I’m active in social networking. When it comes to sharing experiences with other gamers, I utilize Facebook, NeoGAF, and even our very own message boards. When I first read that there would be a panel at PAX East dedicated to online gaming communities, my interest was piqued.
Hosted by Derek Nolan of 2old2play, the panel “Online Gaming Communities and ‘Real Life’ Relationships” included members and founders of several notable gaming communities — Stewart “Wombat” Nacht of the CAGCast, Derek Schommer and Dane Tullock of 2old2play, and Julie Furman of SFX360. The panel aimed to show what overlap is created when our gaming lives and “RL” (real life… their words, not ours) collide.
The panel touched on some points that are pretty obvious to those who social network, but may not be to gamers. Namely, the need to use Twitter and Facebook (and seriously, if you’re not on Twitter, you should be) as non-obtrusive methods to interact with fans and followers on a variety of subjects. Twitter, as noted by Tullock, can allow for more focused, quick responses from members in a community when used for two-way communication. Simply spamming links to articles or contests, or not engaging in conversation with those who follow you or befriend you, is not enough and may actually backfire in community creation.
Nacht pointed out the need for members to find friends within that community that they can trust, with emphasis on those connections that can be extended outside of the confines of a manufactured virtual space.
The panel focused on communities that were created by site founders and seemed to sorely miss the point that individuals can come together based on the love of a topic or product, springing up without much involvement from the base interest. That’s a point that many around me took to heart. Manufactured communities, while stable and easier to maintain and have some control over, often lack a level of personality and ownership that grassroots groups have. These grassroots groups police themselves, host their own events, and allow members to form bonds just as strong.
The panel, although well-organized, seemed more like a horn-tooting session rather than something to actually learn from. It took nearly 15-20 minutes before the introductions ended, slowing the pace of the rest of the panel. The topic is a massive one that needs more than the 1-hour block it was given during the show, so perhaps at PAX Prime it can be revisited and flushed out further.
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