bit of an understatement). I can't believe it, in just 3 weeks I have made enough money to pay for all 3 years of University! This is unreal. Someone pinch me!I am also knackered. I will do a full blog entry with all the news later on Sunday (you gotta check out my awesome new socks!). I will also try and answer some of the 300+ e-mails sitting in my inbox (sorry to those who've been waiting a while for a reply - bear with me!). But right now, I must sleep.
Goodnight one and all.
Posted by Alex @ 3:15am
Friday 16th Sept 2005
New payment system
Update: I'm now accepting payments via 2CheckOut. You can pay using Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners.Right, time to upload some pixels. I've got a feeling the backlog may grow quicker than I can clear it!
Posted by Alex @ 2:51pm
Friday 16th Sept 2005
Backlog, PayPal and Stats
Just a quick update: there is a 6,000 pixel backlog I'm working through now which should be cleared by the end of the day. There is also now a problem with PayPal: they've limited my account due to so much cash going through it (they probably think I'm an international drugs baron or something).So this sucks, because I currently can't receive any more money at this moment. It will take a couple of days to resolve at least, so right now I'm looking for a reputable alternative as we speak. I hope to have an alternative payment system by the end of the day.
In other news, the site's stats have gone through the roof, to the point where I don't actually know how many people are hitting the site (should get updated figures later today). However, I discovered something pretty amazing: I currently rank 4th on Alexa's list of 'Movers and Shakers' on the whole of the internet, just behind Apple, Chevrolet and NFL! I'm blown away.
Final thing: a lot of people reported slow access to the site yesterday, mainly on the homepage. This should now be much faster as the graphics are now part of one big image, instead of having loads of individual images.
Right, well I'm gonna have some lunch, gonna clear this backlog, sort out a payment system, and later on I want to make the big purchase: the new socks. I'll post a pic tonight or tommorrow. Brace yourselves!
Posted by Alex @ 1:20pm
Wednesday 14th Sept 2005
A little bit overwhelmed!
Folks - sorry I havn't managed to update the blog properly, but things have gotten REALLY hectic! At last count, I've sold over 10,000 pixels today and yesterday alone. The stats are going through the roof, I've got hundreds of e-mails to answer, and for the first time ever in my life, last night I fell asleep AT MY DESK!!I guess you could say I'm slightly overwhelmed, but I'm doing my best. I've got a developer working on an automated database system to make pixel uploads faster, but if you've ordered some and they're not yet not live on the homepage, please bear with me - I've got something like a 4,000 pixel backlog - and although it'd be handy to be a machine, I am limited by human functions, so right now I must sleep!
I will hopefully clear the backlog in the next 24hrs. If you order pixels now, please allow a minimum of 24hrs for them to be uploaded. I will try to make it quicker but please don't worry - you're pixels will become part of the homepage soon. If you are thinking about buying pixels, it is still wise to order early, because then you reserve your position on the homepage - just allow a little more time for your pixels to 'go live'.
Thanks for your patience and support at this busy, exciting time :)
Posted by Alex @ 11:57pm
Monday 12th Sept 2005
Visitor stats and more pixels
Today was the site's busiest ever day: over 35,000 unique visitors and 125,000 page impressions. I think that's pretty good going. At this rate, the site is on course for 1 million uniques in one month. Maybe there is some kind of weird science going on: one million pixels/one million visitors?!Strangely enough, despite being the busiest day in terms of visitor numbers, I only sold 800 pixels today. I say "only" relative to some of last week's pixel-selling madness, but I must not become deluded: to earn 800 bucks in one day is still awesome. I can't deny that being a pixel hustler is the best job I've ever had!
Posted by Alex @ 11:55pm
Sunday 11th Sept 2005
Busy weekend: 2,400 pixels sold
So there's me thinking the weekend would be really slow because everyone would be off chilling out and having fun, and then people still decide to send me money and pixels! Which is absolutely fine by me, by the way :)Now the grand total is a whopping $8,000 - equalling one year's worth of Uni fees and accomodation (as well as my clearing my current overdraft - hoorah!). Well... I can't really believe it. It's amazing how far a simple idea can spread in such a short space of time. The internet is incredible like that. Last time I checked Google, "Million Dollar Homepage" (with quotes) came up with 11,500 results. I think that's pretty solid for a site that's been online for just over 2 weeks.
Visitor stats this weekend were down slightly compared to the megahits of the past week, but the site recieved well over 10,000 unique visitors / 50,000 page impressions on Saturday and over 15,000 uniques / 60,000 page impressions on Sunday (edit: just looked at the site stats monday morning - Sunday was busier than I first thought, had a big link from this blog late in the day).
I can't wait to see how things progress this coming week. The other day I heard from Christine Zheng, who's made a bet and is set to lose $200 - which she will spend on my pixels - if I reach more than $12,000 by the end of September. I've got a feeling she may lose her bet - things just seem to be gathering more and more pace. Sorry, Christine :)
Some people are wondering what's in it for the advertisers who buy pixels on the homepage. I think there are lots of benefits: click throughs, brand/site awareness, association with an interesting/novel idea, and the kudos of 'owning a piece of internet history' all being ones that spring to mind. I'm sure a professor of marketing could explain the sublte intricacies of the concept better than me, but I think most people can see where the value is.
And don't forget! The site will be online for at least 5 YEARS, and in all likelihoods, even longer. It's in my interests to keep it online for as long as possible. Sure, the visitor numbers will likely fall after the initial spike of interest - although that itself could last a few months - but I believe people will be checking the site for years to come, and a small investment now will seem like a bargain down the line.
It's all about thinking long term :)
Posted by Alex @ 10:58pm
Friday 9th Sept 2005
Another busy day: 1,900 pixels sold
Another day with lots of pixels, not much sleep and quite a few PayPal notifications arriving in my inbox. Sold another 1,900 pieces of internet history to be precise, bringing the total income so far to $5,600. So this thing really seems to be happening!I must be honest, there have been some surreal moments in the last few days, and I've been half expecting to wake up and find myself lying face-down on the rock-hard mattress of financial sorrow. But I havn't woken up yet, so I'll continue to live the dream, man!
It just seems so mad to be getting REAL money for what effectively involves uploading little images to a server. Saying that though, it has been non-stop: pixel uploads, site tweaks, e-mails, phone calls and occasionally time to eat and get outside for some fresh air (as in, a few quick gasps).
The big link of the day was from Digg.com - where my site has become one of the week's most 'digged' links. Awesome. I've also had some time today to browse some of the blogs and news portals that feature my site, and it's been great fun to see all the different comments and opinions people have about the site (and there is a whole mix, but generally they are positive and encouraging).
And finally, a few imitators have begun to appear on the web already - and I am flattered. Really, I am! (Check the FAQ for a full response.) Anyway, I'm wondering how things will go this weekend; I guess everyone likes to chill out and get away from their computer screens after a long week. That includes me, but there are pixels to be sold, I leave for uni in 2 weeks!
Have a great weekend, whatever you are up to :)
Posted by Alex @ 11:59pm
Thursday 8th Sept 2005
Wow! It's kicked off: 2,500 pixels sold today
Today things really moved up a gear. I've absolutely, definitely got enough for some swanky new socks: $2500 in the bank today. It's been quite crazy - I was always hoping it would kick off like this, but never quite knew if it would. I could probably buy the best socks in the world now! (any pointers!?)So it all started when I woke up early this morning (after about 3 hours sleep) and found out some more press coverage had been published, in particular, an article on the IT news site, The Register.
The site coped well with an average of around 2,000 unique visitors per hour, every hour, all day long. It was worth upgrading the server. I'm pretty sure the visitor stats will keep rising, too.
On the homepage itself, it's been interesting to see what different types of sites have been buying up the pixels. There's a whole range: from ink cartridges to earphones on offer. And what's great is that everyone has been getting loads of clicks.
It's still early days and I've got to say I'm amazed at the response/feedback I've been getting. Big thanks goes out to everyone who's e-mailed in, and sorry if I've not got back to you yet - got quite a few to get through. The majority of people I've heard from like the idea of the site, although I've got to say it's quite entertaining to hear from a few people who still don't get it!
Oh, and I've updated the FAQ too.
Posted by Alex @ 11:40pm
Wednesday 7th Sept 2005
No pixels, but media interest
Strangely enough, just like last week, I have sold no pixels on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Perhaps there is some sort of UN-sanctioned mid-week pixel embargo I don't know about. Hmmm.Anyway, there is good news! I've been speaking to various members of the UK press today and a couple of articles have appeared. I'm keeping a list of all the press coverage I get on the brand new, ever-so-cleverly-titled 'Press' page. Got some more media stuff happening tommorrow so keep an eye on there in the coming days.
Some other site-related stuff: new faster server is online to handle increasing traffic; have now got a mailing list so you can stay updated by e-mail, and finally, a click-tracking page is online so you can see how many clicks you are getting, or missing out on, depending on whether you bought any pixels ;)
Posted by Alex @ 11:59pm
Monday 5th Sept 2005
Server upgrade, 100 pixels sold
Another 100 pixels sold today, so I'm beginning to think that everyone will just buy 100 pixel blocks. But it's probably too early days to tell (maybe Great Big Huge Company Inc. will buy a load of them in one go?). Also today I had the server upgraded in order to handle the increasing amount of traffic the site is getting. The word is definitely getting out! However, I am not. I need fresh air.Posted by Alex @ 10:16pm
Sunday 4th Sept 2005
Sold! 100 more pixels + site improvements
Another 100 pixels sold, which I think is not bad for a day's work. Also today I've been working on some site improvements which I'll add in the coming few days, stuff like a big page to list all the advertisers, a newsletter for people to get updates by e-mail, and a page of million dollar banners for people to link back to the site. Any more ideas? Let me knowAn interesting fact is that each link on the homepage is currently averaging over 100 clicks per day, which is pretty damn good I think. That number will probably go up too, as more people hear about the site. Imagine how many people will click those pixels over the coming months and years. Sure, I guess people are clicking out of curiosity but it makes for interesting web surfing!
Posted by Alex @ 11:28pm
Saturday 3rd Sept 2005
Sold! 100 pixels
Sold another 100 pixels today. So that's my first 1000 pixels sold! Wow. Selling pixels is great fun. Getting some good feedback too: I think *most* people are liking the idea. True, pretty much everyone has said I'm a nutcase but I think I can live with that.Still havn't heard back from any journalists, so I'm guessing they don't work on the weekends! But anyway, I've been working on a press release today, which will go out on Monday. That should hopefully be more effective than just e-mailing people. Oh, and I went for a 6 mile run earlier. Knackered.
Posted by Alex @ 11:50pm
Friday 2nd Sept 2005
Sold! 400 pixels
Today I've managed to rope my brother into buying 400 pixels. He runs a go-karting company here in the UK and I convinced him that it would be worth buying some. Infact he says he knew I would constantly pester him about it, and is just getting the invetiable out of the way early on. Fair enough!On the press front, I'm currently waiting to hear back from some media/press people I've contacted. Fingers crossed. Anyway, it's been a good week so far: $900 in the bank! Far more than I expected, and definitely enough to buy some swanky new socks for uni.
Posted by Alex @ 2:52pm
Thursday 1st Sept 2005
Sold! 100 pixels
After a couple of days of wondering if 400 was the final number of pixels I was going to sell in my short-lived pixel hustling career, today I sold another 100 of the little things!Just yesterday a friend of mine was saying it would be worth selling a few more pixels before telling the press about the site, so this is good - I have a few more pixels. Perhaps the idea isn't so crazy after all? Anyway, I'm gonna make some calls/send some e-mails and see if I can generate some press interest. Wish me luck!
Posted by Alex @ 10:28pm
Monday 29th Aug 2005
First pixels sold: 400 of them!
Wow! Today I sold my first pixels: 400 of them. That's $400. The easiest money I've ever made!Basically, I spent the entire weekend e-mailing [pestering] everybody I know, telling them to check out the site, to tell me what they think of it, and more importantly, to tell their rich friends. So, despite most people thinking I was nutcase, a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend (who runs an online music site) decided it was worth a punt and bought a 20x20 square on the homepage. Awesome.
Posted by Alex @ 8:40pm
Friday 26th Aug 2005
The Million Dollar Homepage is launched
So I had this little idea the other day. I was trying to think of interesting ways to make some cash before going to Uni (which is in about a month's time) and somehow this crazy thought entered my head: I'll try and make a million dollars, by selling 1,000,000 pixels, for $1 each.And so 'The Million Dollar Homepage' is born...
I thought, this could be something crazy enough to work! Because I think people like crazy/quirky ideas. If this captures people's imaginations and people check out the site, then the pixels on the homepage will have value - and people will buy them (to display their ads etc). That's the theory anyway. The way I see it though: I've got nothing to lose by trying. And I'm sure it'll be fun.
So anyway, I've spent the last few days building the site, registering the domain name, and working out a plan. I love making plans. And here is the result. Check out the freshly made FAQ for all the answers you'll ever need, and don't hesitate to buy some pixels!
Posted by Alex @ 4:24pm
