Maura Welch on Social Media

Groupon goes big

If you haven't gotten your Groupon yet...get on board.  

Groupon is so simple and that's what makes it great. Each day you are presented with a daily deal for your city. It's usually something to eat, see or buy and it's offered at an incredibly high discount. For example, $20 for $40 worth of food at a local restaurant. You enter your credit card and wait to see if the offer tips. If a large enough group buys the offer, the group gets the deal, er...Groupon. You print out your Groupon and then bring it to the restaurant or wherever to use it same as cash.

Groupon pockets half the revenue...a fair trade for the enormous number of new customers the offer generates.

I've bought 2 restaurant Groupons so far and most offers are very local.

That is until Thurday the 19th, when we all got the Gap Groupon in the mail - $25 for $50 worth of apparel at the Gap.

 

Social Times is reporting that Groupon sold 441,000 deals, driving $11 million dollars of sales...meaning Groupon could have pocketed $5.5 million.

Groupon had to ramp up server capacity by 5x it's normal level to submit this, its first nationally offered deal. The timing is clear, The Gap just jumpstarted it's Back to School shopping season.

This seems the turning point for group purchasing...look for a lot more of this. The cost savings are incredible for the marketer, relative to running campaigns in print or TV.

Branded Virtual Goods set for explosive growth

This week Viximo and Virtual Greats issued the first major industry report on branded virtual goods, predicting that the branded segment of the virtual goods market will be worth $150 million by 2013, an annual growth rate of 113%.  

Branded virtual goods represent a nascent market, holding less than 1% of the booming virtual goods marketplace.…but the forecast shows the incredible growth to come year over year.

At WeeWorld our passionate userbase of 2 million teens per month, display tremendous purchase intent for branded items. Teens flock to WeeWorld to express themselves through their WeeMee avatars, play games, meet friends and chat in our virtual world. Each and every day they beg us for branded items that can help them reflect their real world affiliations and styles in the virtual space.

How popular are branded items? Here is a glimpse from the report:

"According to WeeWorld, a social game and virtual world with a global audience of more than 36 million registered “WeeMee” avatars, unit sales of Snoop Dogg branded items are 2.5 times higher than the highest selling non-branded, comparably priced item. In addition, sales of Snoop Double Doggs (which fall into the category of branded pets called “Cweetures”) are 5 times higher than the highest selling non-branded pet. Since all WeeMee avatars are created equal and do not feature special functionality (i.e. they are vanity-only items) it is clear that Snoop Dogg’s own brand equity is the driving factor behind the increased desirability for these virtual goods that draw from his likeness."

We're proud to offer a prime destination for brands interested in selling virtual goods. Stay tuned - we've got a lot more to come.

Read more about the report at Virtual Goods News

Sh*t my Dad Says

 Here's another great example of a rising social media meme getting snapped up by old media that will no doubt serve as further inspiration for aspiring writers.

If you've never visited "Shit my Dad Says" I recommend it.

Within moments you'll be laughing out loud and then telling other people about it.

It began as a Twitter feed ... "I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says." Currently at 1.4 million followers.

Then the Twitter feed was posted to Facebook - Number of fans: 929,000

Next came the book deal with the Harper Collins It book label a new popular culture imprint dedicated to entertainment, music, fashion, design, and sports. I believe it came out in May.

And now there is a new TV series starring William Shatner.

I kid you not.

Coming this Fall on CBS.

If only it was unedited and on HBO.

 

And the word of the year is...

Unfriend

The Oxford English dictionary has gone all facebook like the rest of us.

Recent uses of the word I have heard in coversation:
 

"It was so hard! I mean, it was my first unfriending."

"Don't worry. If they really bug you, you can just unfriend them."

Via PSFK and the all-powerful OED

Geeking out with Weezer, virtually

One of the advantages to having a strategic partnership with Tommy Motolla is he'll get you a band to play in your virtual world.

I haven't spent much time on Planet Cazmo, but I love Weezer.

So if I watch geek rock on a virtual world, does that make me an uber geek?

 

Virtual Goods: the game changer

It looks like game dollars are shifting, not shrinking.
 
Video game sales revenue plummets 31 percent

while…
 
Virtual goods sales to hit $1 billion in 2009 as social games pay off big

Teens, Obama and Social Media

I have two teenagers and I work for teens all day at WeeWorld. It's great. Really. 

Why? Because they are interesting, emerging adults that are vocal and engaged - and not just about music, celebrities and fashion. They also are developing their stance on politics, the environment and volunteerism. 

One of the coolest things I worked on last year was helping the WeeWorld community become a place to further the presidential election debate.

All year long WeeWorlders were able to discuss and show their support for their favored candidates through virtual goods and presidential avatars.  More detail here.

The election was historical on so many fronts, not the least of which was how engaged youth and teens were in the process. And on WeeWorld I watched first hand how teen (voters and non-voters alike) found a new voice in the virtual arena.

WeeWorld recently entered this initiative into the Forrester Groundswell Awards. I welcome you to vote or comment on our submission here: http://groundswelldiscussion.com/groundswell/awards2009/detail.php?id=127.

 

Voting closes in early October. If you want to make your voice heard, do it now please!

I'll come clean up front. Like so many others, I worked on the Obama campaign as a volunteer. But the thing I loved most about watching the election unfold on WeeWorld was the way these young adults expressed their views and talked to each other - no matter which candidate they supported. They are the future after all. 

The power of play

For the last two years Lauren Bigelow and I have come to SXSW to speak about virtual worlds. We've talked about 2D vs. 3D worlds. We've talked about how and why virtual worlds do well in spite of the recession. 

And I'm really excited about our proposed topic for 2010. And that's probably because it's got a lot to do with what I love about working in virtual worlds -  social play.

You see, play isn’t just for kids. Studies have revealed that play for all people is a key component of human health and development. 

Stuart Brown wrote a book on the topic this year called "Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul. "

So if you find this topic as interesting as me - vote for my panel at SXSW so we'll have a chance to have a lively discussion about virtual worlds and play and find out the developmental, social and economic factors that are fueling the boom in virtual worlds.

 It's easy to vote!
Register for free here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/users/regist
er and then go here to vote http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/index/
interactive/q:weeworld. 

Thanks!

Brand + virtual goods = authentic social marketing

Lauren Bigelow has authored a great piece in iMedia called How your brand can click with a tough audience.

It nicely sums up guidelines for using virtual goods to connect brands with the booming audiences in virtual worlds.

At WeeWorld we've been working with brands for years to deliver compelling and fun campaigns and we've learned a lot in the process. Fundamentally, it boils down to fun. Use your brand to bring on the fun and the audience will respond and promote it to their friends, amplifying brand loyalty and favorability.

Where we're headed

I've been reading Fred Wilson's blog for a long time. He always provides intelligent, incisive observations and ideas.

He recently gave a talk at Google about why the internet is disruptive, what it's disrupting and where we are likely headed from here. Worth contemplating. Here is the slide show:

Disruption - Final Version

View more presentations from fredwilson.