Posts Tagged ‘party games’

The holidays have ended and most of the predictions have been published. We now start the process of measuring the results and doing comparisons. We list the winners and the losers, the business gains or losses, and start analyzing what caused it all to turn out the way it did.

There is one measurement that I have been interested in this year:

How did Facebook do?
Particularly; how did this social network do in the most social period of the year; Christmas?

Well, according to Allfacebook, the season was bright for Facebook this Christmas. Not only did they end the year with great user growth, but they claimed the title of the most visited site on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and beat the mighty Google…

Why did a network that connects people from remote locations do so well on these two days?  I believe that there is connection between the holiday based upon sharing and our human tendency to reach out to those we love during important life events.

Millions entered Facebook on those two days because they wanted to share in the lives of friends and family. They craved an opportunity to reclaim an old memory or to add a new one. They believed that others would be there, and they joined them in a virtual gathering place, as a substitute for real human contact.  If you can’t be together in person, then a virtual meet-up is a viable substitute.

This technology is a gift, and it is understandable that on the two most gift-focused days of the year, we would open this network and share in the experience with others.

I have long believed that Facebook is similar to a traditional Christmas party, where the host has a huge address book and owns an enormous hall for gathering people together. Once invited to this party, a guest finds a group of friends, family or acquaintances and begins one of many conversations.

There are loosely organized activities that facilitate interaction between the participants. There are tables set-up around the hall displaying various board games that appeal to many interests. There are name tags and scrapbooks to assist in doing introductions or starting discussions.

This huge Christmas party has a grasious host who allows almost anyone to enter the hall and enjoy the event.

There is one thing missing from the party…

It is the thing that drives retail sales in the 4th quarter of every year. It is what we measure much of US retail sales against.

It is the gifts….

Facebook has the party atmosphere and facilities set-up pretty well, but the gifts are missing.

It could be argued that they have a huge gift system, and they do… But they are virtual gifts… They aren’t real.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the real world gathers in homes and halls to share real gifts to demonstrate real support and love. Real Christmas parties involve gifts that can be  felt, both physically and emotionally.

Facebook did win the key-stroke measurement contest on Christmas Eve and Day,  but they missed the opportunity to pass out of the presents.

How could that be fixed?

Thanks to The List for the image

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

I just completed a quick educational study in social gaming scams. I still don’t understand all the many nuances of the scheme, but it doesn’t sound right to me.

At one time, I wanted our online party application to be considered a social game, but now I am rethinking the association.

From now on, AlbinoPhant is not a social game, but is a Gift Sales Facilitator.

This title is not nearly as catchy as social game, yet it does describes what we do… Maybe we should have an acronym in the title, like GSF party game…

The fact is that we have a great deal of social features in our party game. So we could be considered a social game. There are multiple players joining in a game, and there is a comment stream with shared videos and images on the game play page….   But, we are NOT a game using offer-scams. We are a party game, with REAL gifts to offer. Yes, real gifts that are purchased in eCommerce and shipped directly to each players door.

The stories of these social game scam bother me, and I want no part of the association…

My first introduction to this issue was in an Andrew Chen blog post titled: Are social gaming offers scamming users? A detailed analysis of Techcrunch’s Scamville article.
Andrew’s discussion led me to a link back to the originator of this apparent firestorm, Michael Arrington of Techcrunch. I read Michael’s post and concluded that for sure, don’t want to be called a social game.

This “offers” business seems like a grab for money in an industry that has challenges finding monetizing solutions. Frankly, I am sad to hear that gaming customers are being treated badly and that legitimate advertisers are being drug through the dirt by these negative associations.

So here is how a Gift Sales Facilitator/GSF party game works:

* First, you recognize that people are sharing gifts (real gifts not virtual mumbo jumbo) with each other during the holidays and at events all year long.

* Next, you find the most common party activity that groups use to socialize and share these gifts with each other.

* Finally, you build an application that facilitates the sale of the gifts, and provides a fun way to pass the gifts around in an online party game.

Mix those 3 components into a social network platform and you get a gift sales facilitator on Facebook…

I wish that I could have used the descriptive title of a Social Game. It might be easier to market than breaking new ground. But I choose to distance our White Elephant Party and future products from the mud-slinging, and just pioneer a new category:

I also realize that there is a bunch of money flowing through the Offers model.  But when I look at how many birthday, wedding, graduation and holiday gifts are purchase every year, I say…. Let me facilitate some of that honest and profitable action.

For now just call us a Gift Sales Facilitator or maybe a GSF party game.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

If you’re hosting a white elephant gift exchange party, why not consider planning some extra games to make your event even more fun? Particularly if your guests don’t all know each other, or don’t see each other very often, some sort of ice-breaker game can be a really good way to get rid of any initial shyness or awkwardness. It will get your guests talking and laughing, and into the party mood.

A Yankee Swap or gift exchange party is about so much more than just the presents. More often than not, it’s an opportunity for friends and family to all get together in one room and share banter and laughter, and the best way for that to happen is to ensure that all your guests feel relaxed, comfortable… oh, and know each others names!

You could try out a traditional getting-to-know-you game, if your guests aren’t already familiar with who’s who at your white elephant party. A simple one is to make all the introductions and then play the “Blanket Game” or a variation of it. A blanket is held up between two randomly selected guests, and when the blanket drops, the first person to correctly identify the other wins. You can be sure your guests will be on first name terms in no time!

Or, for a bit more fun and the opportunity for you all to find out interesting and funny things about each other, you could play the Autograph Bingo game, where everyone is given a bingo card listing several different and interesting facts, and has to go around the room trying to find people matching those facts. It’s a great way to get people to mingle, and leads to hilarity as everyone finds out funny facts about everyone else!

There are lots of ice-breaker games out there. With a little planning, you can ensure that your white elephant event gets off to a great start, so that by the time you’re ready to play the gift exchange, all your guests will already be in the swing of things! Have fun!

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Princess Phant
Daughter of the King of Burma
Caretaker of the AlbinoPhant Parties