Have you ever wanted to buy your Twitter friend a drink as a way of saying “Thanks” or “Cheer up”? You could have opted for an Amazon or iTunes e-giftcard if you knew their email address – but that kind of digital money is just not the same as a fuzzy or warm drink that they can enjoy in real life. Micro-gifting service giftee makes it easier to show your online friends appreciation or encouragement, well, in this case, if you know their Twitter ID (Twitter DM/email options are planned for the future enhancement).
You need 3 things: the Twitter ID of the person you want to send the gift to, a few bucks for the gift you choose, and a credit card. The selection of the gifts cost around 400-1000 yen (5-12 USD) and are from cozy-looking cafes and bars. Take your pick from nicely photographed gifts such as a glass of draft beer, a cup of latte-art-adorned coffee, or a piece of cake with “Happy Birthday” message on it.
Welcome to giftee from giftee official on Vimeo.
The whole gift-giving process is pretty simple – it only takes a minute or so once you have an account and if you have your credit card at hand.
Once you purchase the gift, a tweet with your choice of custom message is automatically sent with @ reply.
The recipient can open the link on a mobile device with a web browser using her Twitter login. She then will show the code on the screen at the store to receive the gift.
What happens if your friend doesn’t care for the beer of your choice? No worries, the payments for unused gifts after 60 days will be sent to charities so both you and your friend can still feel fuzzy inside.
The talk around “social shopping” has been rather quiet lately – after all the buzz around the word and growth of Groupon service (& its clones) in 2010. Now, giftee may be able to contribute to another aspect of “social shopping” by nurturing new online purchase needs for non-virtual objects with its easy and simple service to send them to your friend.
See Also:
TechCrunch Japan [J], CNET Japan [J], greenz.jp [J]
Naoko Takano
Giftee is a cool idea but does it also work for friends on facebook, LinkedIn and so on?