Bragster is the latest must-use social networking site… Well, no, it isn’t. Allow me to explain what it is and then you might see why…
Bragster is a social networking site (based in London) that allows friends to make bets and dares with each other. However, these dares and bets aren’t for money, no siree, they’re for (god-i-can’t-belive-i’m-typing-this) “Brag-Bucks”. Yes thats right, if you win the dare/bet then you win Brag-Bucks (which can be exchanged for prizes). The website allows you to browse a plethora of knuckle-headed dares and ‘krazee’ bets and then get in on the action. Its sort of like bet fair but for keg-chugging jockish types.
Example bets include… “I bet I can run 100 metres in 20 seconds with 10 layers of clothes on”, “I bet that I can eat 10 McDonald’s Cheeseburgers in 40 minutes”, “I dare -insert friends name here- to kiss a stranger on the lips” and so on.
Video, audio and pictures can all be up loaded as proof of stunt completion.
So this really is the Web 2.0 answer to Jackass (you know where Jonny Knoxville et chums injured themselves for money/glory/shits and giggles). Is it a good idea? Probably not: with stunts such as “I bet I can juggle lit firelighters” its only a matter of time before Bragster is embroiled in legal action. But then what do I know – this week Bragster secured £3.5million of venture capital from none other than Intel.
File under ‘Federally Mandated Apocalyptic Herald of the Week”
I think we’ll see several niche YouTubes popping up, each around a different subject, each with their own credit system. Some of them will disappear, a few will be successful; some are going to end in tears.
I think Bragster’s likely to fit into the last two categories.
Oh.
My.
F**ing
Deity or other spiritual entity of choice.
I suppose that this proves the adage, “no-one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of their audience.”
In this case, the audience is the desperate-to-hook-up-with-the-kids-without-looking-like-a-playground-paedo Intel.
The jokes on you. Bragster is still going strong, with several highly active members like myself!
[...] while ago… more than a year, I wrote a loosely barbed post about what I percieved to be a a foolish web 2.0 enterprise named Bragster wherein people set [...]