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Rory Cellan-Jones

Five grand for Sock And Awe

  • Rory Cellan-Jones
  • 19 Dec 08, 16:21 GMT

bush shoeWho says entrepreneurship is dead in the UK? The week began with an . On Monday, a few people traded ideas on Twitter for what might be a good tabloid headline for the story - and came up with "Sock and Awe".

By Tuesday one of those Twitterers - website designer , whose earlier ideas included - had come up with a game and posted it on a website, . Now he has sold the site on eBay for 拢5,215.

The buyer is a company called Fubra, and at first sight they are either mugs or just looking for a bit of cheap publicity. This site may have already attracted more than a million unique visitors but surely it has a very limited shelf life and will soon fade away, along with all those Prescott punching games and other brief internet crazes.

But Fubra have been quick to put adverts on the site, and are claiming they will have made their money back by tomorrow night. A spokeswoman told me that the firm had plans to develop sockandawe and pointed out that another Fubra property, , had continued to prosper - despite predictions that it would founder now that house prices have in fact crashed. (It must be a testament to Fubra's marketing skills that it manages to sell housing finance ads on a site devoted to the folly of investing in property).

So maybe it is Alex Tew who is the mug for selling out so quickly? But then the whole incident restores my faith in the speed and ingenuity of the British tech scene, and British journalists. After all, Silicon Valley didn't come up with a viral Bush shoe game, and the headline in the New York Times was . Not quite "Sock and Awe".

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Genius. I guess this game brings new meaning to the term, "Bushwhacked".

    Anyhoo, do you think Bush got his brogue bypassing skills when he managed to dodge the draft during the Vietnam War?

    I always knew Bush was a bit of pussyfooter.

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)

  • Comment number 2.

    Might be worth finding out, buying shares in, and then publicising the brand of shoes thrown - I suspect "as thrown at the American President" could attract some purchasers!

    Although I do wonder how that would work out if they were a US brand.....

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)

  • Comment number 3.

    I don't get it - am I being thick ??
    What does Sock and Awe mean ?

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)

  • Comment number 4.

    @skyblue

    how can you not get the joke? Its so punny!

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)

  • Comment number 5.

    Questions for the US Secret Service:
    1) Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that shoe?
    2) Or at least the second shoe?

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)

  • Comment number 6.

    House prices haven't crashed yet.

    I don't think any of the regulars at HPC are ready to buy in at current near peak levels.

    I reckon you have some shock and awe coming your way if you think UK house prices have fully crashed - cause some of us think it could be 50%+ from peak.

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)

  • Comment number 7.

    @Guv-nor: [I]Questions for the US Secret Service:
    1) Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that shoe?
    2) Or at least the second shoe?[/I]


    Perhaps because they got the boot? (I'll get my coat.)

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)

  • Comment number 8.

    Yeah, I am impressed with the idea.

    I am also impressed with another enterpeneur friend of mine. He has been thinking of it and on Friday, he launched www.myshoerocks.com

    I think, this new game www.myshoerocks.com is better, it lets you hit Blair and Karzai too. The owners say, they plan to bring in more to this game there.

    Lets see, how this gaming trend comes out :) I think, its fun and it should continue

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  • Comment number 9.

    Quote: (It must be a testament to Fubra's marketing skills that it manages to sell housing finance ads on a site devoted to the folly of investing in property).

    Having made it to the 大象传媒 they will score a few more hits and make a few extra pounds. Their marketing strategy must be working.

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)

  • Comment number 10.

    Rory:
    That is true; a money making way to used his 5 minutes in the media preview!

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 10)

  • Comment number 11.

    hello,After the site to send shoes to Bush, here is a site that allows you to kiss to Obama.



    French TV talking about the new games to make Obama a kiss

    Complain about this comment (Comment number 11)

 

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