Million People Page - Blog (Entries tagged as million dollar home page)

Update to Ranking System

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 19:05:00 -0400

Sorry, the movers screen and rankings data is all over the place today because I have tweaked the ranking algorithm so that it takes account of people who have made referral connections.

This is to ensure that the ranking system continues to work as originally intended, i.e. allowing the most connected people to move up the rankings, rather than just the most visually appealing (or unusual!) people who get lots of profile views.

The movers screen and ranking changes should straighten themselves out overnight when they are recalculated.

I think this new algorithm will make the ranking system fairer for those who join as time goes on, as well as emphasising one of the primary aims of the site - letting people discover their 'six degrees of separation'. This way, people can now proactively gain ranking by making connections, as well as by generating profile views.

Google PageRank of 5

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:53:24 -0400

Google has given us a pagerank of 5 - which shows us as an "important, high quality site". Which is even better news for people wanting to advertise their website via their profile.

The ranking system is starting to settle down nicely, with those people with the most referal links (and the most friends visiting their profile) moving up the rankings. In fact, our current number one ranked person moved from lowest to highest ranking in the space of a week by telling all his friends, so if you are on the site and haven't told all your friends yet - do it today!

First milestone reached

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 10:21:00 -0400

We reached our first milestone yesterday - 100 people on the site, from 6 countries. These 100 people represent 100,000 of the worlds internet users, and 650,000 of the people in the world, and we have at least one example of '6 degrees of separation', so we are on track so far!

Thanks to everyone who has helped spread the world so far - there are still 1 billion more internet users out there who have not yet visited the site, so please continue to tell your friends!

Another Alexa Boost

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 23:52:18 -0500

Our traffic rank at Alexa got updated again, and we reached the top 37,000 sites on the internet today!

Alexa Ranking on 23rd March 06

We also said Bonjour to our first French profile this week, and even got a mention on the The Times website technology section, which was pretty exciting.

Thanks to everyone who is spreading the word - please keep it up!

Change of colour for the UK

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:33:05 -0500

To better distinguish between US profiles and UK profiles, I have changed the colour associated with the UK. This is because with over 1/3 of internet users coming from these countries, the homepage needed some more variation. If you want to see more colours on the site - then tell your friends in other countries!

First Spanish profile added yesterday - viva espana!

Tearing up the rankings

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 09:30:46 -0500

Our Alexa ranking has been updated again - not bad for a site which has only been online less than two months... and our daily traffic rank means we are the top 63,000 sites on the internet!

Alexa Traffic Rank on 7th March 2006

Movers and Shakers...

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 13:42:55 -0500

For all you ranking junkies out there, I have added a new page on the site which shows the The Million People Page's biggest movers (up and down) on the site. This page will be updated when the rankings are recalculated each day.

Your change in ranking is also now shown on your profile page, so you can see how much you have moved up or down since the last ranking update.

Remember, your ranking on the site depends on the number of visitors to your profile, so by telling lots of people you are on the site you could be one of the movers and shakers too!

First pixel profiles sold

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 12:21:02 -0500

The pixel pioneers

It was very exciting to login to my email over the weekend and see the first flurry of paypal receipts, plus a heap of emails from friends who think the idea is great. So, the homepage now shows a small pink line in the top left corner representing these pioneers, which you can click to reveal their photos and profiles.

Thanks to everyone for their support so far, and for those of you who have not yet added your profile - I know it is a big decision which photo to use, but the homepage will look much better with you on it! And remember to tell your friends.

Million People Page Launched!

nospam@example.com (Rob and Heidi) — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:47:00 -0500

After nearly a week of frantic keybashing on my Apple Mac in between clients, the Million People Page is finally born! The launch was marked by emailing all the people in my address book and issuing a press release.

The idea is to try and create a unique single page snapshot of the world's internet users and how they are connected. The Million People Page takes the original pixel advertising concept site 'The Million Dollar Homepage' by Alex Tew and adds a unique human twist (because humans are better than adverts).

By adding a photo and your details (which includes a 'favourite website' link for those who want to promote a website) and then emailing everyone you know (telling them your unique Person ID), the site will not only form a unique sample of the world population - the only place you can meet a million people! - but will also track the 6 degrees of separation of all the people on the site and the progress of your email.

So please, please, please, support this by buying a pixel profile for US $2 and then emailing all your friends and urging them to do the same. Or even if you don�t want to add your details, please still tell all the people you know. The result should be really cool, and the site should generate lots of interest, and will potentially be seen by millions of people over the coming years. Forget 15 minutes of fame - this is a minimum 5 years of fame (for you and your favourite website).

Thanks a million!
Rob