While social app start-up Slide's 2009 ad revenue is falling, the company has disclosed to the San Francisco Business Times that sales of virtual goods have increased to the point where the company's revenue stream is now split evenly between the two sources of income. Slide launched its virtual goods range last year, selling habitat images for virtual pets and virtual drinks that can be sent to friends as gifts. Slide's core product is essentially software for creating relatively sophisticated photo slideshows that can be embedded into social networking sites.
Based on the growth of its virtual goods sales this year, Slide stated that it would be investing primarily in growing that stream of revenue in the future. The company's next major goal is building out technology that would allow for one-click purchases of virtual items, to encourage more impulse purchasing. Slide is not currently profitable but hopes that growing its virtual goods businesses will get the company to that point. Despite this the company is growing despite the down economy, adding over 28 new employees during 2009 to bring total headcount to an impressive 114.
Slide accepted a $50 million venture capital investment in January of 2008, at a valuation of $550 million. According to ComScore the site served 133.8 million unique monthly visitors in April. Most of that impressive monthly traffic comes from outside of the United States, though. While most ad agencies are uninterested in reaching international users, all that's required to monetize a foreign user through virtual goods is appropriate payment technology. Since most international users don't have credit cards, this often makes support for technologies like mobile payment and prepaid cards more important.
While Slide's core business is still the virtual slideshow technology, the company has expanded into other types of apps. Its SuperPoke! premium subscription service allows users to send virtual gestures to each other, essentially virtual gifts consisting of an unusual action like "throwing sheep." In April 2008 it introduces SuperPoke! Pets, which added a virtual pet game option to the app. The virtual pets draw about 5 to 7 million users per month, mostly female. Another extension app targeted at men is expected to debut next month. Slide also maintains a Top Friends app with a Top Dollars option that lets users buy virtual gifts for friends.
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