Back from GDC, jetlag to die for.
Big week Jewishly - Book Week's already happening (although disappointed that Jon Ronson seemed to drop out / turn into Miriam Karlin), and just discovered this cool thing, Muju - cutting edge artists from Muslim and Jewish backgrounds working together creatively - at the Tricycle in Kilburn (my local, dontcha know) all day Sunday - check out the programme here. I've actually got plans for a lot of Sunday, so really disappointed to be missing Jonny Berliner, and if you get a chance, definitely see Yoav Segal's short film Cable Street. I recommend both highly.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Social Gaming
Fascinating panel yesterday on Facebook and the New Web of Social Gaming. Ably moderated by Nabeel Hyatt from Conduit Labs, with TJ Murphy from Warbook/SGN and Marc Pincus from Zynga, it was quite some show.
The Worlds in Motion Summit at GDC is in its first year, spun off from the popular blog of the same name, and most of the panels and presentations have played to a fairly full room.
The Social Gaming panel was truly standing room only. When Nabeel asked people for a show of hands on who's looking to develop a Facebook Game, about 70% of the audience said yes, and the remainder were planning on launching one shortly.
You don't need to me to tell you that what's hot in virtual worlds and games is the merging/overlap with social networking/web2.0, but I saw writ large in the excitement around yesterday's panel.
Here's why I think it's a model people like:
- unlike a traditional virtual world or MMO, which need years of time and investment to make them happen, you can launch a Facebook game in two to four weeks, and then iterate from there
- if you're a developer, Facebook is effectively your publisher. So there's no hardcore marketing (although you can see in the graphs where the viral marketing hit on user numbers). And if you're used to making immersive, social engaging games, you need to make something that leverages the social nature of Facebook to bring in more playesr (friends), and you're half way there
- Revenue is acheivable fairly easily, apparently, on a CPA (cost per aquisition, effectively affialate deals), as opposed to CPM or CPC (cost per click) - according to Pinkus, "CPA is real, CPM is bullshit), although there was quite some debate about this.
The Worlds in Motion Summit at GDC is in its first year, spun off from the popular blog of the same name, and most of the panels and presentations have played to a fairly full room.
The Social Gaming panel was truly standing room only. When Nabeel asked people for a show of hands on who's looking to develop a Facebook Game, about 70% of the audience said yes, and the remainder were planning on launching one shortly.
You don't need to me to tell you that what's hot in virtual worlds and games is the merging/overlap with social networking/web2.0, but I saw writ large in the excitement around yesterday's panel.
Here's why I think it's a model people like:
- unlike a traditional virtual world or MMO, which need years of time and investment to make them happen, you can launch a Facebook game in two to four weeks, and then iterate from there
- if you're a developer, Facebook is effectively your publisher. So there's no hardcore marketing (although you can see in the graphs where the viral marketing hit on user numbers). And if you're used to making immersive, social engaging games, you need to make something that leverages the social nature of Facebook to bring in more playesr (friends), and you're half way there
- Revenue is acheivable fairly easily, apparently, on a CPA (cost per aquisition, effectively affialate deals), as opposed to CPM or CPC (cost per click) - according to Pinkus, "CPA is real, CPM is bullshit), although there was quite some debate about this.
GDC @ Moscone Centre
GDC @ Moscone Centre - the buzziest "town" bit of SF, as far as I can tell.
I had a conversation over lunch yesterday with an R&D guy who kept saying "what technology do you build your product in" and I said "it's a media company, we do events and blog and podcasts" and he still wanted to know what technology I built it in, like that was question seven he always asked, irrespective of the content.
I had a conversation over lunch yesterday with an R&D guy who kept saying "what technology do you build your product in" and I said "it's a media company, we do events and blog and podcasts" and he still wanted to know what technology I built it in, like that was question seven he always asked, irrespective of the content.
Graffitti on Valencia
This is somewhere between graffitti and flyposting and art.. somewhere on that continuum.
The Mission/Noe Valley area makes me feel very at home - we event went to an Irish gastropub last night - very Kilburn.
The Mission/Noe Valley area makes me feel very at home - we event went to an Irish gastropub last night - very Kilburn.
Opposite the BART at 24th and Mission
I forgot to say, as I'm having such a good time, that I'm in San Francisco for GDC and also to hang out with Yoz and Bob and see the city and meet like a million people who know from games and virtual worlds.
This picture makes me think of Cuba, for some reason.
This picture makes me think of Cuba, for some reason.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
So we missed Bonhams' first Urban Art auction last night, althought there's a rather wide-eyed account from someone who sold a Banksy for £20,000 to pay of debts, on the BBC.
Who knows, maybe someday you'll be able to make money from local Kilburn grafitti.
(OK, they're not all local. I think one might even be a Banksy...)
Who knows, maybe someday you'll be able to make money from local Kilburn grafitti.
(OK, they're not all local. I think one might even be a Banksy...)
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