Image
Top
Navigation
February 15, 2010

Blippy – See What Your Friends Are Buying

Blippy is a site that lets people see what their friends are buying online. Known as the “Twitter of personal finance,” Blippy lets users broadcast their financial transactions to followers online, letting their friends know how much they spent on a recent Zappos order, an afternoon trip to Starbucks, or a spending spree on iTunes.

To use the service and share your purchases with the world, you’ll need more than just a login and a password—you’ll need a valid credit card, as well. After entering your credit card information into the Blippy system, your purchases on that card will be continually tracked and updated on your Blippy account. Each new purchase update looks similar to a tweet, and includes the name of the business and the amount that was spent. When you’re not sharing your own purchases, you can browse through other people’s—checking out what your friends are spending their paychecks on, and seeing what other people spend on an average trip to Barnes and Nobles. To facilitate communication, Blippy allows users to comment on eachother’s purchases and create threaded discussions under each post.

If you’re at all private and weary of sharing the details of you’re your personal life with others, then Blippy might not be for you. But if you’re one of the millions of people who enjoys sharing photos, messages, and videos online, then there is no doubt that posting your most recent purchases for all to see is the next natural step. Whether you’re looking for a better way to stay accountable for the money you spend, or you just like sharing your purchases with a wide audience of followers, Blippy is a new networking site worth checking out.

Practical Uses:

  • Be held accountable for the money you spend on a daily basis
  • See what songs your friends are buying on iTunes
  • Let everyone know how much you spent on a new TV
  • Discover spending trends among your family or friends

Insider Tips:

  • Keep at least one credit card private, to use when you don’t want a transaction to show up on Blippy—such as if you’re buying a birthday gift for your wife
  • Comment on your friends’ posts and ask how they’re enjoying recent purchases
  • Virtually “like” a user’s purchase
  • Give Blippy access to post the specific items you purchased at certain online stores such as iTunes and Zappos

What we liked:

  • It’s fun to see what your friends are spending their money on
  • Posting how much you spend on coffee each day helps keep you financially accountable
  • Ability to follow as many friends as you’d like, just like on Twitter
  • See if you overspent on a recent purchase based on what others paid for the same product

What we didn’t like:

  • You need to have at least two credit cards—one for Blippy purchases and one private card—since there is a good chance you won’t want to share every single purchase that you make with the world

Alternatives:

  • None

Company Info:

  • Launched: December 2009
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
  • Founded by: Ashvin Kumar, Chris Estreich, and Philip Kaplan
  • Web site: http://blippy.com

Costs:

  • Free

Submit a Comment