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　　You may have heard the story by now. In August of 2005, Alex Tew, a 21 year old British student, was trying to think of a way to pay China Car Elevator for his University expenses. He wondered if he could set up a website and sell each of one million 'pixels' (the extremely tiny dots of light that make up your computer's display) for one dollar. He knew that the screen held a million pixels, so he figured if he sold each one for a dollar he'd eventually make a million dollars.

　　At first the going was slow. He sold a few to his brother and some friends. But then a newspaper picked up the story, and then another, and then more media outlets. More and more people were intrigued by this crazy idea, and bought pixels. At first, pixels were bought as a lark, because the typical block was so small (100 pixels, enough space to display the 'e' at the end of this phrase) that you couldn't get any sort of message across, despite the fact that each block has a link on it that can lead to a website. But then a few brave souls bought bigger blocks, enough to convey an advertising message-and things took off! Alex Tew was interviewed by CNN, the Times of London, Fox News. The Wall Street Journal did a piece on him. And all the while the sales kept on coming, from all over the world. By the end of December, 2005, only four months since the idea occurred to him, he had sold 990,000 pixels, just a thousand short of the goal. He decided that since the 'last' 1000 pixels were 'historic', he would sell them through an E-bay auction. An American company bought the last lot for 38,000$, meaning that Alex Tew's whole 'take' from his enterprise was 1,028,000 dollars.

　　Oddly enough to many, at the end of the year Tew 'retired' from the pixel business. He decided that to add another page to sell more advertising would dilute the quality of the original one million pixels.

　　But by that time hundreds of pixel sites had appeared, from all over the world. There were pixel sites in Chinese, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Some just slavishly copied the original gimmick, but some developed new twists on the idea. Pixel sites continue to crop up everywhere, and there is no end in sight to public fascination with them

　　This invites two important questions: Are pixel sites a transitory fad? And: Should YOU advertise on a pixel site? (And perhaps a third question: Should you OWN a pixel site?)

　　There are many answers to the first question. It's beginning to look evident that pixel sites ARE a fad-IF-and this is an important if-they only try to duplicate the original.

　　In August of 2005 it was quite a unique experience to see one screen shot with hundreds of tiny blocks of color, some with recognizable messages, some not-but it's not so unique any more.

　　After all, if a friend called you up and said "Hey, I've got hundreds of little confetti-sized pieces of paper on my living room floor, which are largely advertising for all sorts of products! Would you like to come and see?" you would have to have a pretty dull life to want to take up your friend's offer.

　　However, many people have expended a lot of time and effort to create unique variations on the theme. They have used animation, contests, 3-dimensional effects, optical illusions, and all sorts of gimmicks to refresh the concept. They have discovered that targeting a pixel site to a niche market is usually better than a general interest site.

　　They have found that adding free content which is compelling and useful to many viewers can keep interest in a pixel site fresh, so that Net users return again and again, and advertisers can realize a decent return on their investment.

　　So the best answer to the question "Are Pixel sites a fad?" is "Yes, if they're just a collection of boring static ads. No, if they are imaginative and intriguing enough to capture the attention of their target audience, and if they offer enough free content related to their core interest that people visit them repeatedly.

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