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Archive for January, 2009

Jan 27

200+ Youth-Oriented Virtual Worlds Planned or Live

The real world economy may be in the doldrums, but that sure isn’t the case for the virtual world. Last week, Virtual Worlds Management reported that venture capitalists poured an astonishing $594 million into virtual world-related companies in 2008. While it’s true that much of this took place before the market meltdown, Q408 still saw $101 million in funding, a strong sign that this is a market sector that just won’t quit.

Q1 and Q3 saw the bulk of the funding, and as more and more youth worlds came to market over the course of the year, Virtual Worlds Management believes spectators worried that the space was overcrowded. But Offerpal and many others continue to see it as a sector ripe for opportunity, and it looks like venture capitalists are still interested, because this week there’s more good news out of Virtual Worlds Management. Its updated Youth Worlds Analysis report shows that more than 200 youth-oriented worlds are now live, planned, or in active development.

For us, the most compelling aspect of the report is that the majority of virtual worlds are monetizing their user base with a combination of revenue streams, mixing subscriptions, advertising, and virtual goods sales. Of these, microtransactions and subscriptions are the most popular, with 59 and 57 worlds using them respectively. Another 46 worlds include advertising in their mix.

More details of the report will be revealed at the Engage! Expo taking place March 10-11, 2009, where Offerpal’s CEO Anu Shukla will be moderating an exciting panel of social publishers.

Jan 22

Offerpal Media Named AlwaysOn OnMedia 100 Winner

onmedia-100-2009-badgeWe are pleased to announce that today Offerpal was named to AlwaysOn’s OnMedia 100, a distinguished list of the top private, emerging technology companies in the advertising, publishing, marketing, branding and public relations spaces.

Not only that, but we were actually named as the category winner in the “Technology Enablers” group.

Winners were selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team based on demonstration of growth, market opportunity, quality of innovation and customer traction.

“The 2009 OnMedia 100 companies have demonstrated their tenacity even in the toughest economic conditions that the technology world has ever encountered,” said Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. “We applaud their success in pushing the boundaries of innovation, creating market opportunities and transforming the industry even in the earlier stages of their businesses.”

Jan 15

Offerpal is now on the iPhone

apple-iphoneYesterday, we announced our latest initiative–a platform for iPhone applications. This is extremely exciting news for Offerpal and we’re looking forward to providing our publisher partners with the same kinds of revenue-generating opportunities we’re offering on social networks and other web publishers. We got a couple of really nice write ups in MobileCrunch and InsideSocialGames, as well as a few others.

We are now in beta and seeking interested developers to join the program. Our iPhone platform figures to be every bit as easy to use as our Web-based product, with a full-service, turnkey solution that provides the same kinds of robust features we’re known for, including:

  • 2,000+ advertising offers – dynamically rotated for targeting and relevancy
  • Real-time optimization – to maximize publisher revenues and ensure high lead quality
  • Customer support – available 24/7 to handle users’ questions and issues
  • Web-based reporting – allowing publishers to track their revenues and activities in real-time
  • Account management – personalized service to help optimize revenues from every angle


To join the program, developers should contact us by emailing info@offerpal.com with the subject line “iPhone Developer.”

Jan 9

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MySpace devJam on Application Monetization

myspace-developers-logoNext month, Offerpal Media and MySpace are partnering to host MySpace devJam San Francisco: Virtual Currency, Real Dollars. This one-day workshop will help MySpace application developers learn how to monetize their traffic through the use of virtual goods and virtual currencies. Developers will come away having learned:

  • How to create a virtual economy within your application
  • How to extract real revenues from your virtual dollars
  • “Sources” and “sinks” of a virtual economy
  • How virtual currency can also help deepen user engagement, stickiness and loyalty
  • And more…

Agenda

1:00 – 1:30
Guests arrive

1:30 – 2:30
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Virtual Economy
In this introductory session, Offerpal’s Anu Shukla walks the audience through a step-by-step process to build a thriving virtual economy within their applications, from naming your virtual currency and setting the exchange rate to merchandising your virtual goods and optimizing your revenues.

2:30 – 3:30
Panel Discussion: Best Practices for Virtual Currency Monetization
How do some of the most successful MySpace application developers monetize their traffic? Through virtual currency. This panel discussion offers a detailed understanding of what works and what doesn’t work when managing a virtual economy.

3:30 – 4:30
Apps Review – Real World
Submit your app before the event for the chance to have it reviewed by our team of expert consultants. We’ll pick 2 apps to review live in front of the audience and offer advice on how to improve the virtual economy to make it more engaging, active, and profitable! Want your app reviewed? Send an email to mmcallister @ offerpal.com.

4:30 – 5:30
What’s New with the MySpace Platform?
Hear directly from lead MySpace developers all about the latest updates to the MySpace platform.

5:30 – 7:00
Beer & Pizza

Submit Your App For Review!

We’re currently seeking submissions from developers who’d like us to review their app publicly for the “Apps Review” portion of the agenda. To submit, send an email with the name and URL of your app to Matt McAllister.

Registration for the event is completely free. Sign up here, and we’ll see you there.

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