Virtual gifts: People paying real cash for cutesy Web icons
Are they a 'badge of honor' for recipient or just a big rip-off?
Even so, virtual gifts — computer-generated items given and displayed online — are quickly becoming must-haves. And increasingly, people are willing to pay cold, hard, real-life cash to purchase them for friends, family and co-workers.
"For the person who gets the gift, it is like a badge of honor," says Dave Coffey, who tracks online trends for Sapient, a Florida-based marketing company.
Coffey's gotten into the act himself, buying a few $1 gifts on Facebook, a social networking Web site. He purchased a pair of virtual shoes for his wife for her birthday, a can of "whoop-ass" for a friend who got a new job, and a virtual beer to pay a bet he lost to his boss.
They are nothing more than cutesy icons posted in a "gifts" section on a person's profile page, the smiley faces of the 21st century. And like that 1970s icon, they have mass appeal.
Since they were introduced in February, Facebook says its users have purchased more than 24 million of these dollar items, which are sold in limited editions to generate more interest.
Just like the real world, appearance matters in the virtual world. Gifts of digital clothing, accessories, makeup and even digital furnishings for an avatar's virtual home are especially popular. A pair of virtual boots, for instance, might cost $2 or $3 in a world where one could pay $20 or $30 for an intricately designed "skin," an avatar's outer layer.
Jeff Roberts, a New Yorker who is one of about 11 million Second Life "residents," has given SL gift certificates, worth real money, to friends and co-workers.
Their avatars "come back from 'stores' with all sorts of clothing, bling and new hair styles," says Roberts, who heads a commercial radio station in Second Life, known as the Virtual World Radio Network (VWRN).
The ease of giving a virtual gift is definitely part of the attraction, he says.
"A few clicks and it's done. No worries about FedEx or the post office getting it there on time," Roberts says.
Kel Kelly, a businesswoman in suburban Boston, figures she's spent just under $100 on virtual gifts on Facebook. The presents are hip — things like icons of champagne bottles that clients can post on their pages.
"Anyone can send an e-mail that says 'Congratulations on your recent partnership' or whatever," says Kelly, a marketing executive and college lecturer. "It's just a really cool way to stand out."
Recent comments
P.T. Barnum had it right...A fool and his money are soon parted.<...
Wow. | Dec. 10, 2007 at 7:04 p.m.
