Virtual Worlds in Social Networking

It didn't take long to realize that the article you gave is already "outdated". Online virtual worlds are expanding at an exponential rate. Some of the top virtual worlds from 2007 were clubpenguin.com and zwinky.com, with 4.0 million and 3.6 million respective users in the MONTH of May. (1) Farmville alone has over 11 million users in a single DAY, making it a record-setting virtual world. (2) Farmville's release date was June 19th, 2009, and it has been growing approximately 1 million new players in a single week ( and I am proud to say that I am not one of them). The secret to Farmville's success it, without a doubt, is using Facebook as their platform. Games with the same idea as Farmville, i.e. Bejeweled Blitz and Mafia Wars, are solid proof that virtual worlds in social networking are definitely the hot thing of the now. These games even have the capabilities to create a sort of competitive friend list consisting of any Facebook friend that also participates and competes within the same virtual world.

As successful as this virtual world is, and as much as i understand why it makes sense, I still believe it has gone too far. It did not take much at all to find a Farmville cheater site. This is probably one of the more ridiculous websites I have seen lately. Topfarmvillefarmer.com is the complete guide to building the best farm in the Farmville community! Complete with autobots to crop for you, and the top selling Farmville guide book, pwn your friends. Seriously though, that's ridiculous, paying money for books and guides for a game comparable to Zuma. But, I suppose if it makes you happy, and the small group of 15 responsible for Farmville make money in the long run, then it's a win-win.

I realize that could have been a more informational post, but I decided to have some fun with it. Seeing as my entire family (including mom) plays Farmville, I am not too fond of it. Social Networking is where virtual worlds are now; it is all the rage. It only took Farmville two months to get 11 million users, so it is hard to tell where virtual worlds will be anywhere in the future. They can come and go so rapidly. I feel like, no matter what happens, virtual worlds will be where the people are. They have found an online niche within Facebook. Then again, I only touched on virtual worlds within social networking, which is one of many facets of virtual worlds.

(1) http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/14/news/companies/virtualworlds/index.htm

(2) http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2009/08/zynga-exec-spills-beans-on-farmville-success.html