Virtual Dollar Store

It seems even gifts are going the way of the digital revolution in a whole new way. I recently read an article about how popular virtual gifts are becoming. Yep, people are paying money (real money at that, not the virtual kind) to buy things like $1 gifts on Facebook. These gifts include virtual shoes, beer, and accessories…intangible items that you display on your webpage. In less than a year people have bought more than 24 million of these dollar items for their friends and family on Facebook alone (talk about money that could go to charity!). Some gifts on other sites go for $2 or $3. I kind of wonder about these since it seems kind of impersonal to give someone something like this for a big event like a birthday, anniversary, or even Christmas. Webpages come and go, and people go in and out of phases too so there’s no telling if that person will have their webpage in another year or two. I guess coming from someone frugal, spending a dollar or two on a little gif for someone’s Facebook page seems a bit silly when you could spend that same money on something small, or even a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop and spend a few minutes with that person. As virtual gifts become more and more popular, I have the hope that people won’t forget the personal touch when it comes to gift giving.