IMVU

IMVU, Inc. is an online game website founded in 2004,[1] in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games.[2] IMVU has over 3 million active users[3] and currently has the largest virtual goods catalog[4]of more than 6 million items.[3] The business is located in Mountain View, California, and has 120 full-time employees.[3]It is also known as one of the leading practitioners of the lean startup approach.[5]
The company name "IMVU" is neither an acronym nor an initialism. IMVU co-founder Eric Ries[6] described the accidental process by which the company acquired its meaningless name, and stated "It's not an acronym; it doesn't stand for anything".[7] However, fans of IMVU service created an acronym for the name, IMVU (Instant Messaging within a Virtual Universe).[citation needed]
== Contents ==
 [hide] 
* 1 IMVU
* 2 Community
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 Further reading
== IMVU[edit] ==
IMVU contains its own economy with a currency system based on IMVU "credits" and "promotional credits." A third form of currency also exists for members who sell custom-made items, "developer tokens," which are earned when a user purchases an item with "promo-credits," also known as "credits." You can create an account to go with facebook so that you may play with friends. Credits can be purchased online using actual currency either directly from IMVU or from third party re-sellers. Credits may also be purchased on IMVU gift cards available from retail outlets such as department stores. Credits may not be transferred back from IMVU to actual currency but can be sold to registered re-sellers who will purchase them for real-world currency. The credits are used by members to purchase virtual items like fashion pieces (hair, clothes, skins, and accessories), pets, and 3D scenes such as homes, clubs and open landscapes. Furniture can also be purchased the same way and placed into unlocked rooms, but there are also rooms that have some furniture included in them as well as locked rooms that include furniture that cannot be removed.
Promotional credits, abbreviated to "promo-credits" or "predits," are a second form of currency distributed to members by IMVU and can be obtained by participating in various "Partner" promotions as well as a few activities the IMVU provides. With relation to a standard free or full member, promo-credits are similar to standard credits. A given number of credits equates, promo-credits cannot be used to purchase items as gifts for other members and may not be traded back to an IMVU re-seller for actual currency. Promo-credits used to purchase a virtual product are exchanged into "developer tokens," also known as "dev tokens." The purchase transfers the promo-credits into developer tokens but nets a single developer token per purchase when promo-credits are used regardless of the price of the product purchased.[8]
== Community[edit] ==
Many IMVU users are content creators, creating and selling products in the IMVU catalog. Users also devote time to customizing their individual homepages, setting up public and private rooms, creating and participating in user groups (similar to forums but personalized via the owner), and participate in the Community forums. Additionally, there are numerous user produced third-party websites providing additional forums and resources to the IMVU community. IMVU users also do peer reviewing on virtual products waiting to be submitted into the IMVU catalog.
== See also[edit] ==
* Comparison of instant messaging clients
* List of social networking websites
* Ravenwood Fair
* Anshe Chung
== References[edit] ==
# ^ Jump up to:a b "About: IMVU", IMVU website
# Jump up^ Mar 11th, 2011 (2011-03-11). "IMVU Games Taking Advantage of Strong Growth". Insidesocialgames.com. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
# ^ Jump up to:a b c "IMVU Information". Imvu.com. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
# Jump up^ January 31, 2011 (2011-01-31). "IMVU Announces Growth, Promotion". Engage Digital. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
# Jump up^ Cameron, Chris (2010-1-13). "Built for Speed: Turn Your Startup Into a Lean, Mean Iterating Machine". Read Write Web. Retrieved 2010-9.
# Jump up^ Eric Ries, Co-Founder and IMVU Board Observer IMVU. Retrieved: 2013-05-25.
# Jump up^ "Inspiring women in Technology: Eric Ries (Author of The Lean Startup)". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
# Jump up^ "IMVU". IMVU. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
== Further reading[edit] ==
* Terdiman, Daniel (September 16, 2004). "Instant Messaging Goes Graphical".