Virtual World Law Blog

FTC Reports That Many Mobile Apps May Not Be COPPA Compliant

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:33:14 -0500

On Thursday the Federal Trade Commission released a staff report titled, "Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures Are Disappointing," in which the FTC criticized companies for failing to properly disclose to parents how the companies are collecting personal data through mobile applications ("apps") aimed at young children.

The results of the FTC's study follow the FTC's August 2011 settlement with W3 Innovations, which was the FTC's first enforcement action against a mobile app developer.

The FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule requires that website operators notify parents and obtain their "verifiable consent" before they collect, use, or disclose the personal information of children under 13. The COPPA Rule also requires that website operators post a privacy policy that is clear, understandable, and complete. Failure to obtain "verifiable parental consent" can expose a company to an FTC enforcement action and the potential for significant damages and unwelcome publicity.

The FTC surveyed approximately 1,000 apps designed for children and available through iTunes and the Android Marketplace by searching for the word "kid." According to the FTC, despite the warning provided by the W3 Innovations settlement, they found that the operators of those apps could be collecting location (via GPS), phone numbers, contact lists, call logs and other "unique identifiers," but that the apps do not make it easy for parents to figure out what's being collected, how the data is being used or to give consent to such collection and use.

"Companies that operate in the mobile marketplace provide great benefits, but they must step up to the plate and provide easily accessible, basic information so that parents can make informed decisions about the apps their kids use," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.

The FTC noted that the various app stores create their own age ratings and that these guidelines are often not consistent. The Staff Report recommends that app developers provide simple and short disclosures on how they collect and share information about users, including whether their apps connect to social media sites like Facebook. Connection to Facebook (or other social media sites) for some of these apps could be problematic, since the Facebook terms (and the terms of most other social media sites) specifically prohibit access if the user is under 13 precisely to avoid having to deal with the COPPA Rule.

The FTC also wants app developers to inform parents if apps targeted towards children contain ads. In some apps, ads and/or content that is inconsistent with the age rating is buried deep within the app and can be found only when a player reaches an advanced stage of the game.

The FTC Staff Report is particularly interesting in light of a report from the Wall Street Journal today asserting that "Google Inc. and other advertising companies have been bypassing the privacy settings of millions of people using Apple Inc.'s Web browser on their iPhones and computers--tracking the Web-browsing habits of people who intended for that kind of monitoring to be blocked."

The FTC's evaluation of app privacy disclosures comes as the agency is evaluating the comments it received and finalizing updates to COPPA that were revealed in September 2011.

According to the Staff Report, the FTC is planning to conduct an additional review in the next six months to determine whether some of these mobile apps were violating the COPPA Rule. As currently drafted, the COPPA Rule creates the potential for violators to be fined up to $1,000 per violation (i.e., per child) - an amount that can add up very quickly for even a moderately popular app.

App developers targeting pre-teens and younger teens should carefully evaluate the data their apps collect, how that data is used and whether the developer's privacy policy is consistent with such collection and use.

[EVENT] Game Changers - Strategic Acquisitions of Game Companies

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:17:51 -0500

Date: March 7, 2012
Time: 5:00 - 8:00pm PT
Place: Pillsbury's San Francisco Office

How do you navigate the sale of your video game company? Join us and find out.

Join Pillsbury as we host a discussion with prominent industry players from Electronic Arts, Zynga, Lightspeed Venture Partners and KlickNation (acquired by EA in 2011) to discuss all aspects of the process surrounding video game company acquisitions. Topics will include how deals are sourced in the video game space, how to decide whether or not to sell, how to shop your company and how to negotiate deal value and other key terms. Panelists come from both sides of the table to provide insights as to how deals work from the perspective of the strategic buyer and the founder/VC investor.

Following the panel discussion, we will take questions from the audience. Questions should be emailed to GDC2012@pillsburylaw.com and will be read to the panel by the moderator.

Agenda
Networking 5:00 - 6:00pm
Panel Discussion 6:00 - 7:00pm
Additional networking 7:00pm - ?
(We promise you'll be done in time to party! But if you want to stay, feel free! We'll be there!)

Speakers
Michael Chang
Director, Corporate Development, Electronic Arts

Grant Olsen
Corporate Development, Zynga

Jeremy Liew
Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Mark Otero
General Manager of Bioware Social and former CEO of KlickNation (acquired by EA)

For more information, please contact meggan.maromonte@pillsburylaw.com

FTC Warns Marketers That Mobile Apps May Violate Fair Credit Reporting Act

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:07:12 -0500

The growing use of mobile applications has created great opportunities for all types of businesses. Many companies have leveraged apps to enhance their reach and interactions with customers and potential customers. But with these growing opportunities comes some legal pitfalls. Many companies are not focusing on the vast array of legal issues that relate to what their apps do. The FTC and other government agencies are becoming more active in policing these activities.

In a recent pronouncement, the FTC has warned marketers that certain apps may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC warned the apps marketers that, if they have reason to believe the background reports they provide are being used for employment screening, housing, credit, or other similar purposes, they must comply with the Act.

According to the announcement, "If you have reason to believe that your background reports are being used for employment or other FCRA purposes, you and your customers who are using your reports for such purposes must comply with the FCRA."

The FCRA is designed to protect the privacy of consumer report information and ensure that the information supplied by consumer reporting agencies is accurate. Consumer reports are communications that include information on an individual's character, reputation, or personal characteristics and are used or expected to be used for purposes such as employment, housing or credit.
The companies that received the letters are Everify, Inc., marketer of the Police Records app, InfoPay, Inc., marketer of the Criminal Pages app, and Intelligator, Inc., marketer of Background Checks, Criminal Records Search, Investigate and Locate Anyone, and People Search and Investigator apps. According to the letters, the agency has made no determination whether the companies are violating the FCRA, but encourages them to review their apps and their policies and procedures to be sure they comply with the FCRA.

In light of the FTC, FDA, FCC and other government agency's increased activity in monitoring mobile apps and other social media usage, it is strongly advisable that you submit all of you apps and social media plans to a qualified attorney to review for potential compliance issues.

In the Game World Imitation is Not Flattery - Its Infringement

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:05:02 -0500

The number of lawsuits alleging copying of games continues to increase. In one of the latest such lawsuits, Seattle-based game developer Spry Fox filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against 6waves Lolapps over Spry Fox's Triple Town game. What exacerbated the issues here is that, apparently, Spry Fox shared information about the game under an NDA, prior to release of the game, when the parties were considering a business relationship.

Even giants like Zynga have been accused of liberally borrowing ideas for its games. NimbleBit, developer of the popular iOS game Tiny Tower, has pointed out the many similarities between their hit and Zynga's upcoming Dream Heights game. NimbleBit recently sent an open letter addressed to all of Zynga's 2,789 employees that points out the numerous similarities in the games, offering eight screen shots that show virtually identical features with only slight graphical differences.

These, and other suits that follow these fact patterns, highlight the need for game developers to take certain steps to protect their IP and minimize the need for lawsuits while maximizing the chances of prevailing if they must sue:

Consistently use NDAs that prevent the disclosure or use of confidential information that you disclose to third parties, and try to include a provision that gives you ownership of any IP derived from the confidential information. Many NDAs do not include this.
Maximize your IP protection with a comprehensive IP strategy that includes patents, trademarks and copyrights. Many game developers have misconceptions about what is protectable and therefore inadvertently forgo certain protection to which they might otherwise be entitled.

For additional information on IP Protection Strategies for games see Pillsbury's Advisory on IP Protection for Games.

Around the Virtual World

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:16:43 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Piracy battle goes to CES, Wikipedia may join SOPA protest, Google social search faces privacy concerns

A contentious battle over Internet anti-piracy legislation shifted from Washington to the Consumer Electronics Show, The Washington Post reported. The Consumer Electronics Association, which is behind the show, has been a vocal opponent of the two bills circulating in Congress that would help Hollywood titans, record labels and pharmaceutical firms enforce copyright infringement laws online.

Mobile virtual currency market to hit $4.8bn by 2016

In fact, a study released yesterday from Juniper Research predicts that the amount of money being spent on virtual currency in mobile apps is going to more than double in the next four years, going from $2.1bn last year to $4.8bn by 2016.

Bethesda Buys Interplay's 'Fallout' Rights, Ends IP Suit

Interplay Entertainment Corp., original developer of the "Fallout" line of video games, on Monday forfeited its rights to continue work on the series -- resolving a trademark dispute with former business partner Bethesda Softworks LLC.

Domino's Pizza uses augmented reality offers to boost food sales

Domino's Pizza, which has already been testing the waters of mobile marketing for some time now, has started a new campaign that includes the use of augmented reality, to add a whole new dimension to its latest 555 pizza offer.

CES: Better augmented reality with high-tech contact lenses

Augmented reality has made progress on smartphones, with apps letting people layer information and graphics over a view of the real world. A startup from the Seattle region is looking to take the next step toward an AR future with special contact lenses that make it possible to view objects projected onto glasses a short distance away from the eye.

Banks start playing games with your money

A new video game has gotten its hooks into Brian Kealer, a 26-year-old San Francisco software engineer. He's not killing birds or using his vocabulary to impress his friends. No, Kealer is after real prizes, like the iPad2 he just scored. And he's playing with his bank account.

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SEC to Investment Advisers: Comply or We'll Try!

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:24:13 -0500

Social Media usage in the financial services industry is on the rise, which is now putting many registered investment advisers (RIAs) under the microscope for potential federal securities laws violations. RIAs that have not taken the time to review and update their social media policies and procedures may soon find the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) knocking on their door. Just recently, the SEC charged an Illinois-based investment adviser with offering to sell fictitious securities on LinkedIn.

On January 4, 2012, the SEC also released a National Examination Risk Alert addressing investment adviser use of social media. This alert outlines the specific factors that need to be addressed by RIAs who wish to remain in compliance with federal securities laws. The SEC's guidance could be particularly important given the "crowdfunding" legislation Congress is currently considering.

For a full breakdown and analysis of the SEC's alert, please click here.

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Around the Virtual World

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:57:06 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Will 2012 be the year of virtual worlds?

What got me thinking about this was a blog post by Maria Korlova over at the HyperGrid Business Blog. In it, she maintains her firm conviction that businesses will soon come around to using these virtual worlds as business tools. Just as the nay-sayers were wrong about the Internet, Software as a Service, and Lady Gaga, we will eventually integrate this technology into how we work.

Courts, Sports And Videogames: What's In A Game?

Although one of the clearest legal thinkers, Louis Brandeis, conceived the modern right of publicity,[1] "unclear" would be an adjective all lawyers would apply to the current state of right of publicity law, regardless of which side of the issue they usually argue. Indeed, although the right of publicity concept was further developed by another very clear legal thinker, William Prosser,[2] he himself alluded to it as the concept "that launched a thousand lawsuits,"[3] few of which can be reconciled with one another.

Insurers Can't Join Coverage Suit Over Athlete Image Use

A Georgia federal judge said Wednesday that four insurers can't intervene in a coverage suit in California over underlying antitrust class actions concerning the use of college athletes' likenesses in video games.

What the Copycat Saw: Creative Theft in Mobile and Social Games

The distinction between theft and inspiration is often unclear in video games. Traditions are formed, broken down, and remade every few years. The most successful ideas are eagerly absorbed by others, from regenerative health in first person shooters to the subdivision of platformer levels into world and stage.

Virtual worlds training for federal cyber pros in the works

After finishing a successful year of training the federal cyber workforce, the government is taking another step toward cultivating better-prepared digital defenders.

Fast Track Your Patents

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:44:24 -0500

One of the primary concerns that companies have regarding patent filings is the time it takes to get a patent. Recent changes to the patent laws have created a fast track option to "whisk" your patent through the process. To use this option you must file a petition and pay a fee.

According to the PTO:

Following passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in September 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began accepting requests for prioritized examination of patent applications through the Track I Prioritized Patent Examination Program. Simply put, Track I allows inventors and businesses, for a fee, to have their patents processed to completion in 12 months.

According to a recent update from the PTO many applicants have used the fast track process and the results are summarized as follows:

1,218 of the 1,231 requests for prioritized examination that have been decided were granted, which represents a 98.9% approval rate.
648 have already received a first office action, and another 34 will be mailed within days.
On average, the PTO is getting a first action out in Track I cases just 30.7 days after approval of the petition - for a total elapsed period to first action of 66.4 days after filing of the request-petition, with the longest time to first action being 70 days from grant of the petition.
23 allowances have already been mailed on Track I applications, the fastest of which was mailed just 37 days after the application was filed and 7 more allowances are currently in the pipeline.
Of the Track I cases allowed so far, the average time to allowance is 39.2 days from petition approval.
As for rejections, so far there have been three final rejections issued on Track I applications. The average time to final rejection has been 34.3 days, and the longest time to final was 50 days, both measured from approval of the Track I petition.
The first Track I application is due to issue on Jan. 10, 2012. This application was filed Sept. 30, 2011.

Given the fast paced developments in areas such as social games, augmented reality, mobile applications and other hot sectors, it may be worth considering use of this procedure to get your patents issued more quickly.

Dog Gone! And their Twitter Followers Too?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:28:32 -0500

PhoneDog LLC filed a lawsuit last July against a now former employee, Noah Kravitz. PhoneDog, which reviews mobile devices, including phones and tablets, is claiming ownership of Kravitz's Twitter followers. They claim he owes them $340,000 based on an assumed value of $2.50 per follower per month.

The dispute arose when Kravitz resigned and allegedly changed his Twitter name from PhoneDog_Noah to noahkravitz, to keep the 17,000 followers that he built up since 2006 when he started with the company. The company is alleging that the followers should be treated like a customer list, and therefore PhoneDog's property. The fact that Mr. Kravitz used the company name in his Twitter handle likely will not help him. However, the company probably could have done more to ensure that they owned the account and followers.The outcome of this case will likely be based on the specific facts here.

But regardless of the outcome, companies should take away a very important lesson from this case. The lesson is that it is critical to address employee social media issues. Lawsuits and their costs and uncertain outcomes can be avoided by having well thought out and clear policies and agreements with employees who use social media in connection with company activities. Don't wait until an issue like this is upon you to focus on a social media policy.

Companies that do not have a social media policy need to fix that as soon as possible. Those that have cobbled one together but without expert advice, need to have the policies reviewed to plug the holes. In short, all companies using social media would benefit from spending a little time having their social media policies and agreements reviewed by an attorney who spends time everyday on social media issues.

Around the Virtual World

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:59:58 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

From the Supreme Court to Anonymous, 2011 was a transformational year for games

It's no exaggeration to say that 2011 was a transformational year for the game industry. As the game industry's trade group chief, Michael Gallagher, said, "The word 'historic' is overused, but as we look back on 2011, it is a perfect fit for our industry's year." Here's a recap of 13 events that made this such a big year for games.

Viacom Owes Additional $383 Million in 'Rock Band' Video Game Dispute

After already paying $150 million to former shareholders of Harmonix, arbitrators have determined that Viacom owes an additional $383 million to the video game company that created Rock Band, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

New Wave of Hacker Attacks Coming

Virtual currency, sometimes called cybercurrency, has become a popular way for people to exchange money online. These online "wallets" are not encrypted and the transactions are public, making them an attractive target for cybercriminals. There have already been attacks directed at users of Bitcoin, one of the largest virtual currencies, said Dave Marcus, McAfee's director of advanced research and threat intelligence. "Our concern isn't confined to Bitcoin. Virtual currencies seem almost designed to attract hackers," he told me.

5 social network predictions for 2012

Facebook is the power hitter in social networking today, and is likely to drive the most activity and a fair share of the innovation in social networking in 2012. But it's not the only company driving things forward. Here are five ways social networking is likely to play out in the coming year.

Welcome to the future: We predict big trends in social games for 2012

Now it's that time of year that we, once again, reshuffle our tarot decks and see what the next 12 months will hold for games of a social nature. And, even if the Mayan predictions about the world ending in 2012 prove true, that won't happen until December -- so everyone has plenty of time to get this stuff in under the wire.

Virtual Reality Treadmill

Some of us prefer running outdoors simply because it offers something different for the eyes (and senses), instead of pounding it on a treadmill like a hamster in a gym. Of course, there are others who do it right from the comfort of their home, and there are also some pros to offset the cons - you definitely lower the risk of being robbed, and neither do you need to sacrifice your morning run whenever the skies open and start to pour. With the $2,000 Virtual Reality Treadmill, you will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Around the Virtual World

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:20:56 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Scientists Find Safer Ways To Test Medical Procedures

Scientists are developing ever more sophisticated versions of "virtual patients" with the aim of testing medical devices and procedures that can't readily be assessed in real people.

FarmVille Creator Zynga Kicks Off $1B IPO

Zynga Inc., creator of the FarmVille and CityVille phenomena as well as other games that piggyback on Facebook Inc.'s tidal wave of popularity, became a publicly traded company Friday when it made a $1 billion initial public offering of its stock.

What's the right social cocktail for you?

From supply chain management to PR crisis management, the role of public social data in the enterprise is no longer framed around the question of "why does this data matter?" That said, we are still in the very early stages of corporate adoption and there are plenty of unanswered questions for most companies. Once enterprises get past asking why this data is important, the next obvious question to address is: which public social data is best for performing business analysis and decision-making? Facebook? Twitter? Google+?, WordPress?

U.S. Senator Mad that Your Tax Dollars Saved Video Games

Video game preservation, educational robot dragons and Department of Homeland Security Sno Cones are just some of the "outlandish" federally funded projects called out in U.S. Senator Tom Coburn's annual big book of wasteful government spending this week.

New Research Shows 72% of Consumers Welcome The Opportunity To Watch Sponsored Videos In Online Games

A new study conducted by SponsorPay, the leading international cross-platform social advertising solution, found that consumers welcome the opportunity to watch sponsored videos in online games and not only recall these brands but also harbor positive sentiment towards them.

New Report Details Demographics of Mobile Gamers Buying Virtual Goods

As gamers age, so does their propensity to buy mobile virtual goods, according to a new study by MocoSpace, the largest mobile gaming community in North America. The results of the new study focusing on virtual goods consumption and engagement by age found younger gamers (25-35) spend the most time playing social games, but gamers over 45 buy exponentially more virtual goods than their younger counterparts.

The Clones Wars: Zynga Uses Copyright to Protect its Games

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:45:00 -0500

On December 6, 2011 Zynga settled its copyright suits against Vostu USA Inc. and others. The first suit, case number 5:11-cv-02959, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California back in June, alleged that several of Vostu's games infringed Zynga's copyrights. Specifically, Zynga had alleged, that Vostu's MegaCity, Cafe Mania, Pet Mania, Vostu Poker and MiniRazenda games are merely clones of Zynga's popular titles. Zynga followed this suit with another one in Brazil claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition. Vostu initially responded to the suits asserting that its games were non-infringing but has ultimately agreed to settle the US and Brazilian matters by compensating Zynga and altering some of its games.

The parties have issued a joint statement that "Zynga and Vostu have settled the copyright lawsuits and counterclaims against each other in the United States and Brazil". Additionally, "[a]s part of the settlement, Vostu made a monetary payment to Zynga and made some changes to four of its games" but the parties did not elaborate on the amount of the payment or the nature of the changes.

This settlement followed (and may have been prompted by) some early success in the cases by Zynga. Zynga was able to obtain a preliminary injunction from the Brazilian court ordering Vostu to cease making the challenged games available. In response Vostu initially convinced a U.S. District Judge to grant a temporary restraining order prohibiting Zynga from enforcing the Brazilian court's order; however this TRO was quickly dissolved. The Brazilian order was stayed by the appeals court pending Vostu's appeal.

This settlement is a good example of how IP rights can be used to protect a video game from being cloned. There is a history of successful games being the subject of imitation which goes back to the earliest days of the industry. Many companies have come to believe that cloning is just part of business and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. However, this is not entirety true. Copyright, trademark, trade secrets and patent rights can all provide differing levels of protection for games. Copyright can protect a game from literal duplication or use of its protected images, code, literary elements, music, etc. Trademark can protect the actual name, logo or certain other identifying elements from a competitor's potentially confusing use in a game (or elsewhere). Additionally, trade secrets can be used to protect a company or game's "secret sauce" from being co-opted. Finally, patents may be used to protect features and functions of a game, including game mechanics, business methods and other functionality and processes.

Game companies should consult with IP attorneys who understand the IP strategies and patentable aspects for games. For an overview of some of the IP protection available for games, see here.

Around the Virtual World

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:34:21 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Virtual Justice

Rutgers University law professor Greg Lastowka looks at whether players can and should be granted legal ownership of virtual items, whether or not there's any existing legal precedent and how the virtual item landscape may change in the near future.

Italian court: Online editors not responsible for reader comments

Online commentators Wednesday welcomed a ruling by Italy's highest court that the editors of online publications cannot be held legally responsible for defamatory comments posted by their readers. In a ruling handed down at the end of October, the Court of Cassation acquitted a former online editor of L'Espresso news magazine of the crime of failing to prevent defamation committed by one of her readers.

OUII Seeks Clarity On 'Process Of Establishment' Claims

The U.S. International Trade Commission should review a recent finding in a video game patent infringement case and clarify how to determine if a domestic industry is in the process of being established in Section 337 cases, the ITC's Office of Unfair Import Investigations said in a petition publicized Tuesday.

Germany's Merck wants Facebook page back

Germany's Merck KGaA has threatened legal action after it said it lost its Facebook page apparently to rival Merck & Co. in the U.S., though it has yet to identify defendants in the case.

Virtual World Startups Seek Refuge From Patent Attacks

The developers behind the next evolution of the Internet -- linked, immersive, 3D environments -- are trying to think of ways to minimize the adverse impact of software patents on their industry.

Social media in for worse cyber attacks in 2012

Social media sites and cellphones will prove to be fertile grounds for cyber criminals to exploit globally important events in 2012 to steal personal information and data and make financial gains, cyber security firm Websense has said. The Websense document, " 2012 Cyber Security Threats," has said identity information posted by users of sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn may prove more valuable to cybercriminals than even credit cards.

Patent Application Triggers Privacy Inquiry

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:47:05 -0500

Facebook recently filed a Patent Application that Triggered a Congressional inquiry. The patent application, which describes technology for tracking users on other websites, resulted in a letter from Reps. Edward Markey, D- Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, seeking information on its current privacy practices and future intentions for tracking user activity and data. Markey and Barton co-chair the Congressional Bipartisan Privacy Caucus.

The application was published on Sept. 22, 2011 and describes a method "for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domain."

In the letter to facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Markey and Barton sought clarification on the purpose of the patent and how Facebook intends to use it. They also inquired about how Facebook intends to integrate the location data of its users into its targeted advertising system, noting that Facebook has previously stated that it does not track people across the Internet.

It is important to note that just because Facebook has filed a patent does not necessarily mean that they have commercially implemented what the patent discloses. However, this action is just one of the latest from Washington focusing on privacy. There seems to be a very focused effort by legislators and regulators to ensure that companies only collect user information needed for legitimate business purposes and that the information collected is not retained indefinitely.

As with many other aspects of social media, the laws and regulatory climate are continuing to evolve. If you have not recently reviewed your data collection, privacy practices and privacy policies, now is a good time to do so.

Around the Virtual World

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:56:51 -0500

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Virtual Fairs Offer Real Jobs

As companies find themselves swarmed with applicants, struggling to match workers with the right skills to job openings, many are turning to virtual career fairs. Employers say these online forums--accessed by companies and job seekers from anywhere in the world--can save them time and money, as well as broaden the candidate pool.

Deal United's Facebook "Credits Rewards" Lets Clients Incentivize Signups and Purchases With Virtual Currency

German offer provider Deal United today announced it is entering the virtual currency incentives industry with the launch of "Credits Rewards". The new service allows brands to reward to users with Facebook Credits when they make purchases, registrations, signup for newsletters, enter contests, fill out surveys and more. Because virtual currency is so cheap to distribute and Facebook users may value Credits higher than their actual cost in dollars, they can be a cost effective way for businesses to reward users for following their call actions.

Children's book publisher heads into virtual world

Given that virtual worlds are driven by strong narratives, it comes as little surprise that more book publishers are eyeing opportunities in the space. The latest example comes from Finnish publisher DramaForum, which is transitioning its Petra's Planet book series into a virtual world through UK development studio Dubit.

Three ways virtual environments are changing how companies conduct business

One of the more popular attractions at major theme parks is the "motion ride." Through the use of visual, audio and other sensory cues (along with some pretty slick technology), visitors are given the opportunity to go places and do things they never could in the real world. Whether it's flying through the jaws of a dinosaur in Doc Brown's Delorean, visiting a galaxy far, far away, or taking a tour through the inner workings of the human body, these virtual environments engage visitors with a sensory experience that moves them in a way ordinary roller coasters can't.

Samsung Launches the Industry's First Gamified Corporate Website

Samsung Electronics America today announced the launch of Samsung Nation, its first social loyalty program. Available on the Samsung U.S. website, the program rewards consumers by enhancing their online experience with Samsung.

The Not-At-All-Distant Future of Green Gamification

Games are like ketchup: widely loved and diversely applied, with an appeal rooted in childhood. In fact, a new report reveals that over 90 percent of U.S. kids aged 2-17 are gaming today. Yet the gaming generation has been on the rise for three decades, leading to not only an army of young gamers, but also an influential adult segment. It is small wonder, then, that "gamification" is the most disruptive force to impact marketing since the arrival of social media.

Macy's Introduces Augmented Reality Experience in Stores across Country as Part of Its 2011 "Believe" Campaign

For the first time, customers mailing their letters at Believe Stations in Macy's stores will have an opportunity to take a photo with the campaign's animated stars Virginia and Ollie from the animated holiday special "Yes, Virginia." Using new augmented reality technology, customers with IOS and select Android smartphones can download the "Macy's Believe-o-Magic" application that allows them to unlock the magic to see and interact with Virginia, Ollie and their friends.