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The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 12, March 21, 2005, Article 26

WHERE'S GEORGE PROFILED IN FORBES

The March 28, 2005 issue of Forbes magazine has an
article profiling the WheresGeorge.com web site.

"Born during the bubble, Wheresgeorge.com has grown
into a cult for those who follow the money.

Dwayne (Fishbone) Richardson is a "Georger," an avid
devotee of Wheresgeorge.com, a quirky little Web site
that tracks the travels of dirty, cold and otherwise
anonymous cash. He stamps a dollar bill with a message
urging recipients to visit the site to enter the bill's serial
number and whereabouts, then spend it and tap into the
Web site to learn where it pops up next. And next and
next and next.

"I live vicariously through my bills. It's like a message in a
bottle," says Richardson, who admits to dabbling in this
"weird hobby"since 2001.

All told, 2.3 million people have logged 59 million distinct
bills for a total nearing $335 million. (That includes 48 million
singles--and 33,686 old-style $100s.) But 40,000 avid
Georgers keep the Web site alive, spending hours chronicling
their paper's progress and coloring in maps that detail every
zip code "hit." They feed their addiction by traveling to
prearranged gatherings (a good time was had by all at the
New York fest over the President's Day weekend), where
they trade 2-inch-thick stacks of dollar bills to get
Wheresgeorge dollars circulating."

"It still boggles my mind," says tech consultant Hank Eskin,
40, the dollar-obsession site's creator. He started
Wheresgeorge as a hobby in late 1998 and dreamed of
cashing in during the Internet bubble. Didn't happen, but
today Eskin is seen as a "god" by his dollar followers. "It's
sort of an ego trip," he admits."

To read the full article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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