Davos Interviews: Max Levchin Says Slide Now Makes Almost All Of Its Money From Virtual Goods

Continuing his series of Davos interviews, Michael talks to Slide CEO and founder Max Levchin in the video after the jump. Levchin discusses the " shift from advertising to virtual goods" and reveals that most of Slide's revenues now come from sales of virtual goods, whereas it was the reverse a year ago. Slide makes some of the most popular apps on Facebook and other social networks, and the fact that it is no longer focussed on advertising says a lot about the prospects for social ads. Last year was a huge transition for Slide, made possible by the fact the company has raised a total of $78 million . Levchin is now steeped in the dynamics of virtual goods and how to get people to pay for them, which he discusses at length in the interview. He makes a distinction between buying virtual goods as a "consumption decision" (because you want to level up in a game immediately, for instance) and an "investment decision" where you spend to improve your standing in a community. He believes there are "less diminishing returns" in getting consumers to make see spending on virtual goods as an investment rather than just consumption.