Archive for December, 2009

There is a growing feeling that Facebook and other social properties will begin to join forces with online retailers to sell real products on their networks.
In fact when Catharine Taylor asked thought leaders to consider what is ahead for 2010, John Dudley, an editor at Hampden-Sydney College suggested that “At least one major retailer will develop an e-commerce Facebook app that will replace its entire “traditional” e-commerce Web site.

What does this really mean?
Can it mean that retailers will just increase their efforts by beefing up their fan page or throwing up some additional advertising on the walls?

No.. Mr Dudley is suggesting that e-commerce will move an actual sales channel into Facebook. This effort would require that a retailer build a storefront on the Facebook super highway. With a social network based store, users could stop and shop without leaving the Facebook system. They could use their regular profile, their recognized PayPal account and have UPS deliver the goods to their door. They would find shopping and sharing with distant family and friends a seamless experience.

What type of retailer would take that risk?
We suggest that gift merchants are the perfect group for the move toward an e-commerce/Facebook partnership, and here is why:

* Gift giving among family and friends sends about $115 Billion dollars into cash registers every year, in just the US alone.

* The concept of sharing gifts (virtual, at least) in Facebook is not a new concept, so selling real gifts through this space is not a giant leap.

* Facebook users have demonstrated that they want to stay connected and supportive to even the most distant contacts.

* Established affiliate sales systems provide the framework to track and administer the sales efforts.

Adding to this concept of e-commerce on social networks, a year end discussion on advertising trends suggest that; “Social media will provide a new sales channel for establishing product awareness and commercializing brands to better support traditional advertising or text-based ads”.
The keyword in this statement is the mention of a new sales channel, supported by advertising and other internet based tools. The integration of retail sales and online tools will provide the wise e-commerce pioneers with a head start into this emerging opportunity.

Which e-commerce retailer could take advantage of this emerging trend?
Amazon should be on the list, and so should Ebay. But Wal-Mart or Target could make a big move with this effort as well. Then there is Buy.com, Overstock.com and other 2nd tier online retailers, who might be looking for some differentiation from the big dogs in e-commerce.

It might be interesting to explore the possibility that an e-commerce retailer could use an engaging Facebook application to assist in gathering family and friends together to purchase gifts and share with each other.

We really like this idea…!!!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

This the season for the “TOP” lists…
Lists…. Lists….Lists…  Everywhere we turn there is another LIST!

I was interested in a list published by David Berkowitz in the Social Media Insider. It was titled: Ten Ways Social Media Changed Our Thinking in 2009.
His list includes several trends, but I focused on two that are of particular interest to me…

Gifts and Gaming.

David is the Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation at 360i, and he has his hand on the pulse of many growing trends in this space.  His success depends on spotting emerging business concepts, and he has selected Gift Giving and Games for his top 10 list.

David and I agree that these two trends are emerging, but real gifts and traditional games are already merging on social media platforms.  This work is in its infancy, and even David doesn’t really know all that is happening, but the foundations for gift-giving and games as a monetization strategy are being laid.

In the list under Gift-Giving, David discusses the Facebook “Real Gift” application and states; “Today, those goods (gifts) are provided through the Real Gifts application. Tomorrow, it may well be Amazon”.

I am here to say that tomorrow is here now, with the release of a demonstration party called AlbinoPhant.  Each of the real gifts offered in the AlbinoPhant markets are from Amazon.  Today,  any Facebook user can purchase a real gift through Amazon and share it with friends and family using a traditional party game.

Speaking of games:  The post goes on to discuss Games as an exploding social phenomenon and suggests that
“…there’s room for new thinking on what a successful game is”.

The most popular gift-giving game in the real world is the Swap. Gift swap games are used by families and friends to share gifts during important life events . The process to convert successful party games into online social experiences is currently in the demonstration phase. These new online party systems will facilitate the sharing of the real presents in a fun and engaging way that fits within the format of social networks.

Plans are underway to move many more traditional party games into these social networks and to allow families and friends the opportunity to share real gifts with each other, using online merchants like Amazon.

I thank David for his list, and suggest that he is not alone in spotting important trends and advancing the social web.

Thanks to the Burned out Social Worker for the image

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week I plan to be trampled by 14 little feet…
And, I will enjoy every minute of it!

For more than a year I have been working hard to build an online party application that will demonstrate the value of giving real gifts through social networks. We are still working on many bugs and finishing several projects so that it will perform as it should. I have many tasks that remain on the to-do list….

But this week all of my grandchildren will be in our home, and I plan to just lie on the floor and let them crawl all over me.
I will probably get drooled upon, find spit-up in my hair, and be exposed to a dirty diaper or two… Nevertheless, I have looked forward to these days since last summer, when we found that all of our five children and their families would be in Oregon for Christmas.

Even though I really want people to receive the benefits of giving real gifts online; and I know that I could move the process forward right now,  I will neglect, at least for a while, this start-up venture and fill my time with some of the true gifts in my life…

These little people are the best gifts from our great family relationships. The seven wiggling, giggling little people have become more precious to me than anything that the Amazon/AlbinoPhant market could ever display.

The happy faces and joyous sounds will push aside any frustrations that I might be experiencing with a development team who is moving slower than I want.

The happy trampling will remove from my thoughts the need to market this new niche for the internet.

These youngsters will be the focus of my time commitments for the end of week, so the business will have to wait. My gift to my 7 grandchildren will be TIME… (grandma has a tree full of regular presents for them)

Chris Brogan discussed his time commitment for this holiday period, and I respect his choice to put in some extra effort while the “iron is hot”. But for me, I will turn it all off and just lay down in the middle of the floor and enjoy some of the gifts that my life has given me.

This party application is an out-growth of our family relationships. It had its beginnings in a game that we have used to keep us closer; so in some ways my decision to spend time being trampled is demonstration of the importance of our party.

It has been five years since our last family gathering, so will take this time to bond with those I love and enjoy the trampling of 14 little feet…

Merry Christmas.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Americans find a way to enjoy the company of family and friends during the holidays. They share gifts and the go to parties to be with, and to support each other socially.

But is there any money to be made servicing the party goers? Do Americans spend their money to attend parties?

We and American Express agree that the money is there…

And if a research study by the American Express company is any indication, the party spending is very big.

The December American Express Spending & Saving Tracker 2009 reports that, “In addition to spending money on gifts, consumers also plan to spend money on parties related to Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve. More than to-thirds (69%)  plan to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, and 90% of them plan to make purchases related to festivities.

If this study is correct, then about 207,000,000 people will join in some sort of party with family and friends during the holidays. And further math would suggest that 186 million will spend money for something to bring to the party.

There is a lot of Partying going on! And a bunch of money is being spent as well….

Both brick and mortar and online e-tailers benefit from the sales to these festivity participants.  But the online merchants seem to be smiling the brightest this holiday season.  It is a fact that many retailers make or break their year based upon the sales results between Thanksgiving and New Years.  It appears that parties play a big role in fueling their sales.

This same tracking survey showed that 79% of consumers will use the internet as a tool for holiday shopping, with 45% planning to make a purchase online.

So,  it appears that without the party, the holidays may not be all that fun…  at least financially and socially.

The following is a list of popular parties from a Party Planner site.

All of these events pluck some money from the Party Money Tree…

• Anniversary party
• Bar/bat mitzvah
• Birthday party
• Bon voyage party
• Children’s party



• Cocktail party
• Dinner party
• Engagement party
• Family reunions
• First communion and confirmation party
• Fundraisers
• Graduation party
• Holiday party
• Open-house party
• Retirement party
• Social events for business
• Theme party
• Wedding showers

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

We were interviewed for an article in the Conversation Agent blog, written by Valeria Maltoni. She asked why we are building an online party application. Here is my quote:

The tradition of supporting family and friends with gifts does not end when distance separates us. Nether does the desire to have a meaningful conversation with those that we love.

Parties are the traditional gathering point for both conversation and gift-giving among those who desire to support each other on special occasions. When distance interrupts this opportunity to gather, we all feel a loss of personal connection.

We are building this online party application as a demonstration that the tools of the modern web can, at least in some measure, replace the actual party experience with a valuable substitute.

Amazon provides a trusted shopping portal for gift purchasing. PayPal allows for secure payment systems. And AlbinoPhant provides a fun way to gather on Facebook to pass out all the gifts.

That is the “Business” side of why… But on the personal side, it is a much more emotional reasoning.

We love our children… and we want to stay involved in supporting them and their children with gifts. We would love to be at every event and milestone in their lives, but we can’t….   And we shouldn’t be.

Just because they have left the nest, we haven’t lost the strong memories of what it was like to host birthday parties and friend stay-overs, or to watch their excited faces on Christmas morning. The memories are great, but we are still craving to add more…

Distance and time have created a void in the conversation and the banter that was an important part of our family life for many years.  The traditional party experience is now a distant memory, and we just want a little of it back…

We know that we are not alone in our desire to share gifts in a better way than just shipping them off with UPS.  We have now found a way to bridge the distance and build a memory or two at the same time.  We can share gifts and great banter in an online party from any computer.

We have proven that it can be done for the past 3-years in our family, and we want others to have the same experience.

We Built it to Share it…

Give it a try and you will see why we did this…

Thanks to Valeria for her great article and the use of the image.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

We have been suggesting that sharing REAL gifts through social networks is a viable solution for dispersed family and friends. We have even built a demonstration application called AlbinoPhant to prove our point.

Sometimes we feel like our story if falling on deaf-ears; because the idea is so new and unproven…

But we know it can be done and are just waiting for others to agree.

We would like to thank the Reddit users for their absolute proof that a gift exchange can be organized and completed using internet connections.

Antonio Cangiano’s Blog shares the story:  Antonio writes; “Dan McComas (kickme444 on Reddit) came up with a website to collect sign-ups, and put forward a few ground rules for participants. For instance, to cut down on the number of ill-intentioned users (the so called trolls), only users who were already registered with Reddit before November 10, 2009 were allowed to sign-up for the gift exchange.”

Further TechCrunch reported that this Secret Santa style exchange has demonstrated that almost 4500 internet users can exchange personal details (including shipping information) and share over 5000 gifts with other online users.

Now,  these were not virtual gifts…
The Reddit group shared $160,000 in REAL gifts!
They even earned a Guinness World Record for thier efforts.

OK, people…. WE TOLD YOU THIS COULD BE DONE…!!!

We also  suggested that sharing real gifts and using the images to represent the real thing, would work as well… Again the proof of this vision is in the redditgifts.com photo gallery.

We now have proof that an online gift exchange can be hosted, organized, facilitated, and indeed work in social spaces.

PartyWeDo will continue to promote this opportunity for family and friends to share real gifts online, using a fun and engaging traditional party game.  We are confident that the rest of the world will eventually catch up…

Thank you Dan and your Reddit community for proving our point…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

You have been invited to attend an online gift party like no other.

Your host has used a special offer code (1234) to begin a “test-drive” party that allows you to experience a gift exchange without spending any money…

Like a real test drive!

Here are the step by step instructions on how to get the invitation, RSVP, find a gift (virtually), get it wrapped and then join the party.

It is really easy, once you have done it one time!

Step #1 (these screen shots seem to display better in Firefox than on Explorer browsers, sorry)

Step #2

Step #3

Step #4

Step #5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Final Step: HAVE A GREAT TIME.. You are going to love this party!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Hosting a regular party is hard work, but you know what it takes, Right?
Doing an online party is completely new, so you need to learn the ropes before you feel comfortable hosting something for real.

AlbinoPhant is the first of its kind…. A REAL online gift sharing party!

We have provided a way for you to take a “hosting test-drive” and to learn how much like a real party this really is. You can test this system with OFFER CODE 1234.

Here are the steps: Begin by joining the application HERE
Now follow these screen shots and balloon messages to start your test-drive…

Step #1

Step #2

Step #3

Step #4

Step #5

Step #6

Step #7

Step #8

Step #9

Step #10

Step #11

Step #12

Step #13

Step #14

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Party hosting is not for the weak or timid. Successful parties are the result of the extraordinary efforts of a committed host.

For any event to succeed, someone steps up and takes on the responsibility to lead. It is amazing that millions of parties actually happen every month, when we measure the effort it takes.

We appreciate the efforts of the host…

There must be a compelling reason that drives a host to be a host. The fact is, the rewards of completing a successful party must outweigh the work, or parties would never happen. The recognition and gratitude of guests push a host to invest their time and resources.

In the end, we are all grateful to our host for putting out the effort on our behalf.

Parties require many tasks that are not visible to the attendees, but yet are on the checklist of any host.

• Guests see the invitation, but the tasks of collecting of the addresses, designing and printing the cards are invisible. The labeling, the sealing of envelopes, the stamp placement and the delivery to the post office are all completed behind the scenes.

• A guest enjoys the venue and decorations, but misses seeing the reservation process, the running of the streamers and the clean-up of the room.

• The cake and the drinks are enjoyed openly, but bakery visits and the punchbowl filling are hidden from view.

Even with this large checklist, a host moves through these tasks knowing that the finished result will reward them with social capital, or just a sense of accomplishment.

We salute the host and pay tribute to the extra effort it takes to provide the party for us.

At PartyWeDo, we stand ready to assist a host in providing a fun party atmosphere, when they decide to host a party online. We are building applications that will expand the opportunities for hosts and hopefully make their job a bit easier. We want family and friends to find a way to make a party work for them, even when distance stops personal attendance. There is no reason that parties cannot be hosted from any computer in any local.

The advancements in internet tools, partnering with committed and willing hosts, will move parties into a new dimension, and we are happy to assist in the process…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

We live just south of were the Oregon Trail ends at the ocean. The trail and its historic trailblazers represent one of the pioneering achievements in American history.  It speaks to the strength and determination of our predecessors, who sacrificed so much to build the west.

Today we can cover the distance that Lewis and Clark spent a lifetime traversing, in mere hours by plane.  These and other pioneers blazed the trail with guts and brawn and laid the foundations of many of our great western cities.

The pioneering responsibility falls upon those who see something in the distance that has never been reached before. The trails aren’t prepared for pioneers, and the route is never clear.  But nevertheless, the pioneers must trudge on, or discovery fails. The investment of time and resource falls upon those who blaze trails for the future to the benefit of all followers.

There are families in the world for which distance is like a great prairie without a trail, or a forest without a clear path.  They long for a trail to closer relationships and a path that leads to better personal connection.

In many ways the pioneers of social networking have carved a passageway for connecting families, separated by distance.  They blazed a trail that has now become the super-highway of interaction over the great divide. Like all pioneers, the internet explorers used guts, determination and vision to lead the way.

In this fast-pasted world of technology, we sometimes forget to thank the modern Lewis & Clark teams that look beyond today and push forward toward the opportunities just out of normal view.

We can thank Amazon for teaching us to shop in places all over the world… eBay for building the bridge to distant sales opportunities… Google for delivering information for us without boundary…  PayPal for surmounting the many trust issues between strangers…  And, Facebook for carving the roadway between family and friends…

As the pioneers on the new path of internet gift-giving, we take heart that others have endured the tough times and have prepared much of the needed infrastructure for this journey.  We thank the internet pioneers that have made our journey easier.

We stand ready to blaze the trail for better gift-giving over any distance.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists