Sales & Branding
Benchmark 2003
American City Business Journals
(news from 41 Business publications around the country)
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Tech Life: Developer not cashing in on money-tracing Web site
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08/20/2001 15:25 PM
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| By Patricia Resende |
There’s a new way to search for cash for tech savvy people, and it isn’t by knocking on a venture capitalist’s door.
Hank Eskin, a native of Philly who has transformed himself into a Bostonian, has launched www.wheresgeorge.com, a site that allows users to register their lucre and track its movement across the world.
Never mind the age-old idea of sending a message in a bottle. This is the high-tech version.
Eskin, a freelance Web developer who worked for Dailyjolt.com (before they downsized from 15 to four people), said the idea to develop the site just “popped in my head” after reading a message written on a dollar bill that said “if you write this on 10 dollar bills, you will have good fortune.”
Eskin didn’t write the message on 10 separate bills, but he had good fortune anyway.
His site has gained major popularity, with more than 10,000 visitors a day and 1,200 new users each day.
Users must register their bills, whether it’s George Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, or Lincoln, according to year, serial number or denomination. Bills must be issued in 1963 or later. Word has it that Florida has the highest ranking of participation. (Is that what people spend their time doing in the retirement state?)
After registering the buck, or fin, or C-note, users can track its adventure. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Major drawback — its useless unless the holder of the bill also participates. It’s a great way to make someone obsess and visit your site to see how far the buck can really reach, but there isn’t any scheme or money making at this site.
Eskin said it’s the million dollar question, how can you make a profit with this site, especially with the reputation of banner ads.
The short answer: “There’s no profit to be made.”
Eskin sells T-shirts and license plate holders on the site and the sales generate a break-even revenue stream for him.
The bottom line, said Eskin, is there really wasn’t any plan to profit from the site in the first place. “At the time I was doing client-server development and it was a way to learn Web technology,” he said.
The freelancer never thought the site would be as popular as it is today.
Asked if he plans to use the user identification information Eskin said: “No, users appreciate that I’m not exploiting them and that it’s a grassroots (site).”
But good Fortune has stalled for Eskin, who is looking for work along with hundreds in Web development. It will take either a boost in the economy — or Eskin writing those 10 messages — before the market turns in Eskin’s favor.
Tech Life will send its own George Washington on an adventure, and will keep tabs on the registered bill.
Speaking of sites, a site for Boston women has recently launched. There were problems during its first week due to power outages, but it’s now up and running. It was launched by the Women’s Statewide Legislative Network (WSLN), a grassroots, woman-led organization “committed to achieving economic justice for all women and girls in Massachusetts.”
The Web site, www.communitywomen.com, has everything from a featured women of the month, to a virtual Rolodex of sources. The site also has gone back to age old way of business, with a setup under which you can barter for space, services and training. In other words, “I’ll scratch your back, if you’ll scratch mine.”
The site is a revamp of Boston Women’s Web or BostonWomen.com, which originally launched in February, 1996, funded by Beeline Internet Resources.
Last January Beeline’s Boston Women’s Web team met to consider the site’s future. It was do or die. The women decided it was do and created Community Women.
Members already on the list include: WITI Boston, (Women in Technology International); Center for Women and Enterprise; and DigitalEve. The main prerequisite for becoming a member besides being female is being a Massachusetts nonprofit.
Patricia Resende reports on Web development and e-commerce. She can be reached at tresende@masshightech.com.
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