Media Post has been discussing the word engagement and Gord Hotchkiss set out to present the two definitions.

Both definitions are tied to a personal connection and commitment to something beyond our own self. To be engaged is several steps past just showing up or just being involved with someone or in something. In fact, the word engagement has become quite a buzz in social media companies. We even have books that focus on how to be more engaged or engaging on the internet.

Our business revolves around party activities, so we ask the question: Can you have an engaging engagement party?

The answer is yes… From the “ring and wedding” perspective, the engagement period can be one of the most engaging times in a couples life. If done right, all the family becomes engaged in the process.

The impact of a wedding announcement is widespread, even though the focus is on a singular event. There are two distinct families to be introduced, connected and finally united.

But even a traditional engagement party leaves some people out in the cold; feeling less engaged in the process. The level of connection is naturally diminished for some family members who live a distance from the bride and groom.

When an engagement party is planned, there are often those who feel left out because they cannot afford to travel for the real party. In this case the distance builds barriers to personal engagement.

The solution to this challenge is to find ways to engage others without the need to travel. The new tools on the internet can help to involve distant relatives and friends at the start of the engagement period, and through to the wedding party. Skype, Facebook and Youtube can all be employed to share some of the exciting steps toward the nuptials.

Weddings create a flurry of party and gift giving opportunities that are used to support and demonstrate love for the couple. Those who live close get the great parties and participate in the fun personal interactions. It is sad that distance is a restriction for some friends during this important life event.

How could the web be employed to make the engagement party more engaging for even the most distant friend?

We have a few ideas…. What about you?

Two powerful families are married for user convenience and for future opportunity.

So far, the wedding has been kept hush hush and is flying under the radar… So don’t expect this to make the front pages of the tabloids anytime soon.

It seems the social media superstar Facebook, with its huge entourage of friends has been secretively matched to Amazon’s world leading product inventory, by a party application developer.

Like most weddings, the focus is on a party, and in this case the party is the center of attention. Gifts for the party are to come from the Amazon side of the isle and the guest list will be handled by Facebook.

E-commerce insiders understand that the Facebook family is a very close-knit bunch and that an arraigned marriage will benefit both sides in this case. Massive gift sales is on the mind of the Amazon group and greater support and conversation is what Facebook members are counting on from this union.

Social media followers feel that the long-term success of this marriage will likely be a result of the party atmosphere in which the two have found common ground. Sociologists have long known that couples who communicate well and share with one another have a better than average chance to find success.

The fact that Amazon will shower the Facebook family with gifts should keep both parties happy, particularly when the Facebook side can see the profits that can be generated through real gift giving. Of course, Amazon is happy to offer gifts to a partner who has so many family members pre-disposed to share with each other.

This marriage is expected to produce several great party applications that will benefit the entire family during birthdays, weddings, baby births and many holidays. The next generation of Facebook applications will benefit from the superior DNA of Amazon and Facebook to build a great experience for the users of social networks.

Look for more details of this story as they develop….

There is a movement afoot to move some commercialization onto this conversational superhighway, and the jury is still out whether it will add to the experience or create a road littered with potholes.

In a recent discussion on the merits of e-commerce stores on the Facebook highway, Shiv Singh, vice president and global social media lead at Razorfish. suggested that, “e-commerce activities should be presented in ways that don’t intrude on the conversational flow of Facebook.”

We agree with Mr. Singh that a social superhighway cluttered with billboards and shopping malls will disrupt the flow. But we believe there is value in providing e-commerce real estate when it enhances the personal interaction and makes the conversation grow.

The discussion focused on a coffee merchandiser who is moving an e-commerce operation onto a Facebook page. Michael Straus, spokesman for the coffee company suggested that they were “looking to integrate its social media strategy with e-commerce”.

It could be augured that coffee shops are a regular landmark along any highway and are also recognized conversational hubs. So coffee shops might be a good idea for Facebook users.

But what other retail shops would make the social road more enjoyable?

Another thought leader was concerned with the idea of selling stuff on Facebook. Mike Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media said, “People aren’t using Facebook right now to buy stuff”. “They use it to talk to friends, see pictures, play games, learn about new products, connect with companies and products that they love.” He suggested that this mindset might eventually change as shopping opportunities become part of the typical Facebook experience.

Direct selling on Facebook is very new, but so far, most agree that the key is to make the activity a part of the conversational format that attracts users to the experience.

We support Mr. Lazerow’s contention that friends, pictures and games are the conversational resources that currently fuel the Facebook engine. We understand that any e-commerce application should be a good fit for the road, or should stay off the highway.

We suggest that gift shops are a good fit and will be common on the social networks in the near future. These e-commerce stores will be stocked games and group activities that will allow real gifts to become a part of the conversation and the support among family and friends.

In that day, the Facebook experience will include established online gift merchants who support the birthdays, weddings, baby births and holidays that are shared by every conversationalist on the road.

The social highways will be full of large motor homes filled with groups enjoying a fun game and some real gifts that they picked up at the roadside gift store.

How do you see e-commerce merging onto Facebook?

Thanks to enchantedhighway.net for the image. (you should visit this place and see the huge metal sculptures)

Gary Hayes has created this dynamic chart that demonstrates the real-time growth in social media. Pay attention to the ratio of virtual product sales and the REAL gift sales on Facebook. Then ask yourself 2 questions…

1. Is there room for growth in selling real gifts in social media?
2. Who is moving the real gift sales in social media forward, besides Facebook?

We watched the chart for 60 seconds and determined that over $10,000 was spent on virtual goods in the same time that less than $140 was spent on real gifts in Facebook.

We realize that this is an apples to pears comparison, because virtual goods encompasses all social media channels and Facebook gifts only measures a portion of a small service on one social network. And the chart does not track all of the real products sold by affiliate links from social sites. But it does show an opportunity for growth, especially when you consider that social media is a virtual mimic of real human interaction and that virtual purchasing mimics real-life  purchases.

Here is the thing you might want to consider… If people gather together in these internet social spaces and spend money on virtual things for each other, why wouldn’t they do the same thing for real gifts?

Think about this comparison:

Let’s assume that you sell me a virtual gift at $1 dollar, as a birthday wish for cousin Earl…
The result: You, Earl and I are all somewhat happy with this small gesture.

Now assume that you could sell me a $25 real gift at a 12.5% profit.
The result: Earl gets something real that he can enjoy beyond his computer screen.  I get the satisfaction that comes with providing some true support to Earl.  And you get $3.12 for facilitating the gift-giving.

Now all we need to do is find a fun way to pass out the real gifts in the social networks…. Any ideas?

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

Hosted on line

McMinnville — 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

AlbinoPhant 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?

She had heard that one niece (Maren) had been exposed to some older Muppet Show episodes at her parents home in Utah.  Jade used a powerful search engine to find this:

(I will bet that many of you will now have this song in your head for several hours… I am singing it in my head as I type…)

Back to the story:

Jade then captured the link and copied into a Facebook message to her brother Barett (the father of Maren). From there, the rest of the family was exposed to a flood of memories. All of this because of a video and a friend network.

This posting, with its fun images and song, opened the gates and out gushed comments from several others in the family.

This flood of memories flowed out of the minds of any of those who watched a silly song about cats…  And the conversation grew!

This is a perfect illustration of why we made sure that the AlbinoPhant, online white elephant gift party had the capability of sharing videos and images among the players.  These tools of the web are so powerful in engaging a group, and breaking the dam that holds back great memories.

The fact that we were all exposed to a couple of minutes of Muppets at our individual homes is impressive. But the resulting conversation on Facebook , from all corners of the country, is a testament to the value of social applications on the internet.

Sooooo, The Cat came back, she didn’t want to roam…  DaDaDa..
…and with this feline film came a flood of memories and conversation.

These are the reasons that our family is sharing AlbinoPhant with you – So that your memories come back and have a fun place to roam!

The question we continue to ask is:  How much more engagement could you yield when you add extra FUN along the way? Would people stay longer or return more often, if a smile came to their face during each visit?

We like to think that transforming a social site into a fun party game, would increase engagement. This is the reason that we are sharing a holiday party that revolves around fun this season.

Volkswagen is also helping us prove this point with a project they have titled the Fun Theory.  Pete Cashmere reported more details on this project for Mashable where he wrote:

Among the experiments: does turning a set of subway stairs into a real-life piano encourage people to use them (answer: yes, 66% more). Another experiment asks whether making a trash can sound like a 50ft-deep well will make people pick up their trash.

Both of these experiments in engagement demonstrate the value of FUN to get people more involved.  More fun does indeed add to more participation.

Volkswagen and their agency have created a very viral video campaign, but they have also helped to demonstrate how online party games will add to regular social engagement. Web users traveling the trails and climbing the stairs of social networks will find themselves more engaged when there is fun involved.

Time will tell whether the AlbinoPhant online white elephant party will prove that fun equals higher engagement in social spaces. But if it does, then many other fun party activities will find their way onto the pages of Facebook, Twitter and the other social sidewalks on which we travel.

Thanks to Volkswagen and their agency DDB Stockholm for these videos and test results. We will share a couple of these for your entertainment and education… Enjoy the extra engagement this video FUN will offer:

The Fun Stairs Experiment
The Deep Trash Can Fun Test

The Facebook Kitchen

The kitchen has always been the gathering spot for friendly and relaxed conversations. You would think that the living room would be the spot for the gathering, but friends generally end up in the kitchen to be closer to the host.

Kaila Colbin wrote an insightful piece for media post this week where she allegorizes that the social web is like these two rooms of a home.

She suggests that a party setting finds friends gravitating to the kitchen rather than the living room.

She also suggests, and we agree, that web interactions are more efficient and effective when we are in the right social room. In other words, if the Kitchen is where your group wants to gather, then you should forget decorating the living room and focus on socializing near the sink!

AlbinoPhant is an online party that relies on the web for its platform and its very existence. It has become apparent to us that our users are in the Facebook kitchen and we need to be pulling up a stool in the middle of the action.

AllFacebook blogger Nick O’Neill suggested that “Facebook is increasingly becoming a place for families” as he wrote about some of the family applications that have also parked in the Facebook kitchen.

The online white elephant gift party is built to join family and friends to share gifts in a social setting. The Facebook cooks have mixed in all the ingredients for these sharing activities for our target audience, so we have chosen to dine at their table.

The fact that Facebook is currently testing gift sales is further evidence to us that our party is sitting in the right room.

Thanks to Willow Decor for the image.

Helping Hands and Minds

In just a few weeks Bruce and Sarah Christensen will be owners of a real Facebook application.  If anything good comes out of this endeavor, much of it will be due to the kindness of strangers.

And through this process, strangers are becoming friends.

There are thousands of applications on social networking sites, owned by people from a variety of backgrounds.

But, I would guess that not many are run by members of the grandparent generation. Further review would find an even smaller list if it included those who have very little technical background.

Without the assistance of many kind strangers, the online white elephant gift application would never have been possible. Therefore, this kindness deserves to take a front row seat at the party.

The magic of kindness is what is remarkable about the new Social Web. Helpful information from expert bloggers and the sharing attitude of technical thought-leaders have allowed even technical outliers to join this “new media” party.

And it was a party that led to this partnership between kind people and willing entrepreneurs in the first place.

The party started with the Christensen family and grew into what you will see this holiday season on Facebook.  But, just because a family can play together, does not mean they can produce an actual Facebook application. It takes skill to make this happen, and Bruce and Sarah do not have all the skills necessary to pull it off.

The Christensen’s skills are; the ability to recognize a need for family connection parties, and some level of creativity. Those skills can only take the project so far. From that foundation must grow a workable application or the party will become a dud. If left to our own devices, I am sure that we would have created an actual white elephant.

That is were the strangers have picked up the ball and have moved the party forward.

I have been so impressed with the kindness and helpfulness that I have found from the social networking and tech community. It has truly been a great exchange of ideas and technical expertise. So it is fitting that this effort is producing an online gift exchange party.

I want to publicly acknowledge all who have assisted in this ongoing process.

Over the next few weeks I will share some of the stories of kindness here on the blog.
But, I wonder who has been kind to you and blessed your individual projects.