Pixelotto you have to be in it to win it …

Alex Tew was an overnight internet sensation with his first idea – The Million Dollar Homepage. Here was a really smart yet cheeky [sales and/or marketing] idea from a UK college student that made him a millionaire at a very young age. Why didn’t I think of it but like all good ideas they are obvious in hindsight. I have since had the pleasure to meet Alex on several occassions as well as to hear him both speak and human beatbox.

On the last occassion at the Internet Peeps meeting in London, Alex hinted at his new idea. “I am going to give a million dollars away!” After his announcement we spoke briefly about the fact that like any new music band, after the initial success of their first album, it is the “second album syndrome” that is hardest and ultimately determines if they live or die – think James Blunt, Dido, Alanis Morrisette or Moby.

Well I said to Alex that I thought he might have the same problem. The expectation on his shoulders to deliver something new, original, totally left field and yet hughly lucartive must have been immense.

Well the wait is over, Alex has now publically announced his new idea – Pixelotto. Sorry Alex but I am totally underwhelmed as its pretty much the same thing again, therefore I won’t link to it and no its not the billion dollar website. If you want to know more about it, I am sure you can Google Alex Tew to find it.

All I will say, the big idea is [drumroll] you pay Alex $2 per pixel this time and then he will announce, someone at the end, one pixel purchaser wins $1m and Alex gets the other!? I guess it might work as there are enough people out there who do the Lottery, so why wouldn’t those same people just give their money to Alex instead play pixelotto?
To some extent I understand why individuals and SMB’s might find it attractive to buy a pixel or two in order to have their logo on the site but why Bebo and Last Minute? So far just under $200,000 dollars has already been generated, so who is going to have the last laugh, I suspect it might be Alex but then again there are 400,000 pixels still to be sold before the human beatbox sings!?

update: unsurprisingly the latest Alex Tew wannabee in the UK has launched “tickettoamillion”

update2: I have now linked to pixelotto and corrected the post as pointed out to me in the comments.  I wish Alex well and will be happy to be proved wrong but for someone who is smart and web savvy I had hoped it was something more original.