On a side note, I haven’t posted here in awhile and will be shutting this blog down to start a new one with more frequent posts that are more in-depth. I also plan on spending more time on each post ensuring that the writing is much better. I will post a link here when I get it started.

With SXSW taking place right now, the location wars are in full swing and Foursquare and Gowalla are going at it. With the wars heating up I thought I’d give it a shot also and I’ve started checking in on Foursquare, Gowalla and also occasionally on Yelp! in order to check out these systems. So far, Foursquare and Gowalla are very similar and it seems like they are both getting heavy usage down in Austin this week. The one feature I like about Gowalla right now is that it uses GPS data to guarantee a person’s location and not allow false check-ins. This keeps someone from checking in at places they have never been and getting a bunch of undeserved mayorships. I’m not really sure the intrinsic value of checking-in yet, that’s still something I’m trying to figure out. However, I have noticed that I’ve been finding some good deals from bars, restaurants, etc. for people who have checked in. I’m also waiting for these companies to start making more money, they have certainly started with major partnerships starting to line up-I’m just curious to see if these are lasting and continue to expand. Not to mention will these services continue to be successful if Facebook and Twitter roll-out similar location based services…why add another app if you can just do the same thing on Facebook. If location services are implemented similarly on Facebook or Twitter, either of these platforms may be able to seriously damage the traction of Foursquare and Gowalla…I guess we will see.

Really, this entire thesis is indicative of a bigger problem for me. Do I continue on to graduate school in sociology next, I’ve already heard from some PhD programs and I am waiting on several more, or do I leave school to pursue a career in internet or social media? I see no reason that I can’t write about technology and work for (eventually run) a company, but grad school and full-time employment are two different paths for sure. I don’t have much time left to decide, but until I do I’ll just keep pursuing both paths so I hopefully have numerous options.

More will come about the details of my thesis as well. Until then wish me luck figuring out my life.

Zynga is far away the biggest and most aggressive social gaming company out there. Its ads are everyone on facebook and it is growing rapidly. Traffic has increased to over 200 million monthly active users and it now employs over 600 people. Its revenues are projected to be over $200 million this year and will probably at least double in 2010.

But most importantly and most impressively, is the Bloomberg report that Zynga may be valued at $1 billion dollars if it is headed for an IPO in 2010. But, it seems like Zynga is in no need for money as in continues to just rake it in so there is the possibility that we won’t be seeing an IPO in 2010 and the company will continue to grow.

Whether you think these games are of any quality, you can’t deny that this success is impressive and that virtual goods really are turning out to be an important way to monetize online games. I’m certainly impressed, want to cut me in on that action Zynga?

Twitter COO Dick Costolo told an audience at RealTime CrunchUp that advertising is coming to Twitter in the near future. He was very vague but seemed to indicate that its not just any sort of advertising, its advertising that will blow us all away. Costolo said, “It will be fascinating. Non-traditional. And people will love it… It’s going to be really cool.” I’m not sure than any advertising is “really cool” but I’m still interested to see what they decide to do, not to mention its about time Twitter started to make some money.

Social gaming companies like Zynga, Playfish, and Playdom are quickly taking over Facebook and MySpace; their games (ie Farmville, Mobsters) are far and away the most popular applications on these sites and Zynga has over 195 million monthly active users on Facebook alone. Despite the presence of scammy offers like mobile subscriptions that many unsuspecting users are apt to fall for, these types of games have been growing at an exponential rate and netting each of these companies massive amounts of money. The sheer number of people playing these games and the fact that EA recently acquired Playfish for $300-$400 million indicate that they will play an important role in the future of the video game industry, but how will they stack up against the current PC and platform game industry.

Right now, the core of the video game industry is hardcore PC and console gamers who spend an average of over 10 hours a week playing games, most of which are spent playing games online. As someone who falls into the category of hardcore game, I thought it would be interesting to compare my experiences with traditional PC and console games to my experiences playing social games on Facebook and MySpace. For the last several years, I have been playing video games almost exclusively online. The largest amount of time has been spent on the Halo series, but I have spent substantial amounts of time on Call of Duty, Starcraft, Counter-Strike, and World of Warcraft as well; and this is combined with playing other new games for short periods of time as they are released. As someone who plays all types of games from first person shooter to RTS and MMORPG, the biggest appeal for any game is the quality of its online gaming experience. Since social gaming is, by definition, a type of online gaming, I have been excited to see the types of games coming out. Not surprisingly, I have, in large part, been disappointed by the games released for Facebook and MySpace. Most are games that require very little skill, simply time in order to succeed and are based less on competing with others online and rather sharing or connecting with them. The thrill and difficulty of competition in online gaming is what keeps me excited and returning to a game for hours upon hours every week over months or years, social games lack this excitement factor that would keep me coming back.

Though I don’t think the types of games that are successful as social games will ever corner the hardcore gamer demographic, they are important nonetheless. These games lack the addictive and competitive nature that lure gamers in for weeks or months of their lives, but they do have great appeal to the casual gamer and social network user. Social games allow you to connect with friends in a new way, something social network users are often looking for, and provide a decent entertainment factor for brief periods. Social games are a fun quick break from work or something entertaining to do for a few minutes while your surfing the web. The fact that they are so simple and require only a small amount of attention and time isn’t a bad thing, rather it is an important factor in their success. Most people surfing the web have very short attention spans and tend to visit the same sites each day for a short period of time. By playing to these tendencies, social games open themselves up to an enormous market of people, nearly everyone on the internet. It is unlikely that these games, at least in their current state, will ever appeal to hardcore gamers and therefore won’t utilize the standard video game business plan of profiting from game purchases and subscriptions, but they will continue to appeal to the general internet using public and stand to make a lot of money through lead generation offers (hopefully only legitimate ones) and advertising revenue.