Another step into a slightly different area of interest. This article is about a new social media outlet, one based on an online gaming community. And I think it is one that we should follow with interest. Because rather than creating a community, this is more about serving an existing community.
We are about to see the creation of another social media network, which will start with up to 11 million fanatical members.
Blizzard Entertainment are famed for their online games, with World of Warcraft (WoW) the undisputed heavy-weight of the MMORPG genre and Starcraft continuing to have a cult following despite its age. They have announced the introduction of new networking system called Real ID, which will allow for chat across the different game platforms and the publishing of status updates to registered friends.
What is interesting is that this is not about creating a new network, it is about connecting and strengthening an energised - somewhat obsessive - community of gamers that already exists.
No one should doubt the fanaticism of the Blizzard game players and the strong sense of community that binds them. World of Warcraft has about 11.5 million players paying their monthly subscription, and the launch of Starcraft II is bound to bring in many thousands of more players.
The average WoW player spends about fifteen hours a week in Azeroth.
And the Wowwikki is a monster with nearly 90,000 articles, and it faces strong competition from numerous rival sites all vying to be the online bible for the game. It has hundreds of small fansites and podcasts. There is even a very popular web series called The Guild, written and performed by Felicia Day.
This sense of community is one of the reasons why WoW has seen off a number of rivals. The fact that friends want to game with friends means that it is hard to attract individuals to play on under-populated worlds, and to leave your friends behind.
A gaming experience is composed of many elements, and if you don’t have the social aspect then you need to excel in every other department. Up to now there has not been a game that reaches that high.
We are about to see the creation of another social media network, which will start with up to 11 million fanatical members.
Blizzard Entertainment are famed for their online games, with World of Warcraft (WoW) the undisputed heavy-weight of the MMORPG genre and Starcraft continuing to have a cult following despite its age. They have announced the introduction of new networking system called Real ID, which will allow for chat across the different game platforms and the publishing of status updates to registered friends.
What is interesting is that this is not about creating a new network, it is about connecting and strengthening an energised - somewhat obsessive - community of gamers that already exists.
No one should doubt the fanaticism of the Blizzard game players and the strong sense of community that binds them. World of Warcraft has about 11.5 million players paying their monthly subscription, and the launch of Starcraft II is bound to bring in many thousands of more players.
The average WoW player spends about fifteen hours a week in Azeroth.
And the Wowwikki is a monster with nearly 90,000 articles, and it faces strong competition from numerous rival sites all vying to be the online bible for the game. It has hundreds of small fansites and podcasts. There is even a very popular web series called The Guild, written and performed by Felicia Day.
A gaming experience is composed of many elements, and if you don’t have the social aspect then you need to excel in every other department. Up to now there has not been a game that reaches that high.
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