Obama has constantly expressed his love for his Blackberry. He’s said he can’t live without it and how they (the White House) can’t take it away from him. Having hesitated on security grounds, White House officials have finally decided to allow him to keep his Blackberry.
His unofficial endorsement of Blackberry is claimed to be worth between $25 and $50 million. This kind of celebrity endorsement is virtually priceless because it cannot be replicated. Whether we’ll see other endorsements now he’s taken the oath of office (twice) is probably unlikely especially given his strong line on restricting commercial lobbying…
Friday 23 January 2009
Friday 9 January 2009
Facebook 'gifting' and virtual goods
I’ve recently learned that ‘gifting’ on Facebook is creating major revenue, rumoured to be millions of dollars a month. I found this revelation surprising as I’ve never bought any gifts on Facebook unless they were free. I just can’t imagine spending my hard earned cash on something as intangible as virtual gifts on the internet. For many (me included) the idea is downright ludicrous.
As more users join social networking sites, interactions among users within social networking sites have become more bizarre. For example, poking and superpoking are common pastimes on Facebook. Gifting, giving friends virtual gifts on Facebook, has become increasingly popular since it was unveiled in 2007. Initially many thought that the idea wouldn’t catch on because it was too expensive ($1 per gift) and the gifts were virtual, i.e. not real and therefore meaningless to users. But the idea was successful, with people sending friends gifts ranging from the thoughtful (a piece of cake or a cupcake for birthdays) to the ridiculous (kick me post its, handcuffs and toilet rolls).
On the same topic, virtual goods on Second Life is another market creating major revenue (in the billions). I recently read an interesting article all about the Second Life virtual goods industry. People actually spend money on furniture, clothes and food for their avatars (a computer user’s self representation or alter ego) on Second Life. One may mock the concept but somewhere out there, there is a multi-millionaire who has made his/her fortune from the virtual goods industry. The market is estimated to be worth “approximately $1.5 billion and growing rapidly.”
I generally find the idea of a virtual world difficult to fathom, but it’s very real for some. Second Life even has its own home-grown scandals related to the virtual goods industry. An article in BusinessWeek discussed “a program called CopyBot, which lets anyone copy virtual goods without paying for them, got loose on Second Life, angering the folks who have made the place not only their second home but their main business.”
During a recession, one would think that sales of virtual goods would decrease but according to reports, that is not so. “Digital good sales within IMVU are still going strong," said IMVU CEO Cary Rosenzweig. According to an article in Virtual World news, "In IMVU, members buy credits which are then used to buy digital goods. Credit sales are still strong. In fact, so far in October, our growth rates have actually accelerated, whether compared to year ago, or month-to-month. Over 90% of IMVU’s overall revenue is from the sale of virtual credits used to buy digital goods…Because our virtual credit revenue is strong, so is our overall revenue."
As more users join social networking sites, interactions among users within social networking sites have become more bizarre. For example, poking and superpoking are common pastimes on Facebook. Gifting, giving friends virtual gifts on Facebook, has become increasingly popular since it was unveiled in 2007. Initially many thought that the idea wouldn’t catch on because it was too expensive ($1 per gift) and the gifts were virtual, i.e. not real and therefore meaningless to users. But the idea was successful, with people sending friends gifts ranging from the thoughtful (a piece of cake or a cupcake for birthdays) to the ridiculous (kick me post its, handcuffs and toilet rolls).
On the same topic, virtual goods on Second Life is another market creating major revenue (in the billions). I recently read an interesting article all about the Second Life virtual goods industry. People actually spend money on furniture, clothes and food for their avatars (a computer user’s self representation or alter ego) on Second Life. One may mock the concept but somewhere out there, there is a multi-millionaire who has made his/her fortune from the virtual goods industry. The market is estimated to be worth “approximately $1.5 billion and growing rapidly.”
I generally find the idea of a virtual world difficult to fathom, but it’s very real for some. Second Life even has its own home-grown scandals related to the virtual goods industry. An article in BusinessWeek discussed “a program called CopyBot, which lets anyone copy virtual goods without paying for them, got loose on Second Life, angering the folks who have made the place not only their second home but their main business.”
During a recession, one would think that sales of virtual goods would decrease but according to reports, that is not so. “Digital good sales within IMVU are still going strong," said IMVU CEO Cary Rosenzweig. According to an article in Virtual World news, "In IMVU, members buy credits which are then used to buy digital goods. Credit sales are still strong. In fact, so far in October, our growth rates have actually accelerated, whether compared to year ago, or month-to-month. Over 90% of IMVU’s overall revenue is from the sale of virtual credits used to buy digital goods…Because our virtual credit revenue is strong, so is our overall revenue."
Wednesday 7 January 2009
Best Media Predictions of 2009
Lots of column inches being filled with journos reading the runes on what's going to fly or flop tech-wise in 2009. Best predictions share a common theme - reality check. Dennis Howlett fleshes out this theme at great length. John Naughton makes a similar point: the computer is the net, full stop; and simplicity will rule. Wise words for all tech PRs. to bear in mind as we're asked to pitch the latest big thing.
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