Is World of Warcraft a Social Network
I have been playing a lot of World of Warcraft lately, purely for a writing assignment you understand. My first thoughts are that it was going to be relatively easy to put down, but it’s suprisingly addictive. One thought occured as I chatted to other players is that World of Warcraft is basically a social network. OK, it’s not the primary purpose of the site but it is definately a spin off benefit.
The makers of the game could easily knock up Facebook type system where they could expose players to advertising messages or simply improve retention rates. People could stop playing the game and yet still use the social site. The problem with any such social site is that it would be very insular and heavy with jargon, creating a barrier to new members, but would that matter as most people would come though the game.
Second Life is definately a social network, having not used it I do not feel empowered to comment further, however what I have read about it seems that social interaction is its primary function. Personally I am not attracted to such systems, the best social network I know of is the pub, but I doubt they are going to replicate that experience online anythime soon. I think the media are in love with Second Life more than the general public.
Maybe I will give second life a go and report back, but what’s the point when you can’t kill an orc with your trusty axe?