Social media recommendation engine GetGlue is monetizing its new application for iPhone and iPod touch with mobile commerce affiliate relationships and branded stickers given as rewards to active users.

The GetGlue application for the iPhone lets users check-in to their favorite shows, music, movies and books, and see what their friends are enjoying in real-time. With each check-in, users earn points and stickers from GetGlue and major brands, and the application also lets users rate their favorite shows, movies, music and books and receive personalized suggestions.

“We have standard affiliate relationships with Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Netflix, Fandango and Moviefone to make it easy to transact on your preferred online retailer,” said Fraser Kelton, vice president of business development at AdaptiveBlue, New York. “A percentage of our users are transacting via buy links on our site, and that’s driving some revenue for us.

“Experimented with a couple different flavors of partnerships—it’s always an exchange for something—sometimes we get promotion and PR for our platform through [our partners’] channels,” he said. “Often they promote us through their social networks—Facebook and Twitter—as well as advertising and blog posts.

“There is no [in-app] mobile advertising, because we believe having a clean user experience is important, and there are other ways to monetize such as branded stickers, and we’ve discussed the idea of sponsored recommendations, but we have not done so yet—it would have to be relevant and compelling.”

AdaptiveBlue’s GetGlue is a social network for entertainment, with more than 1.5 million unique ratings for movies, TV shows, music and books every month and more than 500,000 unique users.

GetGlue users rate things they like and get recommendations based on personal tastes, friends’ favorites and what is most popular now with everyone.

The GetGlue application connects friends and fans in real-time around their favorite entertainment, while watching a TV show, reading a new bestseller, listening to a favorite band, going to see a movie, playing a video game, drinking wine or discussing a topic such as sports, celebrities and news.

GetGlue gets mobile
Users of the GetGlue application can:

•  Check-in to their favorite shows, movies, music and books

•  Share check-ins with their Twitter and Facebook friends

•  See what their friends are currently watching, reading or listening to

•  Earn points, get stickers from GetGlue and majore brands, and win free stuff

•  Rate lists of popular shows, movies, music and books

•  Get weekly new releases and old favorites picked just for you

•  Access existing reviews, clips and ratings for more than 20 million movies, books and albums

•  Take their favorite entertainment and suggestions with them everywhere

GetGlue users can earn a variety of stickers that reward engagement and highlight their personal interests. It has partnered with TV networks, movie studios, book publishers and entertainment blogs to provide exclusive rewards for users of the GetGlue iPhone application.

GetGlue’s launch partners include Showtime, Warner Bros, Random House, Universal Pictures, PBS, Wired, Simon & Schuster, Cinematical, Hachette Filipacchi, Harper Collins, Indiebound, O’Reilly, UGO and 1UP.

Branded stickers can be earned for popular shows such as Dexter and Weeds, new movies such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Clash of the Titans and new books, including The Passage and The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.

For some of the media properties, the dedicated page within the application has a buy button that redirects users to the transactional page for one of GetGlue’s affiliate partners.

“The GetGlue app lets you check into books you’re reading, movies you’re watching, video games you’re playing and that will be broadcast to your friends and the entire GetGlue community,” said Ami Greko, director of business development at AdaptiveBlue. “It’s based around the concept of checking into media while you’re consuming it and earning points and sticker rewards for checking in.

“We pull information and content from Amazon, Wikipedia, IMDB and other sources,” she said. “Users can watch trailers, get more information, read reviews and rate media based on category or what’s hot, as well as access recommendations for new movie releases and DVD releases.

“With the iPhone app, people can take it wherever they go, which can help them remember what they wanted to buy when they’re in the store.”