What is Friendonomics?

Friendonomics is a completely superficial, multiplayer, stock market based game, which allows players to trade "shares" of their friends, just as they would trade shares of a publicly traded corporation. Friendonomics allows groups to create their own virtual market of friends, and then create stock news, analyst ratings, and company profiles, which other members of your group can use to build a portfolio of friends. The main goals of the game would be to have your personal stock achieve the highest value, as well as building a portfolio of friends with the highest value. A tertiary goal would be to hurt your friend's feelings, but I'm a bit of a grumpy misanthrope.

How do you make money?

Valuation of a person's stock will be driven by a few factors. First, would be the overall volume of shares being traded. The laws of supply and demand would push the value of a stock higher, or lower, as more shares change hands. If a lot of people are buying a stock, the value will increase; if people are selling a stock, the value will decrease. A second method would be through the distribution of dividends, which would be paid out if the person were to do something that his or hers friends deem awesome. Third, if a stock has no volume, during a day, the value will decrease, as demand for the stock does not exist. You better do something awesome, and fast!

How do I get started?

It's simple. If you want to create a virtual market, start here. You will be prompted to create a name for your market, up to 8 characters. Once the market is created, you will need to create your profile. You will have the opportunity to choose a ticker symbol that will be unique to you, add an avatar, as well as a testimonial about why people should invest in you. You can change the avatar and testimonial whenever you want, but you can only choose your ticker symbol once, so choose it wisely, no one wants to be stuck with a lame symbol. Once you have created your profile, you can begin inviting your friends to join the virtual marketplace. Copy and paste the link provided for your market into an email, and wait for your friends to join and issue their IPO's.

How do I play?

Once friends have signed up, and issued their IPO, you can begin buying and selling shares of your friends. The key is to buy low, sell high. Along the way, you can access their profile by clicking on their ticker symbol, where you will be able to see the details of their stock (price, volume, analyst ratings, recent transactions), as well as a brief company profile. If the stock looks good, click on the "Buy" button, and begin spending. If you think the stock is overvalued, click the "Sell" button, and secure your profits.

Can I join multiple markets?

Yes. You can participate in as many games as you want, with as many groups of friends as you choose. These markets are all private, and can only be used by your friends in that specific market. So if you are performing well in one market, it won't affect your other markets. Markets cannot be merged at this time... but maybe someday?

How do I create an analyst rating for a stock?

Click on the ticker symbol of the stock you wish to rate. Once you have accessed the profile page, at the bottom will be an analysis section. You must choose one of the following ratings, "Strong Buy," "Buy," "Hold," "Underperform," or "Sell." Then you have the option of listing your reasons for why you rated the stock as you did. Click the "Submit" button, and your rating will be recorded. If you change your mind about a rating, just repeat the process, and your new rating will replace the old one.

How do I nominate someone for a dividend?

On the front page of your market there will be a section called "Weekly Dividends." Here there will be dropdown with all of the stocks available for nomination. Choose the stock you wish to nominate, and type up a brief explanation of why this stock deserves a dividend. The base dividend is $1. After your nomination, other members of the market will have the choice of voting "for" or "against" the dividend. Depending on the vote, a dividend will be paid on Wednesday, every week, based on the net votes for or against. You can only vote once. For example, if the vote is 4 for, and 0 against, a $4 dividend will be paid. If the vote comes out 1 for, and 7 against, a negative dividend will be subtracted from the stock, in this case it would be -$6. Each individual stock is only eligible for one dividend a week, so if someone else already nominated a stock, you'll have to wait until the next Wednesday.

What are all of these charts and graphs?

Friendonomics charts a few market conditions, which will show the progress of your market. On the front page there will be a chart that shows the value of your overall index, think Dow Jones Industrial Average. The bars across the bottom of the graph will show the volume of your market, or the total number of shares traded for the day. The "Movers," and "Losers" charts will show the net gain or loss, of the top stocks in your index over a 30 day period. If your stock appears under the "Loser" heading, you are literally a loser. "Market Activity" shows the 15 most recent transactions in the market, along with the time and date of the transactions. This will alert you to new IPO's, analyst ratings, as well as trading activity. Keep an eye on this information, as it will help you determine when a stock is hot or cold. Finally, at the bottom of the page you will be able to see the 25 most recent trades made in your market. This is another important gauge of the direction of Friendonomic winds.

How can I see my portfolio?

Click on the "myPortfolio" link in the upper right hand corner. Here you will see all of your holdings, as well as the cash you have available for investing. In addition, you will see your most recent 50 transactions.

Wait, this doesn't make any sense?

Dude. Play around, have fun, and if you have a question that hasn't been answered here, email us at friendonomics.net@gmail.com, and we'll try and answer any questions you may have.

Happy trading!