Posted May 25th, 2007 by Scott
This may be a little off topic from what we normally blog about on DIGtrends, but I thought I would share this amazing music community. It’s called The Hype Machine and it brings music lovers together from all over the world. We’ve seen communities and tools like this in the past (Napster, Kazaa, etc.) but Hype Machine is much more than a tool used to download free music. Instead it showcases bloggers from all over that want to share their favorite songs. The way it works is that it scans recent entries from a variety of MP3 blogs and any songs posted then get put into a database for visitors to listen. Nothing can be downloaded from the service, but it encourages visitors to preview songs and then if they like, comment on the original post by the blogger.
This is a great example of how online communities are forming at a faster rate than ever before, tailoring their services to meet the needs of their audience. Take a look at the site and let me know what you think.
Posted May 17th, 2007 by Scott
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post “Virtual World, Virtual Technology” which talked about some interesting advances in technology happening inside Second Life (SL). I want to bring back something I wrote in that post:
“I feel this virtual event is only the beginning. I certainly won’t be surprised when we see virtual job fairs, home shows, auto shows, etc. Especially as we make the push into Web 3.0….”
Well it’s only been two weeks since I wrote that, and yes the first virtual job fair is currently taking place in SL (can’t say I’m surprised). The event is being hosted by TMP Worldwide and has given SL goers and job seekers the ability to meet with recruiters and hiring managers from some of the leading global brands. Companies who are showing a presence at the event include: eBay, HP, Microsoft, Sodexho, T-Mobile, and Verizon. I’m looking forward to reading insights from bloggers and companies who participated in the event.
Seeing as how I predicted job fairs coming to second life (sorry Char Lyn), maybe I should try my luck with the lottery?
Posted May 8th, 2007 by Andre
Don’t have a 512Mb video card and 2gigs of RAM? Longing for old school RPGs where the characters were 2D sprites? Compulsive MySpace/Facebook checker? Do you like anything Anime style?
Gaia Online is for you.
Gaia Online is a cross between an old school RPG and a social networking site. You can build a member page, ala MySpace and Facebook, communicate with friends, and meet new people, but at the same time it offers things that other social networks don’t: continuous gameplay.
That’s right, you can do quests, buy, sell, or trade items, build up your avatar with the newest and most awesome items, armor, clothes, and weapons. You can interact with other people in a 2D world, you can fish, gamble, play slots, earn money and a multitude of other prizes to gear up your avatar.
Here’s what they have to say:
“Founded in 2003 by a few comic book fans in a garage, Gaia Online has become the fastest-growing hangout on the web. Millions of teens come to Gaia every month to play games, make friends, and participate in the world’s most active online community.”
Source
Gaia has millions of members and boasts that it has “nearly two million unique visitors… each month” and that “three hundred thousand members log in to Gaia every day, and those members spend an average of two hours on the site daily.”
Two hours, that’s a ton of time when you think about it in context of daily web surfing. How long do you usually spend on Facebook or MySpace once you have been using it for a few months? You check your friend requests, group requests, answer some messages and maybe a wall post or two. Total time? For me, that’s about 15 to 20 minutes a day, every other day, then I’m gone.
What does this graph say? Well, that Gaia Online’s usage by its members per day is growing at 3 times the rate of MySpace’s usage and 300 times that of Facebook.
So what’s the appeal? Well, there is just that much more to do in Gaia Online.
From the site’s about page:
- Online Hangout: Millions of teens spend hours a day on Gaia, exploring, chatting and just hanging out. Whether they’re posting on our forums, participating in special events, or playing our multiplayer mini-games, there’s always something fun to do.
- Endless Customization: Gaia revolves around creative customization. Every member can create their own virtual character and dress it up with over five thousand items: clothes, accessories, pets, masks and just about anything else imaginable.
- Thriving Community: Gaia Online boasts one of the most active forum communities in the world with over one billion posts to date. Members can chat in our online games, post messages on our forums, or send each other private messages.
- Gaia Gold Marketplace: Gaia Online is free to join, and members earn free Gaia Gold for everything they do on the site- posting, playing games, or just hanging out. Members can buy thousands of items in our virtual stores, or they can set up their own shops. Our virtual auction house lets members buy, sell and trade their items– over 50,000 auctions are completed every day!
- Fun and Games: Members can interact, have fun, and earn Gaia Gold with our quick and casual online games. They can also go head-to-head in our Avatar Arena to see who can make the coolest virtual outfit, or test their talents in the Art Arena, where thousands of members vote on the best original artwork.
With a thriving economy, endless items and engaging games, there’s always a reason to stay an extra 10 minutes on Gaia.
Here’s my avatar:
He likes to rock the Scythe, but he has a softer side, shown by his love for his “mimzy,” one of the collector items that were introduced to Gaia Online to promote “The Last Mimzy” movie.
A social network exploding in size is nothing new, but now that they are aging, keeping those same users interested and logging on will be the make-it or break-it for many fledgling networks.
Link to my original post
Posted May 4th, 2007 by Kevin
The blogosphere is buzzing right now about the Nikon D80 Bloggers Outreach Campaign conducted by MWW Group. So far, everyone is very excited about receiving their D80 at no cost for 6 months…and why wouldn’t they be. If you’re interested in a sample of the coverage Nikon has received as a result of this campaign, look here, here and here.
Once you have had a chance to review each of the three posts, ask yourself if you are now compelled to go out and buy a Nikon D80? Did the coverage Nikon received focus on the benefits of the camera and why it is superior to other digital camera’s on the market? Although Jaffe, Lewis and Mack are popular bloggers, does their recommendation convince you to purchase the camera?
If the goal was to receive mentions of the Nikon D80 within the blogosphere, then this campaign is extremely successful. I, for one, sure know about the Nikon D80 now (it’s hard not to)! However, I’ve yet to see coverage that’s compelling enough for me to buy the camera. Would this campaign have been more successful if the outreach program was targeted at photography bloggers?
An excerpt from the comments on Mack Colliers, The Viral Garden: “One reason why I don’t want to blog about the D80 itself is because I’ve never blogged about cameras before, so if I did so for the D80, that would mean the content I was creating here would have changed, based on my getting to use a D80.”
So, is the coverage this outreach is receiving positive for the camera and Nikon or for the approach that MWW has taken to generate buzz?