Founded December 2009, Blippy is a social media site that allows users to post and follow updates about their purchases of goods and services. Blippy is being called the “Twitter of personal finance” due to the fact that it is based upon Twitter’s open sharing model. Users of the website synch their e-commerce accounts such as iTunes, Zappos, Amazon, and eBay, in order to have online purchases automatically appear on their feed. Some users of Blippy go so far as to synch their credit card and bank accounts to the service.
The site is designed so that the “buying feed” of its users promotes their online purchases, facilitates discussion on purchases, and keep users connected by sharing new and interesting things.
Earlier this year, controversy erupted when four users of Blippy had their credit card information compromised when it was revealed in Google search results. The problem stemmed from an oversight during the company’s beta test and the raw credit card data was viewable in the HTML source. According to Blippy co-founder Philip Kaplan, the data was removed but it kept showing up in the Google cache. Since the gaffe, Blippy representatives state the problem has been fixed and that newer security measures are currently in place.
Despite security risks, the idea of using social media websites to divulge personal financial information is growing. Taking the Blippy model a step further, a new site called Swipely aims to focus on the financial transactions themselves – where and what people are buying.
With new breeds of social media sites like Foursquare, Twitter, Blippy, and Swipely, the online public now has the ability to share with the world as little or as much of their spending habits as they like.
The 4C’s: Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration, and Connection
Of the four-category classification model, Blippy mainly uses the communication and connection component in their approach to social media.
Communication
~Users communicate purchases among friends and/or with the online Blippy community
~Facilitates candid discussions about purchases in an open forum (Ex. quality and satisfaction)
~Shared information keeps users up-to-date on new products and services
~Helps marketers to identify and track purchasing trends
Connection
~Personal profiles and contact information link users
~Users connect with friends and/or Blippy community
~Relationships develop between users who share similar interests in products and brands
~Specific product or brands can be tagged or searched
Blippy Commentary from Current TV
Jenna, Help!!! how to post an online video?
ReplyDeleteI think this is an extremely interesting site, but it freaks me out. The possibility of this information being used against you is definitely there, but that is one of the major problems with these social networking sites, responsibility. This does seem very neat though.
ReplyDeleteThis website is a very interesting and scary concept. I can see the appeal and use of the site. It makes me think about fashion blogs where a lot of the clothing that is being shown sometimes includes prices as well as the brand of the specific item. But, unlike blippy, they may not intentionally post the amount of the money that is being spent.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Jessica S.'s 3 year old: This is freakin' me out. The idea of broadcasting this type of information - not just what you buy but how much you spend is a little scary. But, I do see how it can be used just another social networking site to link users with similar tastes and interests.
ReplyDeleteAnd, you could conceivably find out where Miss Jenna gets all of her cool outfits without even having to ask her.
Sorry I leave a silly message in your comments. Anyhow, it's so interesting of blippy. People today want to share anything of them with everybody at anytime. I know there is a web2.0 app which let people share what they eat everyday and help them to calculate the calories. Will this make their life better actually?
ReplyDeleteHey Jenna I'm all for oversharing but blippy is not for me. I do understand why people would want to use it though, and I understand how it could be a good tool for shop-a-holics.
ReplyDeleteThis seems a little creepy. I think it is cool to share all sorts of stuff, but would really like to know exactly what I am sharing with whom if it is personal like how I spend money and what I buy. On the other hand, seeing how others interact with the market online would help me be a better consumer -- and be fun.
ReplyDeleteI think the site would be more appropriate if it was more of a list of what people had bought instead of exact prices or anything to do with bank accounts. It's the monetary connection with any kind of identity or card which makes the site so freaky. I think they may have just taken the site one step too far...
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone, this site is both interesting and very scary. I feel like it's a great way to keep spending in check when a consumer otherwise wouldn't, but the fact that the site has credit card information that can be broadcast across the internet is terrifying. If the site planned on storing all of these card numbers, it would have made more sense to put it in a secure format like other online retail sites do.
ReplyDelete