As I expected: online games got the victory laurels in a top of most Internet leisure. In a top of most Internet time spent during 2009, it looks that online games occupy the second place, which says much about the habitudes of postmodern Man.
If you add to this preliminary description the fact that Social networks are the kings of the top, then you can understand the connection between those two phenomena (although they function as one, as cause and effect).
Probably online games hadn`t ever known the same success, if social networks wouldn`t have developed a long-term policy of including games in their structures. It`s not my intention to make a boring history of this direction, but I can give you my personal example. My first account on social networks was created on hi5 and there I could play for ages online games.
Today, there are plenty of social networks, each one with its exclusive games. Just to mention few of them: Facebook, MySpace or Sonico. The list is opened to your suggestions, these examples are born from my own experience, I have no doubt that you have accounts on other social networks, that you will like to share with the other readers. Either for this reason or because you would like to say what`s good and what`s wrong with the major social networks, please let us know.
Nobody thought of establishing an exact number of the social networks. If you look to the list established by Wikipedia, you can hardly imagine that all the examples named there can possibly exist. In fact, you can establish a small rule for gathering a proportion: consider that any region of this world has its favorite social network or a local one, multiply it with the any number crossing your mind and you will be surprised to find out how complex is the system of social networks.
Online games on social networks is just 1% of what a social network can do. Unfortunately, aspects as reading news, commenting facts are left apart in the favor of much superficial functions as playing games.
The majority of people consider that only children and un-matured natures can find time and pleasure to play online games. In fact, busy people working hard at work feel the need to open the browser for a quick playing. It`s natural and relaxing, just any boss will get angry seeing its employee absorbed by Farmville. I gave this example, because Zynga`s most famous game on Facebook is still subject of controversy. During the first articles on this blog about games, I showed that Farmille was accused to be reason of divorce. Since that article, Farmville stirred more controversy, it was named the game of Those-who-aren`t working. Either it`s true or not, our blog is opened to all your arguments.
The top of the leisure times on Internet looks like: Social Networks, Online Games, E-mail, Portals, Instant Messaging, Videos, Search, Software Manufacturers, Multi-category entertainment or Classified contents, for instance Auctions.
I love playing online games but none of that FarmVille stuff. I usually find the games on Miniclip to be rather fun. I also search for online riddle games which are a real brain teaser for people that enjoy thinking more than shooting monsters. I like escape room games as well because they have me thinking which objects I found go where in order to escape a certain place so I enjoy those as well.
Thank you, Juliet, for leaving your comment. What can I say?! each gamer with each own likes and dislikes. Personally, I enjoy playing Farmville, but I`m aware that there are numerous other online games more attractive.