Virtual gifts are the "IN* thing....

[Xstatic1]

ohhhh gawdddd! who would have thunk? :laugh:

CHICAGO - You don't wrap these presents in a box. You can't wear them, play with them or show them off, at least not in the real world.

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.

Elsewhere online, including virtual world sites such as Second Life, Utherverse and Stardoll, people can give gift certificates so their friends' avatars, or online personalities, can shop at "malls" on the sites.

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.

Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22083798/

 

[Goosemaster]

"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.

:laugh:

 

[halik]

NO FUCKING WAY PEOPLE SPEND MONEY ON THAT

Absolute horseshit, $20 bucks worth of gifts says this is nothing but hype

 

[Xstatic1]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

"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.

:laugh:

that's the funniest sentence of the entire article!

Originally posted by: halik
NO FUCKING WAY PEOPLE SPEND MONEY ON THAT

Absolute horseshit, $20 bucks worth of gifts says this is nothing but hype

my guess is ppl are buying into the hype.

 

[Goosemaster]

sh!t though...making $24 million out of thin air and leaving the idiots satisfied...fvking brilliant

 

[effee]

I wish I thought of that

 

[Corporate Thug]

yeah, i'd rather have a real gift

 

[darkswordsman17]

But look at all the people who pay for ringtones and other crap for their cell phones (and these same people lose their phones seemingly every other weekend). People today don't seem to fully understand the concept of value (look at how products today are mass produced cheap crap).

 

[KaOTiK]

Thats a bit crazy, spending cash for something you cant even use. Though I guess I can't speak too much, for Christmas I am buying my friend 1200g for WoW and a subscription to a beer of the month club. But at least in his defense he has been playing since it first came out and it is the only game he plays.

 

[ColdFusion718]

I don't know anyone who actually paid for those "gifts." It's just retarded. Great idea if you own facebook though.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

My friend's ex-girlfriend's co-worker used to buy her those Facebook $1 gifts - I suppose he thought they impressed her?

 

[0roo0roo]

eh, i prefer to give the gift of the "human fund"

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Stupidity FTL.