Archive for March, 2010

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E cards are everywhere on the internet, but Allfacebook picked a few cleaver cards to display on their blog this week. One of them caught my attention and got me thinking about life in this new century.

It must have captured blog contributor Raj Dash’s thinking as well because he suggested, “… publishers like Someecards get to the heart of the human condition about our social media addictions, especially to Facebook”.

Here is the card that started this →

The modern human condition includes several issues addressed in this statement.

First, we want to be supportive and contribute to the quality of life for of our family and friends. Birthdays and other significant life events lead us to find ways to reach out and be more supportive.

Second, we are moving at a fast pace, so we are continuously exploring ways to trim time out of all of our efforts. When we find a way to become more efficient, we attempt to move some of our tasks into these tools.

Last, Facebook represents an efficiency tool, as well as a bridge spanning great distances. Support for family and friends is enhanced when this internet tool is applied to both local and distant personal connections. We can now feel more involved in the lives of those whom we feel close.

The cleaver statements from Someecards are part of a support structure that the internet is now making more convenient for millions of people. As time goes by, more and more applications will be developed for the sole purpose of spreading friendship and love among people who care for one another. Giving is becoming easier, even when distance keeps us all apart.

We welcome the new sharing tools…. What do you share with friends online?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Nivi and Naval produce a blog called Venture Hacks. They also advise start-ups and have written a book or two. Their advice has been very helpful and I appreciate their responsiveness whenever I have personally reached out for advice.

They posted a suggestion today that I have taken as a personal challenge. They want to know if our company has an aspirational vision for the future. Nivi and Naval illustrated this vision statement process in a “What we aren’t VS what we could be” format.

They gave the example of the Google vision: Google isn’t a search engine. They “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Yes, AlbinoPhant the party game and PartyWeDo the online party developer have a vision… But until now I have not written it down for our readers to review.

I know that you have read our “Cause” in the past, but now we offer our VISION:

AlbinoPhant isn’t a social game, it is a gift distribution system for friends and families.

* A Gift Distribution System wrapped in a mimic of a traditional party game.
* A Gift Distribution System supported by eCommerce giants like Amazon.
* A Gift Distribution System designed for the distance separated gift shoppers.
* A Gift Distribution System positioned to support important life events among close family and friends.
* A Gift Distribution System hosted on the well connected Walls of Facebook.

While we are still in the process of putting all the technical pieces together to demonstrate traction for our party applications, we do see a day when family and friends will rely on us to pass out their gifts in a fun and social way.

I hope to get a bit of feedback on our VISION from our friends at Venture Hacks, and from you…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Share Take a moment and imagine how Target could dominate the U.S. gift market and move ahead of Wal-Mart in the all important gift segment. They could add extra value to the gift shopping and gift distribution process by offering to host the party.

Retailers work very hard to capture and keep customers who are shopping for gifts. They know that they will be back several times a year in an effort to support their family and friends in birthdays, weddings, baby births, holidays and much more. Many stores have started gift registry systems where they give a scanner gun to build a wish list. These computerized registries are used for the convenience of family and friends during the gift selection process. This service is part the of the extra value gift retailers use to keep sales within their store.

What would happen if Target took the gift support business to the next level and attached a complete event center onto every store in their chain? Not only would they provide the gift registry service but they would also provide a place to gather for the party. Both services are extra values provided to capture most of the gift sales to support the millions of family events that happen all year long. They could then throw in some party planning assistance, help with the invitations and provide the games needed to make the party a success…

Do you think that consumers would see the value in shopping for gifts at Target if they received all these extras?

Now imaging that Amazon had the same thought… But instead of getting dressed and driving to the Target store, you shopped and partied right from your home, on the computer. In addition, all of your family and friends could do the same, without having to travel. Amazon would shrink the distance that separates us and would allow everyone to attend these important parties. View the slide show and see if you agree…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Regular readers know that we are obsessed with understanding the U.S. gift giving market.

So you can imagine how excited we are to read that the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch have published the findings of the Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

U.S. consumers will spend over $14 billion on Easter this year, or just over $135.00 per consumer. The 25 to 34-year-olds will spend the most on this holiday at $151.41 each.

The shopping baskets will include food, decorations, candy, cards, clothing, flowers and gifts. But only Food and Clothing will bring in more sales than Gifts!

The average Easter consumer will dish out $21.42 for these gifts, or about 15% of the total spending. And each consumers with a young family indicated that they will spend about $22.71 on gifts alone.

Another statistic that we follow is the amount of gift purchases that are moving online. This research indicates that Easter online sales accounted for 13.1% of the total, just behind traditional specialty gift stores.

We understand that gift giving at Easter is not even the “big-dog” of gifting holidays, but it does demonstrate that gift sales for every holiday is a big business for US retailers…. Heck, even St. Patrick’s Day pulled in $3.44 billion in sales this year!

What also makes us excited is the fact that associated with each of these gift giving holidays are a huge number of family and friend gatherings designed to pass out the presents that have been purchased for the occasion.

Parties and gift giving are partners in making holiday events more social and supportive.

We are betting that many families will find ways to join in the social networks to share gifts during Easter and every other holiday on the calendar. How much are you going to spend this Easter?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Facebook can add value to the gift giving experience when it is used as the network was intended.

Social networks are built to support and connect individuals who care about each other. The real support comes from giving something that has true value to those who are important to us in real life.

This is why we reject Virtual Gifts as gimmickry!

We see virtual gift purchasing as wasted money with little value as a true support mechanism between friends. Virtual items have become moneymaking gimmicks for developers who profit from our desire to connect and support one another, just like we do in the real world.

We suggest that Facebook can better support families and friends in the gift giving process by promoting ways to share real gifts through the network.

Developers and Facebook can monetize the social conversations and add real value by facilitating the purchasing, distribution and delivery of real gifts.

The following slides visually illustrate why Facebook can add value to real gift giving.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Apple seems to understand why I would want to see my grand child’s first steps.

They realize that some tools benefit families in ways that some may find hard to understand. This video demonstrates a young mother’s desire to share an important life step with her own mother and her grandfather.

These new tools and the social internet connectivity are providing continued emotional ties and memories between the generations.

Connecting families to build upon great memories and strengthening ties between the generations is a powerful blessing. Technology that provides a forum for this family connectivity is becoming a social necessities for those separated from those that they love.

Thanks to all the new tools that keep the memories spreading….

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Retailing is all about finding and developing a strong distribution channel and building sustainable sales opportunities through great marketing.

Wal-Mart has conquered the brick and mortar space and is now making great strides on the internet. Their success is built on serving large volumes of individuals with value pricing and convenient locations.

Every day Wal-Mart attracts huge crowds through their strong marketing initiatives, so no one can argue with their ability to build out a strong sales channel…

Then why should Wal-Mart make Facebook a subsidiary sales channel?

To access the huge crowds of potential shoppers within social networks.

15 Slides suggest how to appeal to Facebook users…

Wal-Mart could start by committing to be the gift merchant of the internet. They already sell and distribute a lion’s share of the $150 billion dollar gift business in the US.

With Facebook, Wal-Mart will become the gift supplier for the millions of families and friends who share birthdays, weddings, births, and holidays each year. (They already gather on the network to share everything else).

Facebook would be Wal-Mart’s online gift sales channel, as well as its virtual greeter…

What do you think? Should Wal-Mart call Facebook and make an offer?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists