What is this Gift Store?

[Bebop]

Yesterday I noticed this at the top of my screen:
"Announcing the Gift Store! Go to any member's profile and click the "Give a Gift" link to begin. You've got 100 credits to get started!"
Each member page has a prompt for it. Does anyone know what this is about?

[Kiska]

Thanks for the additional info, Andy and all. I'll to plan to drag it out of sight~~

[Keith]

Ahhh, some enlightenment on the "Ning Gifts"

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aktPPHCAdOQg

Just as suspected, it is a scam to get users here to $$$$$$ for "gifts" On Facebook its their games, here on Ning "Gifts" ... but I doubt anyone here was naive enough to believe all this "social networking" was being created simply for our enjoyment!

Thank you Andy, for keeping this site, just as we enjoy it here.

excerpts:

The company is testing a payment system to gain a cut each time an online-game player buys a digital tractor, weapon or hat on the site. That would give Facebook a piece of the hundreds of millions of dollars that are being pulled in by Zynga Inc., creator of “Farmville” and “Mafia Wars,” and Playfish Inc., maker of “Pet Society.” The social-games market will almost triple to $2 billion by 2012, estimates ThinkEquity LLC.

“We want to be a way that people connect with each other through games and fun that is so meaningful to them and becomes such a daily behavior that they can’t imagine what life was like before they had ‘Farmville,’” Pincus said in an interview. “I’m extremely doubtful that vision will be more likely to be achieved as part of another company.”

[Bebop]

Keith, some help from Andy:
1) You can drag the "You don't have any gifts yet" box to the bottom of either the center or left column of your profile page. We can not delete it. But it gets it out of sight.
2) Click the X on the Main Page and it won't prompt you anymore

[Keith]

Thanks Bebop, I moved it way down to the bottom, out of sight!