Get’cha Game Face On, Baby!
Gaming
12.16.2008
Now, the game has changed and my advice is, “Wake up kiddies, it’s a new day.”
In the era of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, etc.), gamers aren’t trapped in their living rooms anymore. Now the world is your playground. If maintaining a steady paycheck isn’t an issue, you can play games 24 hours a day with people on all continents – if you really (and I mean really) want to. Games have become an integral part of social networks.
The increasing popularity of this venue became evident in June when Electronic Arts (EA) purchased a small social gaming service called ThreeSF for a reported $15 million. ThreeSF is known for creating the gaming social site Rupture (http://www.rupture.com), which was the brainchild of Shawn Fanning — you know, the guy who founded Napster. Rupture, which is still considered a beta, grew in popularity mainly due to word of mouth and the always changing needs of gamers who seem to have NSOS (New Shiny Object Syndrome).
For the budding fashionista, Fashion Fantasy Game (http://www.fashionfantasygame.com) is a social network and game for tweens. It allows kids to “be” a fashion designer or storeowner. The game teaches business decision-making in a fun and creative environment and allows users to make new friends in the process. This site was created by R. Lilly Tuckerwear and Nancy Ganz, a successful fashion industry entrepreneur and mom.
Today, it’s not all about keeping score. Two years ago, Best Buy launched an internal social network/game to gain intel and marketing ideas from employees working day-to-day with customers. Gary Koelling and Setev Bendt needed a way to bring 20+ year olds together by launching BlueShirtNation — named for the blue work shirts that Best Buy employees wear.
Through BlueShirtNation, Best Buy created a community for its employees and accomplished “higher participation in Best Buy’s 401(k) plan and lower employee turnover,” according to the Minneapolis - St. Paul Business Journal. To continue the momentum, a game was created that had employees playing against each other — there was even a leader board. Competition was key to keeping folks pumped in a retail environment known for high-turnover.
As the game changes in the online and social networking communities, we may one day find that our fluffy pink PJ’s come equipped with a battery pack — so we can all play together, during REM sleep.
