Two new sites I am playing with: Osnapz and EmpireAvenue

My Amplify community has recommended two new sites for me to check out, and I thought I would share my thoughts on them with all of you!

Osnapz

Osnapz is a site that measures your footprint on the social web. As you connect your account to the various social sites across the web, you can earn badges and “experience points”. The more experience points and badges you earn, the higher the level you are assigned to on Osnapz.

Right now, they offer badges and points for connecting Twitter, Brightkite, Gowalla, Facebook. Foursquare, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The badges are cute, I will give them that. The idea is a good one. They even give you access to some tracking and stats. I wish they checked a wider variety of sites, but I hear that may be coming in the future.

The idea is to make finding out where people are a bit more fun and interesting. It does do that. I see the site as a way to track my own progress and also to see how others compare in the market of social media geek.

EmpireAvenue

EmpireAvenue is a stock market for people and businesses… but instead of buying real shares, you are buying stock to indicate people or businesses you believe in. As with other “games” of this ilk, you are given currency to purchase stock in other people. You can’t invest in yourself directly.

When you join, you select a name for your stock and set up a profile. (My stock is CLKTHY.) Conenct up with your other sites on the social web (the usual ones… Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and your blog). As you become active in the site and your stocks are traded, your worth grows and your stock price goes up.

Once you have invested in a stock, you can follow how they are doing and whether they are making you money. You can join communities focused on interests you share, brands you believe in, or a location you are interested in.

As you set up your profile, you can attach blog feeds to your profile. BUT, you don’t get credit for the blog until you verify it and at least 5 people verify that your blog exists. This is one thing that EmpireAvenue seems to do very well. While the claiming process isn’t explained well, it does ensure that only real blogs are connected to your profile.

If you are on either of these sites, let me know. I am looking for people to invest in on EmpireAvenue. And, as always, I am looking for your thoughts on the sites. Got a similar site you think I should check out? Share the link!

(EAVB_YRCCXYVDAG is my verification code)