Dave McClure is a business venture explorer who blogs about start-ups and invests money to help them succeed.

He wrote an open letter discussing the gap that Facebook and Twitter leave in the social fabric of the internet.

His discussion involves the problem of intimacy in social networks and describes what each of these social giants do right and wrong.

Many internet participants feel the same gap when it comes time to have personal discussions with tight-knit groups of family or friends on Facebook.

But there was one statement that really caught my attention in his rant… “Intimate relationships that might just monetize more powerfully with 3 close friends, than they do with 300 acquaintances.”

We spend billions of dollars to support our most intimate relationships. We don’t spend any money gathering the wall posts of thousands of Facebook “friends”. We share fun and personal connections with those we are really close with, not with an avatar who befriended us.

In a world of hopeful monetization networks, we know that the online party is the perfect place to spend time sharing the intimate feelings and support that only happens between true friends.

We at AlbinoPhant are letting the world know that they can share great relationships and fun gifts from any distance using internet-based social game rooms. White elephant gift parties can be hosted and played online, just like they are in the real living rooms and church basements around the country.

Louis Gray shares cutting edge trends he finds on the internet. Today he shared a new feature from Brizzly.com that allows family and friend groups a chance to have private (or public) chats together.

Louis suggests that the result is “a fun free-flowing environment to chat with friends, family and colleagues without fear of the content going public”…

As I read of the features that are a part of the new Picnic system, I am struck by how similar this is to our Banter Box on the AlbinoPhant game play page.

From the Brizzly site:
“You can do what you’ve been doing on other social networks – sharing links, posting photos & videos, making jokes, having conversations – but with specific groups of people”. “You can also upload photos from your computer and take photos with your computer’s webcam. Link to a video from YouTube or Vimeo and we’ll embed it so it’s playable right inside the picnic”.

Brizzly’s Picnic and AlbinoPhant’s “Banter Box” have the same features that add to the conversation between close family and friends.

The online party process in AlbinoPhant and the Brizzly chat system approach groups from different directions. Brizzly is a reader that works with Twitter and Facebook. AlbinoPhant and other PartyWeDo events are gift distribution parties that use the banter and sharing features to enhance the gift giving experience for the group. Both systems enhance the networking potential of a specific group. Each service adds to the fun free-flowing chat that develops when people of a like mind get together.

We take our hat off to Brizzly for joining the party!

I got a tip from Itamar Kestenbaum, a social media expert, that Twitter was being used to send real gifts between users.

Mashable ran the story of five Twitter applications that provide ways to share real gifts through network connections.

As I looked over the report, I was struck with the very limited gift selections. We would hope that selections might increase over time, or maybe the author was just looking at a sampling of the gift offers and they really do have more items on the shelves.

To illustrate what I am saying, here are some of the quotes from the article, where a product was mentioned:

“Love Hearts and strawberry lip gloss the current most popular items…”
“…if you’re looking to send a Twitter contact a Whoopee cushion, or a badge that reads “boob inspector” then this is your new go-to place”.
“…with books and movies catering to any get-well soon scenario, flowers and food great for thank yous, and comedy tees”.
“…mostly cookies and a few geek-themed phone cases and jewelry”.
“…as well as some sexy underwear”.

As I examined these sites, I found them to be mostly a way around getting the delivery address directly from the user.

Whatever the case, we appreciate the trend toward actual gift commerce coming from social networks. We know that Facebook, Twitter and other networks can facilitate the sharing of real items and will eventually be the go-to locations for gift giving.

We are happy to be involved in the leading edge of this emerging market.

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Facebook, Twitter and Buzz need to help social media make money…

This economy is making one thing abundantly clear…

The web needs money to survive!

And this money must come from some type of sustainable payment system. Free is a great price for consumers, but it fails to pay the bills for a business, even on the internet.

In the last week I have received two emails from the internet CEO’s explaining why they must now charge for a service that was once free. Both listed current economic realities as the reason for making the change.

I am OK with this news, because I accept that everything on the web cannot be free. In addition, I don’t believe that advertising should be called upon to subsidize all of these social networks.

The idea of a free web or some type of payment system is being debated in many internet circles, and particularly as it applies to the traditional news networks. Nielsen just completed some research as to what consumers would actually pay for on the web. The results indicate that consumers are more than willing to let advertisers pay for the free use of news stories, yet they will pay for some things.

The bright spot for those who believe that you get what you pay for, is that the survey found that internet users expect to pay for movies, music, and games. So it appears that we all will pay to be entertained in the internet.

And users spend more time on sites like Facebook to share, videos, images and games; so it appears that Facebook can provide a springboard for this entertainment-paying economy.

The fact that Facebook is already monetizing with advertising and virtual goods from games and other entertainment applications reinforces the survey results… A Free platform, with Paid entertainment venues builds a great partnership.

Online party games are well positioned to be able to find a sustainable monetization structure within these social networks. Parties that offer an opportunity to purchase a real gift will benefit from the proven economy of eCommerce from the likes of Amazon or Ebay.

Time will tell if the public will begin to pay for many of the services provided on the web. But current trends and public opinion point to some great opportunities in a few niches.

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….

This idea is rooted in the belief that the internet is a tool that runs without emotion. It is hardware and software, not warmth and compassion. The human element must be combined with these tools in order to create something that is of real value.

A virtual hug is a cheap disappointment, and we want to put human warmth into these social networks that are now connecting us. We want real hugs by real people, and we want REAL gifts not just virtual fluff…

This virtual mumbo jumbo started when developers decided that applications on Facebook and other networks should offer everything for free. They started allowing free virtual hugs and gifts as a replacement for the real thing. We don’t believe that this free stuff is worth a dime, and many are beginning to join our thinking.

Amber Nasland blogs at Altitude, and she added to the “free” discussion in a recent post when she said: “But just because free is everywhere doesn’t mean that free is a given. Nor does it mean that free is always better. (Though I will say I’m all about Free Hug )”

If you did not take the time to watch the video that she posted (I share it again here) then you may have thought that Amber was promoting “virtual-hugging”. But the “Free Hugs” displayed in this short clip involve real people embracing; there is not one virtual hug in the lot!

These real hugs required some investment in resources and emotion, by real people. They were “purchased” by personal effort, not by a quick click of a mouse. Likewise, real gifts speak warmth, thought and love. These can not be replaced by sending someone a silly virtual flower in Facebook…

Real hugs, even among strangers, leave a good impression and are appreciated more deeply because they are created by a human action.

Mitch Joel discussed the problem with not making a personal investment in things during a discussion he titled, The Problem with Free: “When you pay for something, you appreciate it more than when you get it for free”. Then he quoted motivational speaker Mike Lipkin’s favorite onstage line: “I would do this for free, but I am going to make you pay for it so that you appreciate what you’re getting.”

We again state that the only way that supportive gift giving on Facebook works is if a user can buy a REAL gift and then use the social tools to make the gift presentation memorable and engaging.

It is our believe that a virtual party can facilitate this process in a way that will make giving memorable and provide important feedback. It is this tradition of joining together in one purpose that has made real gift giving such a valuable part of personal support.

Freely giving of ones substance results in the same warmth and feeling as a real hug…

You are free to comment.

Sarah and I braved the crowds in one retailer yesterday for just two items. It was an experience that I can add to my been-there-done-that list! After a 3am start with the lines at the store and in the parking lot… I want to be one of the cool-kids who shop online.

That experience is why I agree with the Marketing Charts blog survey; that online gift shopping is cool.

The survey reports that “85% of web-shoppers say that the primary reason for shopping online is still time savings.” In fact, “last year was the first year that the web surpassed the store as the preferred way for multi-channel shoppers to purchase holiday gifts.”

As the gift purchasing public continues to shift toward the convenience and variety of the ecommerce world, the social networks will play a larger roll. Combining the “Cool” of the networks, like Facebook and Twitter with the trend of online shopping, should create great retail opportunities in the future.

The marketing study found that “social networking sites will influence shopping behavior for 37% of online shoppers vs. 24% last year.” These numbers would indicate that by adding the friend to friend influence of social networks and hot-links out to retailers, the cool-crowd of online shoppers will continue to expand.

As the trend toward online gift purchasing grows, so does the list of gift-selling facilitators. Entrepreneurs are building applications that allow social networking friends to influence others into the online buying experience. A growing group of links between Amazon, Facebook and PayPal are allowing developers to facilitate these purchasing interactions between friends.

The new mimics of traditional off-line activities like gift parties are providing ways for the network of friends to make shopping online even more fun.

So in 2009 the cool kids are moving the rest of us toward the convenience of online gift shopping. Combine this pressure, with the growing number of businesses that want to assist us to make the move, and 2010 looks hot for online gift sales.

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

This year you can take the friendly thievery online with a new Facebook application called AlbinoPhant, the online white elephant party. www.albinophant.com is a mimic of the traditional gift exchange party in many ways, and in some ways, it breaks new ground.

Participants receive several benefits from all the stealing that goes on in these parties by provide the opportunity to socialize and to share gifts with each other. The online version also provides the sharing of real gifts, the stealing of the gifts and great conversation on a special game play page.

With the enhanced sharing tools on the web, the online version allows more expressive conversation than ever before. A steady stream of AlbinoPhant comments allows party participants the opportunity to post YouTube videos and images to assist in participating in the fun. 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.

These social events are some of the most popular gathering and gift-giving activities in the US and Canada. The challenge with the traditional format is that all the participants need to attend in one place to make the party work. With the online party, anyone can be a participant in the event as long as they have access to an Internet connection.

The AlbinoPhant gift exchange is a labor of love by the Christensen family. They have used the online gift swap to stay connected with their scattered family members for several years. Sarah Christensen, a mother of five and grandmother of seven shares her love of the game by commenting, “When our youngest left home three years ago, we missed our family gift exchange party so much we started doing our exchange online.” And Bruce Christensen added this comment, “We visited more in 19-days while we were playing than we do all year, because of this party”. Their entire family loves this game and is thrilled to share it with others at this time.

The Christensen’s hired a team of Facebook developers and other web professionals to take their simple family party and turn it into a fully operational Facebook application. Now they want to share it with others.

So go ahead and break the 8th Commandment without guilt… Join in the fun by stealing gifts in a white elephant gift exchange, by playing AlbinoPhant, online this year. There are no confessions necessary!

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!

• Elephants live an average of 70 years, but some go into the 80′s.

• According to the NY Times;  Lin Wang, originally from Myanmar, died at the age of 86. They reported that this was the oldest elephant as of 2003.

• There is a report out of Taiwan that there was mail elephant, Plai Aek, who at 89 is thought to be the oldest elephant father in the world…

• There are ancient relatives of the modern elephant that date back 60 Million years.

That’s Google’s story and I’m sticken to it…