Hollywood Stock Exchange
By Karen Feigenbaum
[****1/2 out of *****]
The Hollywood Stock Exchange is one of the most ingenious methods
ever developed to allow end user participation and interactivity with
the entertainment being consumed. The system is one that grants each
user two million "Hollywood dollars ®" to be used to
purchase "shares" in "stocks and bond" of entertainment
product, including films, actors, and music artists. It's the same
concept as that of fantasy sports, but on an infinitely grander scale…one
where an actual trading market is created for these fantasy commodities,
securities, and assets.
This method of buying into movie concepts or artists creates a psychological
"foot in the door" philosophy, wherein the user feels more
bound to the investment product. This consumer is now excited to see
his/her stock rise, and will therefore encourage friends to see particular
movies or listen to specific musical artists. He/she personally will
also have a more anticipatory excitement about upcoming films or albums
that perhaps would not have existed without HSX.
Similarly, the producers of the actual content can now use this consumer
information as a barometer of consumer tastes. A quote from Dan Gebler
of Yahoo! News is prominently displayed on the home page, stating:
"HSX has grown into such a significant online community over
the past several years that Hollywood insiders commonly use it to
gauge public opinion regarding their movie projects."
Dangers do arise in reference to this second half of the benefit
equation:
1) Hollywood producers could go on-line and invest heavily in their
own up-coming product in order to create hype, thus skewing what
appears to be actual public interest.
2) Consumers with
a) access to the Internet, and
b) interest enough in entertainment product to spend the time necessary
to partake in HSX
are a specific niche and probably not a good representation of the
majority of the entertainment-consuming public, again creating skewed
results.
But the site is well put together with a brilliant concept and just
plain fun in which to partake.