Archive for December, 2009

Today marks the start of Hanukkah, a symbolic religious tradition for Jewish families around the world. A candle is lit each night for eight days; A present is shared every day, and they play traditional games.

Other faiths are preparing for the tradition of sharing gifts on each of the 12 days leading up to December. 25th.

Still more are shopping and wrapping presents in preparation for one of the largest single gift opening days of the year; Christmas day.

Gift giving in the holiday season has become a tradition for those with or without religious connection. It seems that retailers start this seasonal “rush to buy”,  earlier every year.  Many  use traditional party activities to distribute these gifts.

All based upon a Tradition of giving…

Even with the recent popularity of virtual gifts, the traditional gift is still a REAL one. The gift card, which has become extremely popular, even carries the promise of something real, rather than a silly image on a computer screen.

Gifts have become an important part of the traditions which support our family and friends during various life milestones or seasons. We take the gift selection, presentation and delivery very serious, because it is part of our traditions.

“Giving gifts to family and friends is a way to show our love for them. Our gifts don’t have to be lavish or expensive. In fact, the best gifts are often simple and inexpensive.” Suggests Writer and Editor Lillie Ammann.

Billions of dollars churn through the world economy as we both give and receive these real expressions of support. We are also aware that this spending is not limited to the final quarter of the year, as the gifting tradition includes many holidays, birthdays, weddings, baby births and more.

The tradition of opening, touching and experiencing a real gift can never be replaced by a virtual item from any social game. Nor will the virtual gift ever find its place within any popular traditions.

PartyWeDo is leading the movement to help social networks facilitate the tradition of sharing real gifts with family and friends. The online party blends a virtual connection for dispersed families, with the convenience of eCommerce and efficient shipping.

This fun gift sharing system will never completely replace the warmth and reward of presenting a gift in person, but it will allow some of the tradition to extend to those who can’t be home for the holidays.

May your season be bright and your hearts full of the tradition of giving…

Thanks to Refinery 29 for the image

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

We are at the leading edge of the online party introduction. Many are asking if something as complex as a traditional party can be transformed into an online application.

THEY ASK:
How do you take a regular group activity and turn it into an online mimic of the real thing?

Further; how do you turn the mimic of a traditional gifting venue into a revenue source for online sales activities?

Let’s look at eBay…

First… Look at what it takes to do a regular off-line sales auction:

The auction requires that many details are completed for a successful sale.
* There is gathering of the items for the sale.
* There is the cataloging and detailing the descriptions of each item.
* There are preparations for storing and then displaying the items for sale.
* There are the bidder lists and the invitations to come for bidding.
* There is the auctioneer who must be scheduled and compensated.
* There are the preparations for the auction ring and the bidding area.
* There are the multiple functions that support the day of the actual sale.
* There is the money exchange between sellers, bidders and the auction house.
* There is the out-bound freight of all the items that are sold.

How could all of these complex traditional activities be translated into an online version of a real auction?

Ask eBay!

Before eBay proved that some very complex tasks could be organized and understood by online bidders and sellers, nobody considered it possible.

Today, do we question if a traditional selling venue, like an auction, could be built and work effectively online?

No… We point to eBay!
Who would have believed in 1995 that the auction niche would become such a powerful force in today’s internet?

Now… Let’s talk about parties…

Let’s look at what it takes to host a party for a group who want to share real gifts:

* There is the scheduling of the date.
* There is the invitation list and the distribution of the invitations.
* There are the gift shopping and wrapping tasks.
* There is organizing and decorating the room for the event.
* There are refreshments and maybe some desert or drinks.
* There might be party favors or prizes that need purchasing.
* There are the party activities to plan and organize.
* There are the welcoming and the other host duties at the event.
* There are introductions; there is crowd control and some small talk.
* There is the gift table to manage.
* There is the clean-up and the thank you notes to send out.

How could all of these complex traditional activities be translated into an online version of a real gift party?

…Get inspiration from eBay… Then proceed to demonstrate that online parties can mimic the same experiences that family and friends enjoy when they gather together to share real gifts.

In 2009 AlbinoPhant is demonstrating what is possible for the gift party niche.
PartyWeDo seeks to leverage the positive experiences of Ebay, Amazon, PayPal, Facebook and others to build a catalog of online party activities to support the gift selling and giving processes.

Moving the traditional party online will take some time to develop, as people learn that it is possible. But eBay has demonstrated that even complex traditional activities can be converted into web success.

There are over 300 million people in the US that purchase or receive gifts several times each year. PartyWeDo is positioned to help many of them buy and pass gifts around in a fun-filled party atmosphere.

Ask eBay if that can be done…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Bruce and Sarah Christensen are new Facebook developers, and they have delivered an online version of the white elephant gift exchange or Yankee Swap for families and friends this holiday season.

The white elephant party is called AlbinoPhant, and the Christensen’s have been testing this online game with their grown children for the past 3-years.

“When our youngest got married and left the nest, we started sharing our gifts through playing this game, and we loved the party atmosphere and fun conversations this allowed us” stated Sarah, the mother of five and grand mother of seven.

The AlbinoPhant party is a mimic of the traditional White Elephant gift swaps that are common among social groups during the holidays. The Facebook game provides real shopping markets from Amazon for selecting and purchasing a gift for the event. Players virtually wrap the image of the selected gift and then the party is ready to start.

“The game is just like the real party in many ways. The gifts are opened on the web page, there is gift stealing among the players and all the fun conversation that a group shares in a standard party”, explained Bruce Christensen.

Like a regular gift exchange, the AlbinoPhant party selects players at random to open gifts and then displays them on a common playing page. There is a comment box which allows players to share banter and poke fun at each other during the activity. There is the option to add YouTube videos and other images into the conversation. All of this is accessed by individuals as they play on their computers, from anywhere in the country.

Sarah continued, “Our family is scattered from New Hampshire to California, so this online party saves all of us the travel cost to attend family events, while still allowing real fun and personal connection with each other”.

The AlbinoPhant party is a Facebook application and takes full advantage of the social networking tools available. The host uses Facebook’s network to send the invitations and then the Facebook sharing system allows party conversations to spill out onto the web.

“We built the application to be as close to the traditional party as possible, so that families and friends would feel comfortable with the game. We use trusted brands, like Amazon and PayPal, and when the party is completed gifts are delivered using standard shipping companies”, added Bruce

This online party is a real gift exchange, so players use ecommerce to purchase the presents for the party. Then after the party is finished, these real gifts are sent out to each player’s doorstep. This party breaks new ground for Facebook, where virtual gifts have been the norm, and adds a new partnership between online retailers and social networks.
AlbinoPhant is now available thru the internet for family and friends to share gifts, steal gifts and banter together just like they have done for years, and McMinnville is this white elephant’s delivery room.

The Facebook application link is: http://apps.facebook.com/albinophant/

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

The social networks can now be used for friendly larceny, with the launch of an online white elephant gift exchange party called AlbinoPhant.

This Facebook application allows family and friends the opportunity to party together in a virtual gift exchange, just like they would if gathered together in one location. They exchange real gifts, share friendly banter and enjoy the holiday spirit, through the online party.

Gift exchange parties are social events that focus on sharing gifts with family and friends and then “stealing” gifts from one another in an organized party game.

www.albinophant.com brings people together to participate in the party on a common game-play page, where wrapped gifts are displayed, opened, stolen and where comments are shared. This application facilitates gift giving among those who would be sharing gifts with each other anyway. AlbinoPhant just provides a fun, conversational and social way to pass out the gifts.

Traditional white elephant parties build lively conversation and great stories around the gifts as they are opened. With the enhanced sharing tools on the web, the online version allows more expressive conversation than ever before. The AlbinoPhant comment stream allows party participants the opportunity to post YouTube videos and images to assist in making the exchange party a real fun game. There are even opportunities to share some of the conversation outside of the party in other social networks, allowing the party atmosphere to spill over in other corners of the web.

The online white elephant party uses a combination of eCommerce and social networking tools to build the party system. AlbinoPhant is a gift purchasing and sharing facilitator, displaying hundreds of Amazon items in level pricing markets for convenient shopping. The host and each party participant use these single pricing markets ($15 to $50) to select gifts for the party. This leveling feature is used to keep the gift spending closer to equal among all of the players, reducing the “big-spender/cheap-skate” issues.

When all of the gifts are virtually wrapped, opened, discussed, stolen and re-stolen, the game ends. The application’s management system then sorts out who gets which real gift and sees that each present is delivered to the correct address.

The online gift exchange is a labor of love by the Christensen family, who are new to Facebook application development. The Christensen’s have tested the online gift swap party with their scattered family members for several years. They hired a team of Facebook developers and other web professionals to take their simple family party exchange and turn it into a fully operational Facebook application. Now they are eager to share this fun exchange, AlbinoPhant, with others.

This holiday season the networks will play host to thousands of gift thieves and promote friendly banter to liven up holiday parties. What is more social than a lively party?

To see press release go to http://myprgenie.com/3333

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

A new Facebook application moves the White Elephant Exchange Party online, with gift sharing and conversation for family and friends this holiday season.

Albinophant is a mimic of the traditional Yankee Swap or White Elephant parties used in social circles in the US and Canada. With this online version, players purchase real gifts, share them, steal gifts from one another, and then the present for each individual is shipped to their door by conventional methods.

The party is hosted on Facebook so friends can easily join and invite others into the gift exchange within the social network platform. Each player uses custom ecommerce markets to shop for a gift, then they virtually wrap their present in preparation for the party to begin.

There is a common game play page in the AlbinoPhant application that acts as the virtual living room where all players gather for the fun. The game play page has a comment area where players banter, share videos and images, all while opening and stealing presents from each other.

The application is remarkably similar to the actions that millions are familiar with in the traditional White Elephant exchanges. But there are extra enhancements that are not possible with the regular event. Players can actually share a part of the party experience on Facebook, with friends not in the party, which expands the fun. In addition, posting YouTube videos in the party allows players to embellish their comments to other players. There is also a gift rating system and player awards built into the actions of the online party.

Hosting a party is simply a matter of joining the application, selecting a time to start and then scouring Facebook for those you want to invite. Explaining the rules is easy and the game allows players from any part of the US to join and share in the fun.

This year the Elephant in the Room has become active and is a party animal on Facebook. So invite your family and friends to join in an online fun party this holiday season.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

White Elephant Gift Exchange parties or Yankee Swaps are the most popular gift-giving parties during the holidays. Millions gather in family rooms and church cultural halls to share gifts, steal from one another and enjoy the social banter during this group game.

Today, AlbinoPhant launches on Facebook as the online mimic of this traditional favorite for family and friends. AlbinoPhant is a partnership between the computer mouse and a well known white elephant party game. This online game allows family and friends from anywhere in the country to party together without leaving home.

The game application combines the massive audience on social networks with the convenience of online shopping from Amazon, into a party atmosphere. Friends and family share gifts with each other while AlbinoPhant gives them a fun way to pass out the presents.

Unlike other simple game applications on Facebook this party shares real gifts, not the virtual gifts that are so commonplace now. All players purchase a gift from special markets, and they virtually wrap their gift and get ready for the party. When all the players have their gifts purchased and wrapped, the game begins

All of the activities develop and are displayed on a common game-play page in the party. Players will find virtually wrapped gifts in the middle of the party room. They will see a display of the other players who are attending. There is a random player selection system and gift rating buttons. And of course, there is gift opening and gift stealing functions to build upon the fun.

Every good party is full of conversation, so the AlbinoPhant experience includes a comment box that allows many fun enhancement opportunities. In addition to the words that flow into the comment stream, there is the capability to include YouTube videos and images to assist players in creating a multimedia conversation.

The white elephant party ends when all the presents have been opened, stolen, rated and discussed. There are awards presented, and finally each gift is ordered and shipped to each of the player’s by conventional methods. There is no clean-up to do and everyone leaves with some great social memories.

This season you can combine your mouse with AlbinoPhant and bring your friends and family into one big party.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists