I had a fascinating e-mail exchange today with a good friend that centred mostly on the state of Internet integration in the video game market. My verdict was fairly direct: Nintendo don’t know what they’re doing, Sony aren’t a whole lot better, Microsoft are miles ahead but starting to push things a little. Meanwhile the PC gaming market has been saved by digital downloads. Nevertheless, the video game industry has a chance to take advantage of social media in a way that could leave other industries in the dust.
Video game console manufacturers can get away with introducing a new system about once every five to seven years, depending on economic conditions. The market for these games, though no longer exclusively the domain of younger people, generally contains a high proportion of those most likely to be Internet “savvy” or comfortable with (or even aware of) the most recent trends in social media online. Finally, video games can easily incorporate aspects of online communities within their central appeal, gameplay. Classic gameplay is timeless and the product of inspired design, but it does evolve alongside technology. All of these factors help the video game market cope with the biggest problem posed by the Internet: the most popular outlets of online communities change constantly, being forced to dramatically change or simply fade away.
Myspace is practically dead, Facebook is becoming more bloated and apparently more determined to upset its users by the day. The wasteland of social networking is littered with all kinds of attempts at joining the party from Bebo to Hi8. How do these various services survive? There are a lot of different people using the Internet. I spend hours a day online and I’ve never clicked on a button to “digg” something in my life. Nevertheless, they all get their time in the sun. The Internet phenomenon du jour, of course, is twitter.
An awful lot of people use twitter, which has led to often unintentionally comical attempts to appeal to the ‘cool kids’ by mainstream media, and irritating attention seeking by morons. Despite this, twitter has maintained its appeal. I personally use the service all the time; I feel it’s important that people know that I’ve never played Risk and have just realised it that very moment. That’s my contribution: nothing revolutionary, nothing earth-shattering. The same cannot be said for Mr. Brent Spiner, or @BrentSpiner for people in the know, the man who famously played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation (that’s ST:TNG to those of you who no longer use vowels unless under pain of death).
@BrentSpiner, working for his money
Mr. Spiner has singlehandledly revived what faith I had left in twitter as something to be excited about. He has achieved this with little or no fuss; he just has a good sense of humour, and does not fear aiming it at certain twitter-based celebrity followers who are missing out on the joke. For example:
RT @LUSCIOUSDDJA: GET OVER IT U WERENT EVEN THAT FAMOUS-I happen to know they use punctuation in Germany. But, thanks anyway.
RT @suo_gan@BrentSpiner What’s the biggest threat to May-December romances?–The months in between.
RT @Miss_Sexy_Pants@BrentSpiner: What is your opinion of the swine flu Brent?–I’m against it.
Spiner’s twitter posts are largely “retweets” of another person’s comment aimed at him including a short response. This response occasionally editorialises a little (or as much as one can in five words or so) but mostly mocks in what seems mostly friendly, or at least benign, fashion. Spiner, in what began as a response to twitter users accusing him of being a fake, now poses as at least two personal assistants charged with tweeting on his behalf, as well as himself.
RT @Deakula@BrentSpiner If I meet you on the the street, will you talk to me?–Of course. But, Mr. Spiner probably wouldn’t.
@BrentSpiner, perhaps vexed or mildly amused.
My favourite thing about all of this is that Spiner himself seems determined not to take any of these pseudo-conversations even remotely seriously.
RT @ScottChumley@BrentSpiner Why do people think your opinion matters?–Sorry. That one stumps me.
RT @enaspeaks: either a narcissist & lovs da sound of his own voice r hes a genius sortin out many thoughts-I never say my tweets out loud.
So, it turns out that twitter can be a source of fun, after all. This is the essence of online communities, both good and bad. Television programmes from morning chat shows to sports coverage can try and jump on this bandwagon all they like, but they are completely missing the central reason that people are using twitter. As a service, it is useful for staying in touch with friends, and being kept informed on topics in which you are interested, usually through those same friends. It is very difficult to exploit for monetary gain or to penetrate specific market demographics. I don’t care about the minutiae of a self-important celebrity’s everyday life. I just want a bit of fun to check every now and again while I’m working. Thanks for being fun, @BrentSpiner.
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After sort of browsing twitter for a long period of time, I finally joined due to the efforts of one Mr. Christopher Walken. A glimpse:
Michael Jackson has really stuck with this hunger strike. I admire that sort of tenacity.
I’ll never quite understand how a mandate equates to moral high ground in American politics. Or why we need to squander both so predictably.
(followed immediately by)
I know. I shouldn’t talk about American Idol here. It’s very divisive in what should be a time of healing.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass. I made up the part about the wheels.” I know we’re probably related but I hate that kid.
I am now invited to a dog wedding. I don’t have the words to make that stupider than it already sounds. They’re registered at Whiskers.
A favorite:
You know that Andy Dick and how he seemed funny until we noticed that he wasn’t? You’ll tell me when it’s time to stop, right?