The Network is the Game Social Trends in Mobile Entertainment

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The Network is the GameSocial Trends in Mobile
Entertainment

• Amy Jo AJ Kim
• Principal, SocialDesigner.Net

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• My background POV
• Online community design development
• clients include EA, Origin, Maxis, There.Com,
  Mplayer, eBay, NetFlix
• specialize in community infrastructure social
  systems design
• Goals for this talk 1) Give game developers
  insight into the mobile mindset2) Give mobile
  developers insight into the power of community
  features

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Connected Communities are changing
Place-centric
People-centric
to

• chatrooms, message boards, virtual worlds are
  gathering places

• social networks, buddy lists phonebooks are
  collections of people

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Connected Communities are changing
PC-centric
Cellphone-centric
to

• PC is a computing device first, communications
  device second

• Cellphone is a communication device first,
  computing device second

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What is the Mobile Lifestyle?

The Mobiles Social Evolution in a Wireless
Society 2002 ethnographic study on worldwide
mobile usage by Context Research Group

• Four distinct stages of mobile adoption
• Stage 1 Wireless Why? (low think, low do)
• Stage 2 The Gadgeteers (high think, low do)
• Stage 3 The Almost Theres (high think, high do)
• Stage 4 The Mobiles (low think, high do)
• Some people get stuck at a certain stage
• others move through the stages and adopt a
• Mobile Lifestyle

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Social Habits of Mobile Consumers

• On the go dont spend all their time in a single
  place
• Meet new people have opportunities incentive
  to expand their social circle
• Stay connected maintain relationships through
  regular shallow contact
• Everyone has one Mobile phones are ubiquitous in
  their social circles
• Program me in Mobile phonebook is main contact
  list

To appeal to Mobiles, communities must meet their
needs support their habits
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• Social Trends in Mobile Communications
• Mobiles stay connected to their social network
  via cellphone
• Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
  groups
• Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
  experiences
• Mobiles love to share discuss photos with their
  friends
• Location is an integral part of mobile identity

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1. Mobiles stay connected to their social network
via cellphone

• Ambient Co-Presence (Ito Okabe, 2002)
• Cellphone conversations are lightweight, casual,
  interrupt-driven
• People chat while waiting or traveling, to pass
  time feel connected
• Messages content often centered around exchanging
  presence info (e.g. mood, location, activity)
• Enables physical meetups where the time, place
  and group size are approximate (e.g. bar-hopping,
  flash mobs)

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1. Mobiles stay connected to their social network
via cellphone

• Example ImaHima (Are you free now?)
• Location-enabled buddy list service
• 500,000 Imahima users in Japan
• Users can share their current personal status
  (mood, location, activity) with their buddies
  as well as sending send pictures IMs
• Service will send an alert when buddy is nearby
  or feeling sad

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• Social Trends in Mobile Communications
• Mobiles stay connected to their social network
  via cellphone
• Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
  groups
• Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
  experiences
• Mobiles love to share discuss photos with their
  friends
• Location is an integral part of mobile identity

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2. Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
groups

• Ethnographic research shows that mobile users
  (age 15-30) participate in dynamic overlapping
  social groups (e.g. family, friends, colleagues)
  that they maintain via cellphone
• Contrast this with MMP players (e.g. SWG,
  Everquest, Lineage) who belong to a single clan
  and pursue activities within that group
• From a business perspective, groups provide an
  entry point for new players a retention driver
  for existing players
• Groups tend to move en-mass from game to game (or
  venue to venue)

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2. Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
groups
EXAMPLE Community Portals for Mobile Users

• UPOC community messaging for mobile users
• Stay in touch with friends via private groups
• Meet people via public groups profile search
• Broadcast channels send SMS to subscribers

• SMS.AC community portal people-finder
• Members can create activity-specific profiles for
  flirting or finding school friends

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• Social Trends in Mobile Communications
• Mobiles stay connected to their social network
  via cellphone
• Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
  groups
• Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
  experiences
• Mobiles love to share discuss photos with their
  friends
• Location is an integral part of mobile identity

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3. Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
experiences

• For young mobile users, communication IS
  entertainment (e.g. messaging friends, sharing
  photos)
• They use mobile entertainment communication to
  pass the time while waiting, traveling, etc.
• They want accessibility, ease-of-use instant
  gratification -- low tolerance for learning
  something new

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3. Mobiles seek out quick, casual, entertainment
experiences
Bowling
Golf
Memory
Poker

• EXAMPLE EZnego games (Korea)
• Familiar gameplay easy to learn understand
• Instant Matchmaking allows multiplayer gaming
  with low overhead
• Can also create a private room invite friends
  to play

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• Social Trends in Mobile Communications
• Mobiles stay connected to their social network
  via cellphone
• Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
  groups
• Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
  experiences
• Mobiles love to share discuss photos with their
  friends
• Location is an integral part of mobile identity

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4. Mobiles love to share and discuss photos with
their friends

• cameraphone sales are expected to reach 150
  million in 2004, and 650 million in 2008 (source
  Infotrends Research Group)
• Research shows that people use their camera
  phones to take photos of everyday life and send
  them to friends family (Ito 2003, Sarvas 2004)
• Rather than serving primarily to document events,
  cameraphone photos function as ongoing
  communication between intimates
• KEY POINT mobile users expect to create share
  content

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4. Mobiles love to share and discuss photos with
their friends

• EXAMPLE TextAmerica Camera Phone Moblog
  Community
• Camera Phone Moblog Community, offers public
  private moblogs
• Includes support for commenting on and rating
  images
• Leaderboards showcase top-10 blogs images

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• Social Trends in Mobile Communication
• Mobiles stay connected to their social network
  via cellphone
• Mobiles self-organize into fluid, loose-knit
  groups
• Mobiles seek out quick, casual entertainment
  experiences
• Mobiles love to share discuss photos with their
  friends
• Location is an integral part of mobile identity

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5. Location is an integral part of mobile identity

• Cellphone is an intimate, always-with-you device
  thats an extension of your physical presence
  style(e.g. skins, ringtones, phonestraps)
• Current location is relevant for communicating
  with intimates (via SMS or LBS)
• Mobile users can bridge the virtual and physical
  by connecting with someone in their area (e.g.
  chatting, flirting, gaming)
• Mobile services starting to incorporate location
  into their offerings (e.g. Ulocate, Imahima)

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5. Location is an integral part of mobile identity

• EXAMPLE Saw-You (UK)
• Location-based SMS Text Flirting
• Design an avatar that looks like you expresses
  your interests
• Sign up for venues, then chat with people who
  frequent those places
• Hot Babe Alert design a character that describes
  who you want to meet, then search venues for
  matches

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5. Location is an integral part of mobile identity

• EXAMPLE Mogi, Item Hunt (Japan)
• Location-based collecting trading game
• Can login from either Web or Cellphone
• Run around Tokyo, pick up objects with your
  mobile phone
• Trade objects to complete collections
• Virtual game-map displays items to collect
  active players
• Enables ambient co-presence among players via
  buddy lists IM
• gameplay integrates with everyday life -- players
  can collect items on the way to other engagements

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The Network is the Game Looking to the Future
Expect to see more games that integrate
location presence
self-organizing groups
player-created content
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The Network is the Game Looking to the Future
What will mobile social games look like in the
future?


Photo-sharing networks
Photo Games Puzzles
Social Rating Systems
Growth area in social software e.g. Flickr,
Wallop, Moblogs
Photo Jigsaw puzzle most popular mind game on
shockwave.com
Points awarded for photos that are viewed/rated
highly by others
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For young people living a mobile lifestyle

• Cellphones arent itty-bitty GBAs theyre
  enhanced communication devices that are part of
  their identity
• They maintain and initiate relationships through
  their cellphones, and want services that amplify
  that ability
• Theyre willing to pay for communication services
  (e.g. messaging, moblogging) that serve as
  lightweight entertainment self-expression

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Resources
Smart Mobs Group Bloghttp//www.smartmobs.com Th
e Featurehttp//www.thefeature.com AJ Kims
Websitehttp//www.socialdesigner.net

• The Mobiles Social Evolution in a Wireless
  Society http//www.contextresearch.com/context/st
  udy.cfm
• Mimi Itos Research on Japanese Cellphone Use
  http//www.itofisher.com/mito
• Risto Sarvass Research on Cameraphone
  Behaviorhttp//www.hiit.fi/rista.sarvas
• Mobile Community Portals http//www.upoc.com/htt
  p//www.sms.ac/
• Location-based Chatting Flirtinghttp//saw-you.
  comhttp//www.imahima.com
• Multiplayer games for the Mobile
  Lifestylehttp//www.mogimogi.comhttp//www.enorb
  us.comhttp//eznego.com