Its becoming very apparent that we are in an economic slowdown/recession/retraction, whatever you want to call this. An obvious consequence of this belt tightening is that teens will be trimmed on their spending habits. The NY Times has a great article on this shift.
But while many physical good companies that sell to teens will feel this effect, we are feeling that our virtual goods business, all of which represent real brands, will be a big business for us. What’s the next best thing to buying the real product? Experiencing that same product virtually — in full 3D and full quality at a level that kids cannot experience on Flash-based sites.
We are already seeing substantial engagement with the brands in Hangout today. Kids like interacting with real brands in a fully immersive experience. And with technology we are going to announce shortly in the next month, our brand engagement and options will grow dramatically, far faster than any other approach, including leveraging third parties or independent artists.
Stay tuned.
Their