I noticed that the sale for the MillionDollarWiki site ended recently, falling woefully short of the reserve price in the process. The highest bid of $10,500 was not what the owner, Graham Langdon, had been hoping for, as he attempted to recoup some of the development costs for his new project, EntreCard.

It’s still possible that the sale may go through at that price, but this incidenet does demonstrate one important thing. Starting a new fad may sometimes be good for a quick buck, but without something of real long term value to give to people, it won’t last long.

How much of the money made from MDW was put back into it (marketing costs etc) I don’t know, but whatever was done, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the fad afloat.

And was it not just a few months ago that the “big boys” were talking MDW up as the must have digital accessory? Ok, so they probably had their affiliate hats on for that one, but it still shows just how wrong anyone can be over something, and that influence doesn’t always correlate with the status of ‘expert’.

If I’d spent $100 on a page there, I’d feel like I’d gotten nothing in return. A few visitors maybe, but nothing on the scale of the idea that sparked it all off, the MillionDollarHomePage (the only one that ever produced any real advertising worth). Even if a resurrection was attempted, the x-factor associated with paid wikis may have already burnt out, with the copy-cat sites that quickly sprung up all over the web.

It’s hard to always know what will be just a fad, and what will stand the test of time. What about EntreCard for example, or (the seemingly already falling) BlogRush? Both have the potential to go the same way as MDW, and be remembered as fads, but both also have / had the potential to make a longer term impact. The progress of EntreCard will be particularly interesting to watch.

It is true that I don’t hold the creation of fads in much esteem. From a financial view point (as long as the money made from it doesn’t get drained elsewhere), it can make sense, but from a development / value point of view, they are all but worthless.

I wonder what the next big fad will be…the only thing I can say with certainty, is that I’m not likely to be its creator! Time will tell whether my longer term approach pays off.

UPDATE: seems the site was sold on to a new owner, I presume for the price bid on SitePoint. I can’t see it being a wise investment at this point in time, but I’d love to see the new owner turn it around!