Starter For Ten's Net34 Blog

I found this task quite challenging! Initially I used a "free avatar creator" site and came up with this character:



Yes, she has brown hair and eyes the same as me – but there the similarity ends! I felt like this "person" looks like she's a 20 year old student, not one in her 40's! I did use this avatar for a week or so on Twitter and Facebook, but in truth did not feel comfortable at all with it.


I then decided to use a real photo of myself on Twitter. I have used this same photo on my blog now for about a year, and am comfortable with it. However, I also like the idea of having a logo!


I love writing, and tried to think of an image that would represent my love of writing. I had an idea in my mind of using an old typewriter. Many years ago, as a young child, a relative gave me one and I used to bang out stories for my family and friends on it. Anyway, I came across this "royalty free" image that could be downloaded free (many other pictures and stock photos I looked out were available, for a fee). My daughter then replaced the "insert your text here" writing with my internet name, and there you have it – my new logo! I was even able to insert it as a background image on Twitter!




Typewriter vector image from: http://www.bazaardesigns.com/3780-old-typewriter-with-a-paper/

I must admit I was more than a little sceptical about Twitter, I honestly could not see the point in it! However, after spending a couple of weeks both observing and tweeting, I am finally beginning to see its uses. I experimented with hashtags including #farmville, #facebook, and #farm. The 'farm' hashtag brought me lots of farming and agricultural tweets, but nothing about Farmville. The Farmville hashtag was very popular, updating every few seconds it seemed at times.


I decided to tweet about a recent story I had come across while researching, it was about a FarmVille "addict" who had been told to "get off the farm" by Dr Phil. I also tweeted about FarmVille and disaster relief in Haiti and included a link to my blog posting on the same topic. I then decided to post a link to the latest FarmVille podcast on YouTube, and re-tweeted some tweets commenting on FarmVille.   As well as tweeting about FarmVille, I also tweeted about some other interesting technology/social networking stories I came across. At this stage none of my tweets or re-tweets have been commented on.


Unfortunately, I didn't find Twitter helpful at all in finding out information for my chosen topic – mainly because the FarrmVille hashtag gets absolutely bombarded by all sorts of viral marketing, for example in just one minute a whole page of tweets with this hashtag appears, but most of the tweets are promoting "FarmVille secrets" an e-book which can be purchased.. Or even worse, there were links to sites about erectile dysfunction, 100 sex secrets and haemorrhoid treatments, again all with the Farmville hashtag!


Although I didn't find Twitter helpful with my topic, I did find it useful for general social media and tech news stories and updates, and I found some good social media commentators to follow. I also realised what a useful tool it is for directing traffic to a website or blog.


Here are my tweets:





And the re-tweets:

For this weeks task, I decided to post a reply to a discussion on the Zynga site, about Facebook requesting permission to supply email addresses to applications such as FarmVille.

FarmVille do still use notifications - I checked mine out today and saw there was one from FarmVille about the new 24x24 land expansion available. I usually don't even bother reading my notifications as I just use the Live News Feed for updates.

Facebook announced that they would be making these changes in October last year. Apparently, the changes are being put in place to "give users a faster and more connected experience when interacting with external applications on Facebook".

I clicked on the "No" option straight away, as I imagined my inbox flooded daily with tons of messages like "Sue just fertilized your farm" or "Fred just fed your chickens".

I visit my farm just about every day, and I've noticed that when there's any changes, new items or upgrades available the details appear on the screen anyway! At the moment there’s a 24 x 24 upgrade icon, and a Yukon icon appearing on the LHS of the screen when I am in my farm.

I think I'll be sticking with the "No" option – after all, how many times do I need to be notified about the same thing!

Link to Discussion Post

REFERENCES:

FarmVille Freak (2010) Facebook to end notifications for applications including FarmVille. Retrieved 23rd January 2010 from http://farmvillefreak.com/page/2

TadhgKelly (2010) The Coming Facebook Games Price War Retrieved 23rd January 2010 from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TadhgKelly/20100122/4198/The_Coming_Facebook_Games_Price_War.php

TadhgKelly (2009) Zynga and the end of the beginning. Retrieved 22nd January 2010 from http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TadhgKelly/20091218/3665/Zynga_and_the_End_of_the_Beginning.php

FarmVille and Disaster Relief for Haiti



Image courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/13/2791558.htm

In Zynga's other games such as Mafia Wars, Fishville and Poker, players are also able to purchase virtual goods, again with 100% of the funds raised going to the Haiti relief fund. So far players from 47 countries have participated in this fundraising scheme.

Last year, Zynga operated a similar scheme with their "Sweet Seeds for Haiti" which was to raise funds and awareness for sustainable and healthy meals for Haitian children and their families. The scheme was successful with $575,000 being raised in the initial instalment alone. This all goes to show that applications like FarmVille are not just about fun and games, they can have a serious humanitarian aspect to them as well.


*If you are interested in donating to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal please visit the Australian Red Cross site for more information*

Zynga.com Sweet Seeds for Haiti. Retrieved 20^th January, 2010 from http://zynga.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/948/~/sweet-seeds-for-haiti

FarmVille, the Facebook application (not to be confused with Farmville, North Carolina!) is a web phenomonen – with 69 million monthly active users it's the largest Facebook application and the fastest growing social game on the internet. Every single day 22 million players log in. But what makes FarmVille so addictive? According to Mark Newheiser, a blogger on the Gamasutra website, it's because "Farmville fulfils the classic elements of addictive behavior: it rewards you for playing it by letting you have the sense of advancing in the game...and it punishes you for going too long without playing."

Six Articles and Sources relevant to the topic


1. Chen, S (2009) “The Social Network Game Boom” Retrieved
1/1/10 from URL:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4009/the_social_network_game_boom.php

Chen provides a comprehensive overview of the recent increase in popularity of social networking gaming. I chose the article because it gives a good definition of social games then goes on to describe an ideal for social games as well as business models in social networking games such as advertising and micro-transactions. The future of social games is discussed in the conclusion.

Research I conducted into Gamasutra showed that it was founded in 1997 and is a website for video game developers, it is the online sister to Game Developer print magazine. I would therefore consider this to be a reputable source.


2. Neale, L and Russell-Bennett, R (2009) “What value do users derive from social networking applications?” Retrieved 16/12/09 from
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2506/2278

I chose this article because it is a peer-reviewed article, and therefore considered reliable, especially from an academic point of view. I found this article useful in providing some background detail to the topic. Some of the other articles I have reviewed describe how to play the game, or some of the pitfalls involved, but not why people play these games, or what value they get out of it. I feel this article addresses some of these concerns.

First Monday is a peer-reviewed journal publishing articles about the internet. It was established in May 1996.

3. Quenqua, D (2009) “To Harvest Squash, Click Here” The New York Times Retrieved 31/12/09 from
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/fashion/29farmville.html?_r=1

I chose this article as it features a number of stories about how FarmVille affects the everyday lives and relationships of those “mesmerised” by it, such as the player who keeps his laptop beside his bed and sets his alarm so that he can harvest crops during the night! Some interesting facts are quoted, such as the total number of FarmVille users.

The article appeared in the New York Times online newspaper, so I would consider it to be a reliable source. Throughout the article, reputable sources such as Mark Pincus, the founder of Zynga, (the company who owns FarmVille), are quoted.


4. Newheiser, M (2009). “Farmville, Social Gaming, and Addiction”, Gamasutra, Retrieved 16/12/09 from URL: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MarkNewheiser/20091204/3733/Farmville_Social_Gaming_and_Addiction.php

I chose this report because it gives a good overview of how FarmVille works, and provides a reason why, in the author’s opinion, that it is addictive. Newheiser describes how FarmVille “virally” distributes itself around a player’s social network in an innocent way. He concludes with the view that “Farmville is more addictive than it is fun”.

I have detailed earlier in this document as to the reasons why I believe Gamasutra is a reputable source. Research into the author, Mark Newheiser, shows that he is an IT professional who is does freelance gaming writing as a hobby.


5. Luscombe , B (2009) “Are You Getting Scammed by Facebook Games?” Time.com
Retrieved 15/12/09 from URL: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1935698,00.html

This article details some of the pitfalls in using social gaming applications. The article describes how some advertisers lure players into providing their mobile phone numbers by offering them free game cash in return for completing a survey or a quiz. Unsuspecting players then get a nasty surprise when they receive their phone bill to find that they have unwittingly subscribed to a service.

I chose this article as it provides a negative view of social gaming applications. I consider the source reliable, as Time.com is the online version of Time magazine, and again, this article quotes reputable sources, such as the founder of Zynga, Mark Pincus.

6. Harvey, M (2009). “Online FarmVille game ploughs new fields of revenue” Times
online (from The Times, UK) Retrieved 20/12/09 from URL: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article6888156.ece

The other articles I have chosen show how FarmVille is played, why it is played, who plays it, and some of the problems associated with playing it. This article looks at FarmVille from a business perspective; how FarmVille and other social networking gaming applications have become a business revenue model. The article also discusses online gaming and the future for other associated businesses.

The article was published by Times online (from The Times, UK), which I consider to be a reliable source because The Times is a reputable, long established newspaper.


Six Sources of Information for following Developments

1. New York Times (online) Business Section
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html

This page has links to a collection of stories about Facebook. At the time of writing, there were links to 266 stories featuring Facebook. As FarmVille is a Facebook application, I thought that this site would be a useful one in terms of providing reputable news stories featuring FarmVille.

The New York Times is a reputable source (as far as newspapers can be). Their website is the most used news site in the USA (as at Dec 08), with 18 million unique users per month.

2. Gamasutra.com
www.gamasutra.com

I have included Gamasutra as a source, as it is a website founded in 1997 for game developers, and an online sister to Game Developer print magazine. I was able to find a number of interesting articles on the website regarding social networking game applications, and thought it would be an interesting site to follow as because it is aimed at game developers it would keep up to date with any news regarding gaming.

3. First Monday.com
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/index

I have included First Monday as a source of information because it is a peer-reviewed journal with articles about the internet. First Monday started in May 1996 and has published over 1,000 articles about the internet. In order to follow articles about social networking in general, as well as social networking games and applications, I subscribed to First Monday.


4. FarmvilleFreak.com
://http://farmvillefreak.com/

Although I would not quote from this site in an academic essay, I have included it as a source because of the huge amount of FarmVille information it contains. The site seems to be constantly updated - at the time of writing, there were almost daily updates, and it can be subscribed to via RSS feed. The FarmVille freak has had over 90,000 unique visitors according to Google Analytics. The site quotes Zynga (the game developer) quite extensively. I feel it will be a useful source in keeping up to date with FarmVille trends and problems.

5. Mashable – The Social Media Guide
http://mashable.com

I thought that Mashable would be a good source of information for further developments with FarmVille and social networking in general. Mashable was founded in 2005 and is the largest blog focusing on Web 2.0 and social media news. The blog can be followed via RSS feed, which I found a useful feature. The “Google custom search” feature on the site made it easy to locate articles on FarmVille and Facebook, although I would still check the credibility of the individual author before quoting any of the articles.

6. Zynga Game Network
http://www.zynga.com/

I decided to use this website as my final source of information. After all, what could be more reputable than information coming straight from the source? This website has information about the company, and its founder, as well as sections for each of its games.
While the FarmVille link on the site takes you to the game itself (a Facebook login screen appears), on Zynga’s home page there is an update section, with details of press releases etc, and links to blogs about Farmville.zy

Why I chose FarmVille as my topic

When I first began this unit and I saw that we had to pick a topic of interest to write about, I must admit I panicked! It reminded me of when I attended a group job interview last year and we had to stand up, one at a time, and say something interesting or unique about ourselves. "What's so difficult about that?" I hear you say, well, I could not, for the life of me, think of anything interesting to say about myself! And the same thing happened with deciding on the topic subject. What could I write about? I don't really have any hobbies. As a full time student and working mum of four, my life seems to be taken up with work, family or study, and apart from reading the odd novel, shopping, going to the gym or watching TV, I don't have many other interests, and certainly none worth researching and writing about! Which got me thinking...what else do I do with my spare time? Then it hit me! I play FarmVille!

This made me reflect on why I play Farmville, when I'm not really into games at all.... While I am aware that games like World of Warcraft exist, and my children have PS2 and Nintendo DS, I never play any of these games. For some reason, once I started playing FarmVille, it became so addictive! Why was this so? This then became my idea for a research topic.

So how did my personal addiction start? I had been a member of Facebook for quite some time and hadn't succumbed to any of those annoying FarmVille neighbour and gift requests that kept popping up. But one particular day a few months ago, I was sick with the flu, and bored...so I decided to give FarmVille a go. I almost wish I hadn't because now hardly a day goes by without me checking on my farm at least once or twice a day! I even plan which crops I will grow around events happening in the "real world", for example at Christmas time I planted crops that took 3 or 4 days to grow so that I wouldn't have to visit my farm every day....sad isn't it? But then I suppose it's not as bad as Jil, a player in the Philippines who keeps his laptop next to his bed, and sets his alarm to go off every few hours during the night so that he can harvest his crops!