Filed under: Web, Social Networking
Despite the pervasiveness of social networking, some observers still decry sites like Facebook and Twitter as promoting impersonal and intangible relationships. One entrepreneur in Michigan, though, is aiming to add a physical aspect to social networking by implementing a micro-land grab in Detroit.
According to NPR, Detroit real estate developer Jerry Paffendorf recently purchased a vacant lot for $500 at a property auction, and then divided the land into 10,000 purchasable square-inch plots. The plots, which each cost $1, have all been sold to a total of almost 600 mini-landowners, or “inchvestors.” Of his plan to introduce a virtual yet palpable online “Sim” community to a struggling Detroit, Paffendorf said he wants to “build this wild social network of people that’s literally built out of the dirt and the ground.” As befits a real estate sale, plot owners can do what they will with their square-inch estates. (One has considered installing a mailbox.)
Continue reading Detroit Developer Spurs Tangible ‘SimCity’ Land Rush
Detroit Developer Spurs Tangible ‘SimCity’ Land Rush originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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