Doof.com, Liad Shababo, CEO Interview

SNW INTERVIEW -- Oct 11, 2007 -- Doof.com combines social networking with games. Here's my interview with the CEO of Doof.com, Liad Shababo. - Mark Brooks

What is doof’s founding story?
In 2005, I started a company called Money Gaming (MoneyGaming.com) that allowed people to play games of skill against each other for real money. The thinking was, if people do it with poker, why not with other player-to-player games. Players could come to the site, deposit money, and agree to play, say, chess for $10 each.

After Money Gaming went live and quickly became big, it became apparent to me that winning money wasn’t the highest motivation for people with regards to playing games online. There are far higher motivations that Money Gaming hadn’t taken into account.

So, earlier this year, I decided to start the concept again from a Web 2.0 perspective by putting together all the fascinating components of social networking along with all our expertise in building a casual gaming platform. Thus, doof was born.

What’s your personal background?
I’ve been working in the internet world since about 2002. I started off as an affiliate for the online gaming companies and very quickly realized there was the potential for not only making money, but also more importantly offering products which would be used. For me, the Web 2.0 side of the internet is when things got exciting. I like the idea of collaboration between different people. I like the idea of media sharing, for example. So, I began to research and learn more and more about ways people could interact with each other online. It seemed that every facet – sharing photos, videos, comments, ideas, etc. – had been done. Except for games. Playing games with each other hadn’t really been worked out yet, especially on a freemium-based Web 2.0 model. So, we worked on developing that idea and, ten months later, happily launched doof.

How is doof different from other social networks?
I wouldn’t really classify doof as a social network. When we were building doof, it was very hard for us to easily get across what it was. We offered a lot of things, like games, tournaments, competitions, media sharing, customization, blogging, and more. It was very hard for me to pinpoint exactly what doof was.

Since we launched a few weeks ago, though, several blogging sites have come across us organically and very kindly written reviews about us. A key phrase that they all used and that I’ve decided to use myself now is “social gaming” since it’s social networking coupled with casual gaming. I think doof is the first, maybe only, site to utilize this social gaming concept with a Web 2.0 front end.

Doof is based fully in a new and upcoming technology called Flex, which is part of the Adobe Flash family. Flex had been used primarily for banking services and behind-the-scenes software, but we very quickly noted its power and realized we could tame it. So, we developed doof from the ground up utilizing this new technology and now have a media/entertainment platform that is second-to-none in terms of vibrancy and richness. Since launch, players have very clearly told us that we offer a functionality that is above and beyond what they can get elsewhere. Users can decide color schemes, sizes, layouts, and backgrounds, and can even upload their own wallpaper. These things were never offered before in online gaming or social networking.

How is the site going?
We turned off the password feature in September, didn’t really make any more marketing calls, and didn’t really turn on any of our paid marketing avenues. And, to be honest, the last few weeks have been a mind-opening experience for us. Turns out, if your product is good, it will spread organically and, before you know it, you will have a user base.

In the three weeks since we’ve launched, we now have thousands of users. People have referred their friends and are really using the software as we had hoped. Even though there’s a financial element to doof with the virtual currency – which not only is an indicator of your skill level, but also can be used to purchase virtual goods and give to other players – we weren’t planning on pushing any of the financial aspects until way down the line. But people began to deposit money on day one. So, it really exceeded our expectations for the first few weeks and we now have very high hopes that our paid advertising, when it commences, will take off.

How do you make money?
When we started this, there were many ways we could have monetized the site, like through subscriptions and advertising. But, as an internet user myself, I am not so into subscriptions and felt advertising was a bit obtrusive and would really hinder the game playing social aspects of the software. So, we settled on the freemium-based business model where the majority of the platform would be free. Anyone could play games, register their pictures and profiles, instant message with other members, compete in tournaments, etc. Certain bits of the site, though, like elite games or specific virtual goods, would be locked down and require ongoing subscription.

Over time, I expect to add some sponsorship to the site. Hopefully, different global brands would sponsor certain events or tournaments. But, for now, freemium is the way forward.

What social networking or social gaming sites have been an inspiration to you?
I think it’s become a cliché now, but I think when Mark Zuckerberg opened up Facebook and allowed developers to really get down and dirty in the code and help mould Facebook’s future was enlightening to us. We had always hoped to have open APIs for 3rd parties to develop, but the level to which Facebook has allowed 3rd parties access and control over the end user experience is really inspiring. I think that’s definitely the way forward. I think once doof has finished its beta stage and we’ve ramped up its marketing and user base, we would very much like to follow in Facebook’s footsteps by opening our APIs to 3rd parties.

What are your goals for 2007 through 2008?
In one of the folders on my desk, I have a project pipeline which spans probably several dozen pages. We’ve got a lot of work to do. My obvious aim is to increase the user base, but it’s also to have global competitions where different parts of the player base will compete against other parts, like the USA versus Europe. We would like to start an atmosphere of competition on the site coupled with social networking. You could personalize your profile, but at the same time compete for your country, age, hometown, or company. That’s the goal – to really ramp up the user base and begin to polarize the audiences so we can create some exciting and pretty fierce competition.