The “whales” of the social-gaming world are a mystery to most of us. As the biggest spenders, they make up a tiny group (think about 2 percent of audiences) that drives most of the revenue for publishers of these games. But the word “whale” isn’t a flattering term, and neither are the numbers associated with it. These are people, not just customers.

It’s easy to think of whales anonymously because we’re not quite sure who they are or how they think — they’re often elusive due to the stigma that surrounds them. We know they play social games, but are they social? Are their habits casual or obsessive? What kind of people are they?

‘Whale’ has many meanings

Whales existed in online and mobile video games long before they started appearing in the West. Longtime game analyst Michael Pachter told GamesBeat that Asia has used free-to-play with microtransactions for 15 years, but it still feels like a relatively new phenomenon here as we wonder whether the business model holds a place in our future.

Today, the idea of a “whale” carries a different weight for each company. 5th Planet Games, a developer of social games for both casual and hardcore audiences, starts classifying its players as whales when they spend $100 or more a month. That’s a big jump from whales on Facebook, for instance, where social gamers could drop $25 per month to meet the same qualification.

5th Planet chief executive Robert Winkler revealed at the Game Developers Conference Online in 2012 that with its game Clash of the Dragons, 40 percent of revenue came from 2 percent of players who spent $1,000 or more. Ninety percent came from those who spent $100 or more, and the top whale had spent $6,700.

Other companies, like social casino developer Blitzoo, defines various categories of whales based on a combination of factors: total money spent, playtime, experience points earned in-game, and so on. Play sessions tend to be three or four times longer than what an average player’s would be.

But these are all still numbers, not faces or personalities. Winkler told us that a strong sense of community is important for encouraging whales to not only engage but also monetize, and that’s a clue to who they are as people.

“We’ve found that most players are more willing to spend money to help out their fellow gamers than to try to defeat them,” he said. “As an example, players who take part in our ‘guilds,’ or groups of players who come together to accomplish communal missions, are 8.5 times more likely to monetize than players who do not belong to a guild, and the ARPU [average revenue per user] of players in our guilds is 53 times higher than other players.”

For that reason, building community is a huge priority for 5th Planet. It’s a way to attract more whales and monetize more successfully.

“This could be by participating in your forums, by running contests and giveaways, by forming special guilds or councils, or simply by talking directly with your players and showing that you’re listening,” said Winkler. “When players feel like they’re part of community, they become more invested in the outcome of game. And when they’re more emotionally invested in the game, they’ll invest with their wallets as well.”

5th Planet declined to inform us whether their whales receive any special benefits, and as for whether these players subsidize the game for others, it only said, “As with any free-to-play game, there are a group of paying players, including whales, whose in-game [spending] allows game houses to bring new, fresh, and updated content to all players.” We were unable to acquire responses from the other companies we spoke with for this article.

Are whales different from ‘normal’ gamers?

Talking to whales isn’t easy; their habits and relationships with social-game publishers are touchy subjects. But as I found with one player, Greg Genega — who allowed us to identify him by name and also goes by the handle “Bludex” — all you have to do is disarm their defenses a little. Aside from the amount he spends every month ($100 on average and sometimes as much as $400), he shares many of the same interests and concerns of regular gamers.

Like many whales, Genega prefers to stick with one or two games — in his case, 5th Planet’s Clash of the Dragons (a free social massively multiplayer online role-playing card game) and Legacy of Heroes (a free collectible card game). He doesn’t stray much into other platforms.

“To me, a game is only as good as its following and associated community,” he said. “Without quick queue times for competitive events and a bustling forum, games tend to lose interest with me.”

He’s not exactly glued to his computer screen, though. Genega says he plays for roughly 20 minutes in the morning and one to three hours in the evening. Just because he spends a lot of money doesn’t mean this routine conflicts with everyday living.

“When I’m at work, I barely have any time to think about games,” he said. “However, most of my social time with friends involves lots of gaming. Board games, card games, going to a casino, playing Magic [the Gathering], etc. So gaming is very important to my social life.”

That’s social life outside of games, not necessarily in them. Genega supervises a network operations center for a large company and enjoys active pursuits like hiking and eating out at restaurants. That’s part of why he doesn’t prefer single-player experiences.

“I’m a social being at heart,” he said. “When there’s nobody to share my experience with — whether it be some friendly trash-talking or a virtual high-five of an accomplishment — the games just become less interesting.”

He doesn’t leave those friendships solely online, either. “I have friendships going on 10 years or more with people I game with online that I’ve almost all met in real life at some point or another,” he said. “I would definitely say gaming has been the main driver in my social life both online and offline.”

Like most dedicated gamers, Genega actively follows news announcements related to the titles he plays, but frequent content additions are what keeps him coming back. With each break he took from Clash of the Dragons, for instance, he returned to check out a new update. And when he played World of Warcraft, he would quit for as long as a year — until Blizzard released a new expansion.

The more we talked, the more Genega opened up about his passions and thoughts on current issues in the industry, but one question remained: How does it feel to be called a “whale”?

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Forget light-up balls and electronic doggie doors. Here’s some dog-related technology that’s actually cool. These toys range from totally useful to cute and slightly absurd, but we promise your dog (or your dog-loving friends and family) will love them.

Best of all, most of these gadgets won’t break the bank and will add something significant to the recipient dog’s health, well being, and peace of mind.

DogTV

OK, OK. Buying a subscription TV channel for your dog sounds a bit … much. But DogTV is the kind of programming your dog wants to watch; it’ll keep her engaged and curious while you’re at the store or at work. And an engaged dog is a dog that isn’t eating your furniture or “crying” loudly enough that the neighbors write you nasty email.

DogTV is available from some cable providers and as a Roku channel.

About: “DOGTV’s 24/7 programming helps stimulate, entertain, relax, and habituate dogs with shows that expose them to various movements, sounds, objects, experiences and behavior patterns, all from a dog’s point of view.”

Perfect for: The dog who loves puppy videos on YouTube.

Price: $10 a month

Doggie DNA Kit

For the curious or scientifically minded pet owner, check out these Wisdom Panel DNA kits. With a simple cheek swab, you can find out what breeds went into making your lovable mutt the gorgeous creature she is — or you can certify your high-dollar designer dog as the bona fide offspring of two purebreed parents.

About: “Where does Buddy get his curly tail from? Why does he love digging holes in the backyard? Could I be doing more to make him happier and healthier? Your dog may not be able to tell you the answers — but his DNA can. … When you understand your dog’s natural tendencies, you can tailor a training, exercise and nutrition program to his needs.”

Perfect for: Mixed-breed dogs and their owners, especially for newer pets.

Price: $75 for mixed-breed reports

A Laser Tower

Dogs don’t have thumbs, so remote-control toys are right out, but this laser tower from Sharper Image is the next-best thing. It shoots the (harmless, we’re told) laser in 16 pattern, with a 360-degree scope for maximum play benefits.

About: “Safe, automatic rotating laser provides hours of active fun for dogs and cats. It projects a safe laser dot across the floor in unpredictable patterns that oscillate, stop, and change directions. It’s been proven to tempt even the laziest ‘couch pet-tato’ to hunt, play, chase, and pounce.”

Perfect for: The dog who’s already obsessed with laser pointers — or the dog who has to spend a fair amount of time alone at home.

Price: $30

Dog Pedometer & Cloud Health System from Fujitsu

So, you know Fitbit and Nike’s Fuelband, right? Well, Wandant is basically like that but for dogs. Fujitsu’s latest gadget is a tag and collar that track your dog’s every move, including footsteps, shivering, and even temperature changes. All this info uploads to a cloud-based health diary; all you do is hold the tag near a computer or smartphone. In the service, you can also input details on diet, exercise, and “dog business,” aka bowel movements. The link above will get you to Amazon’s Japanese site, where you can buy the device now; Fujitsu hasn’t yet said when Wandant will wag its way to other markets.

About: “The Wandant tag uses a three-axis accelerometer and automated inference technology to count steps based on detected foreleg movements, the speed of foreleg movements, and leg length, resulting in the pet care industry’s first automatic pedometer fully adapted for dogs. This results in highly accurate pace counts, measured automatically.”

Perfect for: The health nut and his or her companion animal.

Price: ~$120 plus $5/month for the cloud service

Tagg, the Pet Tracker

What’s sadder than a lost dog? Let’s not even dwell on it; the holidays are not the time to ponder such depressing hypotheticals. Instead, let’s all buy one another Taggs for our roaming-prone pets. This device takes some of the pain and stress out of one of the scariest parts of pet ownership: despite your best efforts, the dog has wandered too far out of sight during off-leash playtime or has somehow escaped through an unseen hole in the fence. Tagg clips onto a collar and provides GPS tracking for your pet. It also monitors your dog’s exercise levels.

About: “Tagg, the Pet Tracker, is a purpose-built pet tracking device that uses advanced GPS and wireless technology to track your pet’s location and activity from your computer or mobile device, 24 hours a day. If your pet strays from your Tagg zone, the Tagg system alerts you by email or text message, so you can find him on a map and bring him home.”

Perfect for: Anxious pet parents or wandering dogs

Price: $100 and $8/month

Puppy Tweets

Puppy Tweets is a weird novelty, but it’ll be the all-time perfect gift for that person who lives in the overlap of the Venn diagram of “social media whore” and “totally devoted dog owner.” Basically, it’s a clip-on device for your dog’s collar that tracks their activity — sounds, movement, eating, playtime — and posts to Twitter on their behalf.

The sad part: It looks like the maker is slowly going bye-bye. Grab the last few units on Amazon and eBay and set up your account while you still can!

About: “If your dog is barking, you might get a Tweet like ‘Bark … and the whole neighborhood barks with you!’ When she’s sleeping, look out for ‘Had a wonderful dream about you. You were bringing me snacks!’ And at lunch your puppy might say ‘You at lunch? Remember the two most beautiful words in the English language: DOGGIE BAG!’”

Perfect for: See above: “Social media whore” + “devoted dog owner”

Price: Check eBay and Amazon for listings.

Images courtesy of Jolie O’Dell, DogTV.com, Petsmart.com, Sharper Image, Fujitsu, PetLoveShack, and Puppy Tweets

The online marketplace for pet food, pet toys, and everything but the pets themselves pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital in 1988, IPO’d in 2000, bought a Super Bowl ad in January of that year, and shuttered the company in November.

Perhaps the company was just 12 years early.

I’ve been seeing a lot of pitches for dog and cat product startups lately, including DoggyLoot, a daily deal site for chews, toys, and treats for dogs. The company says that 4 percent of pet products are sold online today, with a 12 percent annual growth rate.

With $2 million in venture funding from Sandbox Venture Fund, hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and several million in revenue in just its first year (which is probably more than Pets.com in all its ill-fated history) the company may just be proving that now is finally the time for pet sales online.

It helps that DoggyLoot is not focused on food, which is heavy and costly to ship. According to data the company assembled, more than three-quarters of dog owners have made online purchases, mostly of toys, medicines, and accessories or toys. Those are higher value and higher margin products which ship easily and efficiently.

The company put together an infographic showing the state of the industry, at least so far as dogs are concerned:

photo credit: Sebastián-Dario via photo pin cc

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Although the $199 Kindle Fire hybrid e-reader and tablet has captured a lot of consumer attention in the last few weeks, Apple’s iPad is still the most popular and desired tablet device across the board, especially with kids. With the holiday season coming up, the likelihood of tablet purchases is greatly increased because there are so many unique options at different prices.

But which segment of the public is most likely to actually purchase an iPad this holiday?

Marketing data firm BlueKai has determined the most likely buyers of the iPad are currently wealthy, male, video-game-playing pet owners. (The last one’s a little weird, but adorable.) Another important factor that tells you who’s buying iPads is that 46 percent of tablet-owning households earn more than $100,000 a year. Most likely the average income for tablet owners will decrease as less-expensive tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet to get more popular, but even with those factored in, we’d expect the iPad to remain the king in the tablet space for quite some time.

View the full infographic below to get a better feel for the most likely iPad buyers:

[Thumbnail cat image via Johnny Vulkan/Flickr]

PetFlow offers automatic pet food delivery. The company offers flat-rate $4.95 shipping for any order over $20, and it offers simple tools to let you easily choose food, treats, litter, and other pet supplies. Once you’ve built your order, you can schedule it to automatically ship to you every 2 to 14 weeks.

The site has over 70 brands of pet food and treats (thankfully, it has all of my spoiled cat’s favorite stuff). The benefits of a service like PetFlow are obvious to anyone who has had to lug  hefty bags of litter and food home in the rain, while using public transportation. Best of all, you’ll never have to deal with trekking to a store only to find that your pet’s brand of food isn’t in stock. The company tells us that most of its customers are women above 40, but I honestly have no shame in admitting that I’m currently preparing an order of my own.

PetFlow is definitely eating shipping costs to get large items shipped for $5, but co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky tells us that it’s not doing anything stupid like selling food below cost. And unlike Pets.com, it doesn’t have any expensive Superbowl ads on the horizon. Instead, the company is hoping to hook repeat customers. With 80 percent of its customers opting for auto-delivery, PetFlow may be on to something.

Photo via Xuilla