The original Million Dollar Homepage from 2005 wasn’t just ambitious - it was absurd. One pixel for one dollar? A website with an oddly specific title and purpose? The goal of a million dollars? The novelty of it all quickly captured the attention of people, and soon, the press. In under a year, every single one of those outrageously expensive ad slots were sold, and Alex Tew - just a student at the time - walked away a millionaire.
Hundreds of spectators decided they weren’t going to miss out on an opportunity to make a bunch of money fast and easy. So-called “pixel ad” websites began popping up everywhere. They would change a few things up, in an attempt to recreate the novelty which drove the original to success. One such website called itself the ten-thousand dollar homepage. Another tried to sell a single pixel for a million dollars. None were successful.
The idea of permanently selling previously worthless ad-space at a high price for a high profit had already been done. Despite their efforts, these copy-cat websites were not original enough and did not capture people’s attention.
Is the idea of a bunch of 3D rendered rectangles enough to capture people’s attention? I don’t think so.
The “Million Dollar Metropolis” is not even close to a sequel. It’s the latest in a long series of failed get-rich-quick schemes.
And as long as I’ve captured your attention with this comment, consider leaving a donation with the link in my bio.