Originally posted at Pop Quiz, Hotshot! for The York Dispatch.
If you had a hundred fingers and a hundred toes, you might just be able to count all the things I do to while away my time. All of them are relatively useless endeavors, none so useless as CelebDaq.
Offered for free by the BBC, CelebDaq is a fantasy stock exchange based on the number of column inches a particular celebrity receives in the key British newspapers. That means the more controversial the superstar is, the more CelebDaq cash you’ll get.
There’s probably a few hundred celebs listed, mixing a variety of “star types.” You want to invest in royalty? They’re there. Or a former Spice Girl? Yep, they still get coverage now and again. Same goes for latest version of Big Brother (it’s real big in the isles, y’see).
Don’t worry though, savvy American players don’t have to brush up on the latest Brit sensation to be able to play. There’s plenty of good ole’ American sensations available to play — Bruce Willis, Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johansson and even our dear-departed Anna Nicole Smith are listed on the boards. Well, Anna was on the board until her death last week.
How’s it work? After signing up, you get a wad of starting cash. From there, you invest in the celebrities of your choice. Every Friday you’re awarded with dividends. Some people I know (namely fellow PQH! Staffer Peter Mergenthaler) actually day-trade, making every effort to leverage their cash by the end of the week.
I can’t follow entertainment news close enough to do that. Instead, I’m happy to wait until the end of the week for my tidy little pile of pounds (this is a BBC site after all, so there’s no dollars) to reinvest in even more celebrity scandal.
For investing guidance, I try to stop in at my favorite “red top” British tabloids — the Mirror and The Sun.
How am I doing this week? Not so great. I’m listed as being in 28,292nd place. But that doesn’t deter me. I’ve been worse, and I’ve been better. I just gotta keep trying.
Sure CelebDaq is ultimately a pointless activity — all your rewards are in the virtual world — but what else are you going to do with your time? Read a book? Yeah, sure you will.
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