I first found this page last fall when I was taking an Advertising on the Internet course. The page was just starting to develop and Alex was making his rounds on talk shows, interviews and everything else. I actually picked up on it through a link on kottke.org.

The site has since exploded into a phenomenon with pixel ad spin-offs in every direction. It seemed unheard of for a young guy like Alex to start up his own site and have it explode with such ease and promotional savvy, but, as I have read on his blog recently, this isn’t his first start up. He was also a founder of HumanBeatBox.com, which just means he knew what he was getting into in starting up Million Dollar Homepage.

Controversy has erupted online about the involvement of his PR guru, Imal. He posted in his blog to clear up some of the questions:

So here’s the deal. I had already made over $400,000 when Imal contacted me in mid-October 2005. She suggested I write a book about my experience, but I declined (I was too busy). However, I made one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made. I hired Imal to help me maximise the attention my site was receiving and help create even more interest. And she did exactly that, and much more. Imal is more than just a publicist. She is a PR guru. She works incredibly hard, she has great ideas and she knows the world of public relations inside-out. Drop her a line and you will discover those things for yourself: imalwagner@gmail.com

The criticism stems from people saying that this was all a PR stunt orchestrated by Imal to make the site a success and not really put Alex into college as his original site suggested. Regardless of her involvement, the site has put itself on the map with the buzz it generated. I am definitely jealous. If I had used my own webspace more effectively, I could be the one with a million pre-tax in the bank, an eBook deal, and a spin off site in pixelotto.

Update: an article in The Washington Post that talks about couples working from home and brings up Imal Wagner and her husband. It seems her site is no longer working although ImalWagner.com pops up on Google.

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The earlier post about the age of the average gamer got me thinking, so I did some research over at the Entertainment Software Association site. They have up the top 10 industry facts.

3. The average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.

4. The average age of the most frequent game buyer is 40 years old. In 2006, 93 percent of computer game buyers and 83 percent of console game buyers were over the age of 18.

In addition, for those of you that may think that all of these gamers are composed of only single, white males who still live in the basement…

7. Thirty-five percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. Further, 80 percent of gamer parents say they play video games with their kids. Sixty-six percent feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.

8. Thirty-eight percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%).

9. In 2005, 25 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.

Would the average age of the gamer increasing be the reasoning behind success for more M-rated mature title with more violence? I would guess R-rated movies probably get better turnout than their G counterparts when it comes to 33 year olds.

(more…)

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I was looking forward to Bullet Witch when it was first announced–even before I had a 360. It looks like the hype was undeserved. IGN brings it in at a meager 4.0 rating with only 6 levels and horrible AI.

At least the videos are pretty even if it looks like it is a pain to control.

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