43-year-old woman is the average social gamer!

The topic of my Advanced Digital and Emerging Media class this week will be ‘Gaming and Virtual Worlds’ and while I was doing some research, I found a recent study about ‘social games’ that reveals what is the market of gaming today.

Just to make it clear, ‘social games’ are games designed to be played together with friends, using the infrastructure built by social networks.

The study was conducted by Information Solutions Group for the American casual game developer/publisher, Popcap Games and here are some interesting stats that I would like to share:

·    More females play social games (55% vs. 45%).
·    Social game players average 43 years in age.
·    The majority (41%) of those playing social games work full-time.
·    Fun and excitement (53%), stress relief (45%) and competitive spirit (43%) are the top three reasons people play social games.
·    71% play social games on a desktop computer, 50% play on a laptop computer, while 9% play on a mobile phone.
·    At 83%, Facebook is the primary social networking site social gamers go to play social games, followed by MySpace (24%) and Bebo (7%).
·    Ads promoting games on social networking sites (38%), and word of mouth are the primary ways Internet users hear about new social games.
·    A recommendation from a friend, relative or colleague (60%) is the number one factor influencing the selection of social games, followed by the familiarity with the title/played a similar game elsewhere (46%).
·    At 51%, PopCap’s Bejeweled Blitz is the most popular game among social gamers, followed by FarmVille (44%) and Mafia Wars at 32%.

As Playfish CEO, Kristian Segerstrale said in a recent interview, social experiences are more compelling than traditional gaming experiences for the vast majority of people. Add to that Facebook’s ability for users to tell their friends what they’re playing, even those who aren’t also playing the game, and the reach of these games becomes unprecedented.

To see the full study, click here.

Movies go social

I was reading an article about How Lionsgate Plans to Take on 'Twitter Effect' for 'Kick-Ass' and I think it’s interesting to observe how a film success is increasingly dependent on social media efforts nowadays.

After Avatar’s massive box office success being attributed to all the word of mouth generated through their use of social media, I believe that we will definitely see more and more use of social media to help build online buzz around independent movies, television shows and DVD releases of blockbuster.

To promote the launch of the movie “Kick-Ass”, for example, Lionsgate is putting together their brand pages on YouTube, Facebook and MySpace under one unique platform. They said that the platform will allow them to integrate user comments, video streams and tweets (via a branded hashtag) on one place, with real-time metrics to show isolated and combined traffic statistics.

I’m curious to see if their tactic will pay-off, but it will surely be very hard for them to bit Avatar, which was ranked #2 highest grossing film of all times.

Please, call me!

I was ready to change the subject from Facebook and talk about viral video, which would be the topic of my Advanced Digital and Emerging media class at NYU but I just couldn’t do it without this last post.
 
This week it was my birthday and of course, on that dates we always expect lots of calls from friends and family. Yet, this was not exactly what happened with me.  Instead of the calls, people just posted a message on my Facebook or Orkut!
 
Obviously, I was happy with all the birthday wishes through the website anyway and one could argue that some people only remembered it was my birthday because of Facebook. However, it made me think how communication and relationship between people has changed overtime.
 
This is not a new topic I know, and this has been debated as social media becomes more and more in vogue, but if we stop to think about how it has transformed our habits and the way we interact with other people, the reality becomes more evident.
 
While I believe that social media is a great way to interact and even, virtually “meet” new people, I also believe that it has prevent people from real “live” conversations which are very important for our socialization and ability to life in society.
 
Humans are social creatures. Think of how great you feel after sharing a laugh with a good friend. Through our relationships, we are sustained in our personal growth and development. 
 
So, this makes me think that “real” human interactions should never be replaced, but only enhanced through the use of social networks. Oh, and please, remember to call me next time, it can be on Skype if you prefer… : -)

More about Facebook

I was reading Vinci’s blog post about the article Social Networking Sites and Social Theory and I have to agree with her when she said that she had to “surrender” to Facebook.  Who is not on Facebook today? It’s almost impossible to be out of the network, even if you are only passively observing. 
 
I had to create a Facebook account when I came to NY since all my classmates used the site to interact, to send invitations to events, etc. Additionally, it was a great way to keep in touch with my friends and family in Brazil, who have migrated from Orkut, the most popular social network site in Brazil, to Facebook.
 
I am certain that it is important to remember that everything you post is out there for everyone to see so one should take care and create limits to what is really private and what is ok to share. I have to agree, though, that some people overcome those limits and make their lives an “open book”, divulging extremely personal and sometimes embarrassing information. 
 
It is clear that today, people search for you online to get references. I constantly do it, in order to prepare for interviews or to search more about a professor or coworker.
 
Therefore, I believe that as long as you have common sense, it won’t be prejudicial to have an account on Facebook or any other social networking site.

How brands can use Facebook effectively?

Today, over 450 million people worldwide are active on Facebook, more than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each week, approximately 1.5 million local businesses have active pages and 20 million people become fans of pages each day (source: Facebook)

Yes, the numbers are huge and it becomes almost impossible for a company or brand not to have a presence on Facebook. Companies of all sizes are moving quickly to get on the site and to create Fan Pages to attract customers and prospects. However, some lack a social media strategy and a deep understanding of what Facebook and other social networks have to offer.

Additionally, companies should first understand what their target audience is doing online, and determine what kind of relationship they want to build with them, based on what they are ready for. Forrester have released on January a new version of their famous Social Technographics ladder, which looks at how people use social media. By understanding what consumers are going online, companies can create what makes sense to them.

To be effective, a Facebook page should be continuously updated with good, relevant content. The more actions you take, the more you appear in a fan’s News Feed and this will make them remember you and your brand. It is important to offer fans an incentive to remain active and to visit and interact frequently.

Some companies are doing a great job and getting the most out of Facebook. On AllFacebook, a blog that covers all issues pertaining to the site, it is possible to find the ranking of top Fan Pages. Here are the first ten today:
 

On my research about Facebook I found an interesting presentation that provides an excellent guidance on how to get the best out of site, as a business, by creating brand pages. 

15 Facebook Learnings from the top 50 brands

View more presentations from Axon Alex.

All of this makes me think how important it is for companies today to be constantly listening, observing, engaging and trying new and innovative ways to interact with consumers.

New data on Social Media

This week I was reading a research conducted by PewInternet, about Social Media and Young Adults and I found some interesting stats that I would like to share.

According to the study, young people are losing interest in long-form blogging, as their communication habits have become increasingly brief, and mobile.

Since 2006 the use of blogs is decreasing among teens and young adults. On that year, the percentage of adolescents who maintained a blog was 28% and in 2009 it was only 14%. Additionally, blog commenting has also dropped among teens: 52% of teens’ network users said that they comment in their friends’ blogs, down from the 76% who did so in 2006. 

On the other hand, adults aged 30 years or more have shown growing interest in blogs. In 2007, 7% said that they maintained a blog and that number rose to 11% in 2009.

Moreover, both teen and adult use of social networking sites has risen significantly.73% of American adolescents reported to use multiple social networks websites – increasing from 55% in 2006 and 65% in 2008. Among adults, 47% use social networking sites, up from 37% in November 2008.

The study shows, however, that there is a difference in site preference and usage among different age groups. Young people are more likely to maintain a profile on MySpace (66% of young profile owners do so, compared with just 36% of those 30 and older) but less likely to have a profile on the LinkedIn (7% vs. 19%). In contrast, adult profile owners under 30 and those 30 and older are equally likely to maintain a profile on Facebook (71% of young profile owners do so, compared with 75% of older profile owners).

Another interesting finding is the low usage of Twitter among teens. Only 8% of social network users with ages between 12 and 17 utilize the microblog.  Among adults, the age group that most uses Twitter is between 18 and 24 years (37%), followed by those who are between 25 and 29 years (25%).