I'm working on a new column for BusinessWeek Online about virtual paper dolls and their popularity with tween and teen girls. I did an email interview with Craig Sherman, the CEO of Gaia Online, an avatar community that has been buzzed about by several leading tech blogs in the past two weeks after their Web 2.0 Expo appearance. I think Gaia seems to have the right combination of manga/comic book appeal, avatars and virtual gold to attract and hook teens. I think they're probably less "paper doll" and fashion oriented and appeal more to the manga fan boys/girls -- and as Ypulse readers know, manga is huge. I was at Borders in the Chicago suburb of LaGrange and watched as teens wandered in and out of the manga section. One of Craig's responses really struck me -- he said the most popular activity on Gaia is the forums. It's funny with all the Web 2.0 hoopla, that forums, which have been around forever, continue be the most popular community feature.
Ypulse: Why do you think avatars you can customize and interact with have become so popular with teen girls? How do the boys on Gaia interact? What are the differences?
Craig Sherman: Teens of both genders use Gaia to experiment with their appearance and express themselves creatively, and to have fun by hanging out with likeminded peers; but there are several patterns that distinguish their respective avatars' behavior. One key differentiator for Gaia in the case of both genders is that we have worked to provide an environment where identity experimentation can bring teens closer to their "true," authentic selves. Gaians have a safe space to play with personal aspects of their identities without fear of judgment, through -- for example -- art and creative writing.
This creative expression complements the fashion and social-networking elements of using avatars that have proven popular with many girls. For boys, avatars are often fun vehicles for competitive gaming and role-playing. But these gender distinctions are necessarily general, and exceptions are in many ways the rule for Gaians.
YP: What is the most popular activity on Gaia? Why do you think that activity is so popular?
CS: The largest component of activity in Gaia (about 25%) is in the forums, which average a million posts a day and have racked up a billion posts to date, making Gaia's message boards (with topics running the gamut from pop culture to politics) second only to Yahoo! in popularity. We think Gaia's perceived "authenticity" makes the forums a place where teens feel truly free to express themselves in an environment that isn't defined by parents, adults, or other authority figures. (The forums are, however, monitored for inappropriate content).
All of the other activities on the site average about 5-15% of activity, indicating the variety of diversions Gaians engage in. There are, for example, arenas where users can upload and rate each other's artwork and or creative writing; multiplayer Flash mini-games with group chat; hanging out and socializing in Gaia's virtual Towns, where users can customize their virtual homes, have parties, or even put on plays as some have.
The bottom line: the forums are strikingly popular and rank with the Web’s most popular destinations because of their authentic style and the fact that Gaia’s other activities push traffic into these forums.
Newsletter readers: Visit Ypulse for the rest of the interview.
YP: How does Gaia integrate marketing partners or advertisers? What would you say to brands interested in getting into this space?
CS: A major plank in Gaia's business model is sponsorships. Note though that sponsorships will always be secondary to our core mission of building and maintaining an engaging hang-out for teens. That means you won't see billboards and ads flogging products plastered all over Gaia. Instead, we will work with partners to create experiences that are fun and meaningful to our users as well as beneficial to sponsors. Gaians form a huge and savvy community of teenagers that will respond well to like-minded brands who 'get it.' With input from Gaians, we started by creating a white-list of brands that are authentic to the members of the site and therefore are the companies we want to work with.
In this spirit, Gaia recently conducted a promotion with New Line Cinema to promote its movie "The Last Mimzy." Gaians could conduct a short quest that involved previewing the film's trailer and retrieving a virtual Mimzy plushie to accompany their avatars. It was a relatively modest promotion, but it was extraordinarily well-received by the community. Not only were the number of users who participated huge, but they were truly engaged. For example, a number of Forums sprang up to discuss themes addressed in the movie.
So to sum up from Gaia's perspective: brands interested in getting into the space need to understand the community they are entering, and create an experience that is authentic to that community.
YP: How much of your revenue comes from teens or their parents paying for virtual goods? What are your biggest sellers?
CS: Gaia's revenue is multi-faceted. In terms of virtual goods, Gaia sells two or three monthly collectibles per month for $2.50 each. Gaians often keep the objects and sell them later in Gaia's auction marketplace for Gaia Gold, the non-convertible currency of the site. As the collectibles get older, they become scarcer and more valuable. The second primary category of revenue comes through sponsorships, an example being the "Last Mimzy" promotion mentioned above. Finally, Gaia also earns revenue through selling physical merchandise. We've taken some of the most popular virtual items from the stores in Gaia and created real-world versions, which are sold through the website. The "OMG" cap has been really popular.
We can’t provide a precise breakdown for the share of revenue provided by virtual goods, but it’s a key source; hot sales items include plushies, clothes, pets, wings, etc.
YP: Do you plan to expand? If so what's next?
CS: Our best audience acquisition tool is constant innovation on the product, particularly its thematic narratives and special events, new games and features such as an in-world theater we've just launched so Gaians can watch movies and other programming with their friends. We have grown tremendously through word of mouth. 85% of our users have recommended the site to their friends. We'll continue by building fun new features, which are always at least in part determined by input and feedback from Gaia's members themselves.
Simply put, yes, expansion is a priority, and we plan to expand internationally when the time is right.
Posted by anastasia
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Comments
As a user of Gaia Online, I find one thing about this article that disturbs me. Gaia is not just about teens. I've met plenty of people who are in their 20's, 30's, and 40's, and they are just as engaged in the site as everyone else. Gaia is a hangout for all ages and genders, not just teens.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 24, 2008 4:29 PM
in my opinion gaia has gone to a level of corporal success but, they have taken the fun out and are just trying to make money.they need to put more thought into the stuff that makes the gaia experience fun.
Posted by: theOUTLAWkid | March 24, 2008 5:36 PM
As a user of Gaia online, I would like to agree with the Anonymous statement. I'm in my mid 20's and I find it very insulting when the site is referred to as only teens and primarily 'girl's. This whole conversation seems somewhat insulting.
Anyway, I think Craig Sherman should evaluate what it is he's doing, because quite honestly? Man, you're fubaring the site up big time.
Posted by: DigruntledGaian | March 25, 2008 12:08 AM
doing so much wrong...
QUALITY over quantity! this means fix the problems gaia has now and stop being lax, give us more mederators esp. during night times to 6am in the USA timezones!
Give us at least a little of what gaia used to be back.
most of gaias loyal and PROFITABLE audience is 18+ ...stop trying to make us a 13-16yr old hang out!
Posted by: Nique | April 6, 2008 12:54 AM
It seems to me that Mr. CEO Craig Sherman doesn't understand Gaia or its users at all. The only thing you seem to understand well is money. To come in here years after it has been around and ignorantly make statements about the 'teen-themed site' as if that is all we are, really disturbs me.
Posted by: Anonymous 2 | April 6, 2008 1:26 AM
With all due respect, Mr. Sherman doesn't know what he's talking about. He clearly has no clue as to what drives Gaia.
1. It's not a 'teen hangout', first and foremost. There are teens there, but the core user base - in Mr. Sherman's own language - are the ones buying the letters and other items with real cash. How many teenagers are doing this? I thought so. The majority of users who spend their money on the site are 18 and up (and up, and up). I'm 34 years old, and I'm not alone. Most active users who spend money to help keep Gaia running are adults.
2. At the time of this article, there was no writing arena. There still isn't.
3. Sponsorships have never been portrayed in a meaningful way to the users since Gaia started. The closest they came to that was Mimzy. Please note that it's the only good example he has. After that... :/
4. There was no input from users as to what brands should advertise on Gaia. If there were, they would have been told that Gaians don't want that sort of thing at all. MTV would never have been allowed. We'd have sponsors like Nintendo.
Gaia Online is not a social networking site, and never has been. Those who want that can go over to MySpace.
Gaia is an anime-based role playing forum community. It always has been.
Posted by: sigh... | April 6, 2008 5:37 AM
I'm sure Mr. Sherman means well, but he should really get his facts straight before agreeing to an interview, so he doesn't grossly misrepresent Gaia...as shown here. The majority of Gaians are _not_ teenagers in the 13-16 year mark (though, admittedly, there are quite a few of them). The majority of Gaians are 18+, and interviews like encourage the idea that this is a primarily 'teen' site, which I find a little disturbing.
"sigh.."'s comment in regards to this article is completely true - on all accounts. Sponsorship has never been 'meaningful' to Gaians - for the most part we just want to see what the item is. Over half the time we don't even watch the trailers! Gaia has come to us _once_ asking about sponsorship, about how we liked the Skittles sponsor. Gaians had no idea what they were talking about - Skittles never even appeared on the site until 3 months after the survey! It was a faulty survey tactic, one that has left a few Gaians a little cross with Gaia Interactive.
Posted by: Jenalei | May 1, 2008 8:35 AM