Social media expert Roger Harris outlines a view of gaming from the perspective of the changing world of social media. This presentation was given at the Triangle Gaming Conference, May 30, 2009.

7. Adapt or die Heard of the dodo? Weakness and inefficiency do not persist in complex environments When environments change too fast, animals go extinct

10. Selection  Extinction Customers are selecting like natural selection Due to natural selection, all dinosaurs went extinct :: birds are only relatives to survive Social media selection in gaming industry will be more ruthless, faster

11. Extinction  Consolidation Selective processes will move away from top down conception, design and execution Selection will occur at earliest stages Control of game conception development and marketing will be bottom up Pressure will lead to consolidation

12. Birds

13. Adapting to change Gaming industry must adapt to change Complex environments provide many niches Gaming industry will exploit niches and diversify

14. Biological niches

15. Social media meet gaming Searches for online games steadily increased over the past several years Searches for games on Facebook has grown with the explosive growth of the social network

16. There are a multitude of games on Facebook

18. Howard Dean used web-games to teach democracy and increase interest in campaigns New audiences

19. US Army arcade-style games help with recruitment New audiences

20. Dept. of Treasury and Ad Council created a game to teach about importance of good credit New audiences

21. Kids use Sim City to design their ideal city for the Future City contest. New audiences

22. Elf Island, with Second Life-like functionality, empowers kids to benefit environmental causes New audiences

23. New applications equal new audiences Games are being used in new ways Games are not just entertainment This is introducing new audiences to games Bringing a social element will allow gaming to break out of bottlenecks to growth

26. Online is gaming on demand High-end equipment not needed for optimal gaming experience Multi-user platform with social gaming Promises ‘massive’ spectating with instant community on an epic scale Distributed computing

30. Virtual world accessible on a cell phone Users create custom avatar, for a version of Tokyo’s Shibuya shopping district Companies pay $4,000 a month for ads on in-world billboards Players recruit friends, go on treasure hunts, attend sponsored events Chipuya Town

33. The Gaming Economy Gaming is the communication Welcome to…

34. Tough challenges create exciting opportunities Where gaming and social media intersect, a gaming economy is emerging Gaming can be the currency of this economy Combined with social media, gaming will be the new paradigm for communication Gaming as communication