Interview with Blixy.com CEO Alessandra Colaci
by: Jake Press

Follow her on Twitter:  @alessandraco

Her site: www.blixy.com

I recently had the privilege of sitting down and interviewing Alessandra Colaci, of Blixy.com. Blixy.com focuses on creating and delivering personalized widgets for a user’s specific profile.

Q: How and When did Blixy get started?

A: November of last year, the site was rebranded “blingyblob” (try saying that 5 times over the phone). A site was created to users to personalize their pages, demonstrating their own persona.

Q: What is your focus for Blixy.com?

A: Creating high quality widgets! We want people to feel like they can’t get our stuff anywhere else. We are creating skins for Twitter backgrounds and cool widgets as a sub-site of Blixy. A special area for products relating to each site.

“That sounds exiting”

Q: When will these awesome creations be available?

A: Probably in about the next couple of months.

Q: Who is your audience?

A: It’s really broad, but a little skewing towards female. Middle age and beyond. But we really have a variety.

Q: How are you generating revenue and monetizing?

A: We want our creations right now to be free to the user, so we use an ad model that is PPC based and banner ads.

Q: How is that working out for you?

A: Good! Definitely right now there is a shift in revenue online. Advertisers are trying to spend money on social media and community building. There is money being made with this model.

Q: Would you do a custom product for a user?

A: Yes, we have received these requests and are interested in discussing with others about their creation needs.

Q: What have you learned from Social Media?

A: People love to learn in these communities and show their online persona. “This is my personality” I believe is important to a user. Having them own this content and this is a “piece of me” allows them to express who they are to their peers.

Q: So what do you really think about Myspace? A couple of years ago they were King, now… people have moved to facebook. What are your thoughts in comparison to Facebook?

A: I know numbers have recently shown this to be true. I do love Myspace because of its personalized nature. I think facebook is a shift and a “natural progression” and because things can be done quickly. Myspace is more of the hang out spot as opposed to professional.

Q: Where do you see social media evolving and how does Blixy.com play a part?

A: We want to evolve with what the user is “currently excited about”, tools for twitter, tools for facebook, and the new social media tools that evolve every year or two. We want people to come to our site that are interested in jazzing up their website, and showing their personality.

Q: Lets talk Twitter! What do you think are the pros and cons for how people use Twitter?

A: I think people posting links promoting their site all of the time will make someone want to un-follow. This does for work for some though. I think having the balance is important.

Q: How much of your traffic comes from twitter?

A: I am passive about discussing my site. I think people appreciate getting to know me as a person and then they can check out my bio and see what I’m all about.

Q: Advice for newbies! What advice do you have for newbies that don’t understand this “social media” stuff?

A: Um, I would look around and see what other people are doing. Do a Google search on the RT and Hashtag type of terms. People are willing to help when they see that you generally want to learn. You can get up to speed very quickly with this approach.

— Press… out.