Andrew Chen has a good post that reviews some of the things you need to consider when deciding between a user generated content and first party (in house) model for your virtual goods implementation. I posted some additional thoughts in the comments, but thought I would re-post and expand here.If you are implementing expressive and behavioral (i.e. gifts) goods, the need for some form of UGC is very high. Virtual goods are largely about self expression, personalization, customization. Which means that the more personal and unique anitem is to a person, the more social value it has, which increases...

This post may be a day late with yesterday’s market rebound, however it still doesn’t fully repair the sting from last weeks massive drop. There was certainly questions and buzz at last weeks Virtual Goods Summit on what effect the economy will have on the virtual goods industry. To take a good look at this I broke down what I think the effect will be among the various constituents in the virtual goods economy. Users and Consumers The most important group out of the economy is of course the ones that are actually plopping down cash for virtual items, the end user. If the economy...

 This Friday you can find myself and a good portion of the Viximo team at the Virtual Goods Summit in San Fran.  I’ll be speaking on a panel with a great lineup titled “What Users Want — Branded and User-Generated Virtual Goods.”  You can get a 10% discount by using the discount code “VIXIMO”Last years VG Summit was extremely good and played an integral role in helping me decide to start Viximo.  This year should be even better with everything that has been going on in the space.  Definitely attend if you can, it will be well worth it.  Conference...

Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at Tiecon East (thanks to Raj Bala) with Fred Wilson, Don Dodge, Nabeel Hyatt, and David Cancel. The topic was “Web 2.0, viable business model or bust?” and we spent a lot of time discussing developing business models, current state of funding market, and whether or not we are in a bubble. As with any panel I always think of more things I wish I would have had a chance to say in the panel, but didn’t have time for. Thus I will be writing a few blog posts on it. I wanted to take a chance to write a few blog posts recapping...

Hopefully you were able to grab an RSVP spot to the POPSignal party on May 15th. Over 400 people have RSVP’d in less than 48 hours. We will be opening up limited spots over the next couple weeks, so if you still want to come keep checking out the website for announcements. Also click on over to our Media partner Center Networks to grab a pass code for one of 30 limited spots.

Last Fall I helped organize a party for the tech and startup community called Tech Cocktail. It was an overwhelming success with over 300 people in attendance. Well, I’m at it again, and I’m happy to invite you the POPSignal Party on Thursday May 15th, 6:30 - 9:30pm at Tequila Rain near Fenway. The event is free, to RSVP and event details, please go to http://popsignal.eventbrite.com. POPSignal is aimed at bringing together the local tech community in a fun and informal environment. There is no format, presentations, or speeches. However, there is a free open bar, free...

Everyone knows that the Facebook application gold rush is long over.  Facebook continues to impose restrictions, users have application fatigue, and as a result conversion on distribution methods has fallen through the floor. In fact, if you look at most of the early successes such as Free Gifts, Flixster Movies, and Zombies, their daily active users is on a downward trend. To fight this trend, many of the applications will have to make the transformation from features to destinations themselves. This means that social interaction and relationships are being established within the application...

I can’t even say virtual worlds are the future of social communities, but rather the present. Virtual worlds have proliferated among internet users younger then 18 here in the US and especially internationally. Sites such as Gaia Online, Cyworld, Habbo Hotel, Barbie World, Webkinz, and Club Penguin blow social networks out of the water in terms of user base and engagement among this young demographi. Barbie World alone hit 3 million members within 60 days of launching, and a short 9 months later are at over 10 million. MTV and Nick.com have both committed $100 million to virtual...

It has been quite some time since I have written here. There has been so much that I have wanted to do with this blog that I never seemed to have the proper time to dedicate to it. But as you probably can see I decided to cut it down to the basics. I did a simple redesign that I hope to build off of, transferred to a new server, and am now prepared to start writing about a lot of the exciting things I have been involved with the past 6 months.  The market of online social communities has exploded beyond social networks to virtual worlds, casual games, social games, and MMOG’s.Â...

Bottom line, I’ve really dropped the ball on this blog the last few months. But I have a good excuse…I hope. The truth is that there have been some major, yet exciting, changes going on in my life. I recently left ZoomInfo, where I had been working the past year. I had a great time working with the awesome team at Zoom, but it was time to move on. I’m excited to announce that I am now the founder of a new startup here in Boston. Unfortunately we are in stealth mode right now, so I don’t have much to write about it. But we are building out a team quickly so if you...