| Rick Schwartz seems bullish on Florida's | | | | watches itconstantly, as if it were the stock |
| economy. After all, he's the virtual | | | | market. |
| governor. | | | | |
| | | | Schwartz - or should we call him Florida's |
| Schwartz, a Boca Raton resident, recently | | | | governor? - logs on to Weblo far less often. |
| dropped $18,047 to buy the state - and | | | | If youvisit his sites expecting photos of the |
| theaccompanying gubernatorial title - on the | | | | beach and the state flag, you'll be |
| nascent Weblo.com, a parallel e-world where | | | | disappointed. He sayshe's waiting for Weblo |
| virtualownership of every real city, state | | | | to catch on before he develops his profiles. |
| and property is up for sale. So far, there | | | | |
| are 21,500registered users, and almost 7,000 | | | | Schwartz estimates that he has spent $50,000 |
| cities have been sold. | | | | to $70,000 on Weblo. But his friends |
| | | | don'tquestion it, he said, given his success |
| "Monopoly on steroids," says the Montreal | | | | buying domain names. |
| company. | | | | |
| | | | "When you look at the ways you can throw your |
| Except this game is played with real money. | | | | money away, if it's going to the stock |
| Here's how it works: The first person to | | | | marketor going to the casino, you don't have |
| register a property, city or state can pay to | | | | any control over it," he said. "It's strictly |
| be its rightful Weblo owner. If you buy a | | | | a gamble. If it |
| city or state, you're named the virtual mayor | | | | |
| or governor. Any place with an address is up | | | | (Weblo) catches on, stranger things have |
| for grabs: the Eiffel Tower, your old high | | | | happened." |
| school, your neighbor's house. | | | | |
| | | | Weblo's Morrow wouldn't say what percentage |
| A property's initial price is determined by | | | | of the Web site's profiles are profitable, |
| an index that considers its real-life | | | | orwhether the company has turned a profit. |
| population andeconomy, as well as its | | | | But Jameson says he thinks he'll make a 36 |
| potential appeal as a Weblo profile. It's a | | | | percentreturn on his investments ($5,000 or |
| game for the rich and thepoor: Cities sell | | | | $6,000 so far) by the end of the year. |
| for as little as $5, but buying a state will | | | | |
| cost thousands. "You're thinking, '18,000 | | | | Even without the financial element, Weblo |
| U.S. dollars, for real? It's a profile!' " | | | | allures. |
| said Sean Morrow, Weblo's director of | | | | |
| marketing, referring to the sale of Florida. | | | | Like a massive game of Risk, it plays on |
| "But it's a significant return oninvestment." | | | | people's desire for power. "I love to be |
| Schwartz, who's in his 50s, is also the | | | | known as thevirtual mayor of Lake Buena |
| virtual mayor of St. Petersburg, for which he | | | | Vista," said Jameson, "because, as you know, |
| shelled out $11.72. If property owners adhere | | | | Disney owns thattown." |
| to Weblo's game plan, they'll "develop" their | | | | |
| sites with relevant information. Mike | | | | (Want to buy the main offices of the St. |
| Jameson, a Connecticut resident who has | | | | Petersburg Times? Too late. This reporter |
| bought properties throughout Florida, posted | | | | snappedthem up for $2.38, though she'll |
| maps and photos of Disney World to his | | | | entertain offers.) |
| profiles for Lake Buena Vista and | | | | |
| Celebration. He bought Treasure Island, as | | | | Like a memory book, Weblo plays on |
| well, but hasn't done much for its profile. | | | | sentimentality. Suzanne Calpas, a |
| | | | stay-at-home mom in |
| There's a commercial incentive to create a | | | | |
| good site: Weblo shares its ad revenue with | | | | Prince George, British Columbia, bought some |
| siteowners. The more visitors your site | | | | cities in Turkey that she visited on |
| attracts, the more money you'll earn. You can | | | | herhoneymoon. |
| also make money by reselling your site. The | | | | |
| Weblo member who bought Seattle for $40 | | | | And like any other networking site, it plays |
| resold it for $2,000, proving that flipping | | | | on the need for social interaction. "Mostly |
| isn't limited to real property. "Global | | | | it's forfun," said Calpas, 39, who bought |
| domination has never been more fun," the | | | | Pittsburgh for $300 and Lake City for $5. |
| company enthuses on its Web site. | | | | "People send youmessages, you start to |
| | | | develop friendships." |
| Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan | | | | |
| Securities who tracks the video gameindustry, | | | | Jameson, a real estate agent in real life as |
| expressed reservations about the odds of | | | | well as in Weblo Land, thinks he has found |
| making money off Weblo. | | | | onemore use for the site: He has registered |
| | | | dozens of cities in his home state of |
| "You can't sell ads without traffic, and if | | | | Connecticut, andplans to use those profiles |
| they make some schmo responsible for creating | | | | to provide house hunters with information |
| thecontent of Florida, he may do a terrible | | | | about different areas. |
| job, lowering overall traffic," Pachter wrote | | | | |
| in an emailto the St. Petersburg Times. | | | | "When I do listings for houses, I will say, |
| | | | 'I am the virtual mayor of this town,' " he |
| "Unless there is some quality control, | | | | said. |
| consumers will tire quickly of visiting the | | | | |
| site, andadvertisers will lose interest. | | | | Weblo, like Jameson, has big Web-based plans |
| Sounds like a pyramid scheme to me." | | | | for the future. Morrow, the marketing |
| | | | director,said the company is formulating |
| Still, there's a NASDAQ-esque feeling to | | | | plans for a Weblo presidential election, |
| Weblo. The latest buys and the sales data can | | | | probably to be heldjust before the real |
| be setto scroll across the top of your | | | | election next year. |
| computer screen. Jameson, who is 40, says he | | | | |