This Empty Social Network is Worth $5 Billion

Here's some inexplicable news for you. An empty social network that doesn't exist, Introbiz, is worth $5 billion on the stock market right now, though its stock is falling. Why? Apparently no one can really say. Introbiz, a "social network" owned by CYNK Technology group, has been gaining on the stock market since mid-June, The Wall Street Journal reports, despite having just one single employee.

Sounds kinda lonely, to be honest.

Introbiz also has a grand total of... 0 assets. Here's how the site describes itself on its website.

Thru our marketplace you may both buy and sell the ability to socially connect to individuals such as celebrities, business owners, and talented IT professionals.

Oh, OK. Definitely. Buying and selling celebs, the standard. What else? That was the only description we could find of the site itself, actually. But here's a bit more of the company's supposed business plan as quoted by the Journal (at the time, the network was called Introbuzz):

Introbuzz plans to be a social network that is also based of (sic) showing the types of people you are connected with and are associated. However, it’s also based on the idea that people should, and will pay to get in touch with people you know. ... We believe that people will pay for introductions that are meaningful.

Instead of paying for a lunch that neither party wants to eat, parties can get down to business knowing that their time has been valued.

Hear that, would-be networkers? Barack Obama doesn't want to eat lunch with you. Unless you maybe pay him. And nobody, not even that one friend of a friend who may be vaguely helpful in your job search, wants to eat a crappy scone in an "informational interview" with you. They want the cash!

If it's even real, Introbiz or buzz or bazz or whatever sounds great for mid-level managers looking to make a quick buck and awful for entry-level people who can't find a job. So it's clearly a perfect match for Wall Street. If it's not real, it may be a pump-and-dump scheme allowing someone to make a lot of cash. Which is also perfect for Wall Street.

Myles Unland over at Business Insider looked into CYNK, noting that the company's value grew a whopping 25,000 percent between June 17 and July 9. Why? Unland is just as mystified as the rest of us are.

An SEC filing, Unland found, lists the single employee Marlon Luis Sanchez. Sanchez is reportedly the "president, CEO, CFO, chief accounting office, treasurer, and director," and also probably the company's caterer, for good measure.

After the company's lack of assets or any compelling business plan was widely reported, everybody jumped to get out of the stock. It started the day up 30 percent. By about 3 p.m., the stock was down 16 percent.

Wall Street though.

Image: Introbiz.com