Posts Tagged ‘Social web’

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

Here are the details, as advertised in a blog titled, Real Debate Wisconsin: “Our Cheddarsphere Christmas this year party will be on Sunday, January the 3rd, from 2pm until whenever at Papa’s Social Club”

So it seems a group of bloggers gather in a bar to socialize and share in a white elephant gift exchange. And they organize and promote the party online. This is a trend that we see developing as a result of great web communication tools.

This group also gathers to make predictions for the future, while watching a football game and discussing politics. It seems like an eclectic combination of activities, but it seems to work for them.

So in the spirit of the Real Debate party… I predict that online social parties will trend upward in 2010, as people learn that combining social web tools with personal gift giving will work on the internet. Further, I see a day when activities to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations and all holidays will find their way into the social networks like Facebook…

We will eventually celebrate using online parties when our team wins a divisional title and the Super Bowl… We will join a party online, when our political candidate gets the vote, and to just play an online white elephant gift party. The future is bright for online parties…. That is what I predict!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists