This was the article I mentioned in class. It was written in April 2008 but still very much relevant to our studies. It compares WoW's earnings in cyber commodity to that of large corporations and even the GDP of major nations (in per capita of course). Here's the link:
http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/wow-inc-/1203104-2
There's one particular quote that's very interesting: "Back in 2001, economics researcher and author Edward Castronova (who's now a professor of telecommunications at Indiana University, Bloomington) published an oft-cited paper that ranked the economy of Everquest, then the most popular online RPG around, as having a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita close to that of Russia, and a currency valued higher than the Yen."
Everquest, which is much "smaller" compared to WoW was compared to Russia's GDP per capita and its currency rivaled the Yen. It's amazing to see how much economic power these games really have. It makes you wonder if the line between cyberspace and reality has already begun to blur.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The removal of Vitural Goods from EBay
http://news.cnet.com/eBay-bans-auctions-of-virtual-goods/2100-1043_3-6154372.html
This is an older article from January, but real money trading or online goods is no longer supported by the the online auction giant. It is interesting now that EBay has removed itself from the RMT market and there are many third party organizations who are springing up and linking virtual worlds to the real world.
The connection of online economy and real world value shows the prevalence of online goods and the disappearing distinction between the real and virtual values. And this artlicle seems to be relative to the chinese gold farming article
This is an older article from January, but real money trading or online goods is no longer supported by the the online auction giant. It is interesting now that EBay has removed itself from the RMT market and there are many third party organizations who are springing up and linking virtual worlds to the real world.
The connection of online economy and real world value shows the prevalence of online goods and the disappearing distinction between the real and virtual values. And this artlicle seems to be relative to the chinese gold farming article
Possible Taxation of Second Life
with the booming economy of secondlife, and the amount of currency exchange that occurs within the virtual world, there is a possibility of taxation on virtual money. It does seem logical to tax patrons of second life if they pull money out of the system if they are making a profit, but who ultimately decides what patrons of various countries pays a tax to and of what percentages.
It is a very plausible reality and it is worth reading the article
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/02/technology/sl_taxes/
It is a very plausible reality and it is worth reading the article
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/02/technology/sl_taxes/
Just for Girls
Why is it that video games are [thought of as] mostly being played by boys?
I was reading some older headlines on gaygamer.net and one of the posts was about a video on TED. Brenda Laurel discussed how she and her associates went on a mission to create a video game that would appeal to girls. Even though this video was only recently posted on TED, it was actually filmed back in 1998. I feel that her points are still very relevant today.
I had just finished reading an article by UCI's Professor Larry Cahill in Scientific American. In it, he discusses how many inclinations of young children (and perhaps these inclinations carry on into their adulthood), such as the tendency for boys to play with balls and for girls to play with dolls, are actually inborn and not based on cultural teachings. Could video games be one of those things that boys are just natural inclined to? Or is it just because game developers haven't been making the right kinds of games for girls? Sure, there have been a few titles, such as Barbie dress-up PC games etc. But these games are dull and short-lived in terms of how long it holds the attention of little girls.
I demo-ed Purple Moon before it came out, so I was a little girl too. Laurel and her associates meant well, and they were correct in seeing that there is a potential market in making games just for girls, but the games are still awfully boring to play.
-Gloria Law
I was reading some older headlines on gaygamer.net and one of the posts was about a video on TED. Brenda Laurel discussed how she and her associates went on a mission to create a video game that would appeal to girls. Even though this video was only recently posted on TED, it was actually filmed back in 1998. I feel that her points are still very relevant today.
I had just finished reading an article by UCI's Professor Larry Cahill in Scientific American. In it, he discusses how many inclinations of young children (and perhaps these inclinations carry on into their adulthood), such as the tendency for boys to play with balls and for girls to play with dolls, are actually inborn and not based on cultural teachings. Could video games be one of those things that boys are just natural inclined to? Or is it just because game developers haven't been making the right kinds of games for girls? Sure, there have been a few titles, such as Barbie dress-up PC games etc. But these games are dull and short-lived in terms of how long it holds the attention of little girls.
I demo-ed Purple Moon before it came out, so I was a little girl too. Laurel and her associates meant well, and they were correct in seeing that there is a potential market in making games just for girls, but the games are still awfully boring to play.
-Gloria Law
Stereotypes of Gamers
http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Boys-Club/Poor-and-Lonely-Boys-Checking-in-on-the-Stereotypical-Gamer
This article writes about some stereotypes of gamers and gives studies and facts to debunk them. Here are some examples of the stereotypes:
1. Stereotype: Games are for boys.
2. Stereotype: People use games to escape the real world and avoid real-world relationships.
The pages also gives you video clips of "how you got that idea".
This article writes about some stereotypes of gamers and gives studies and facts to debunk them. Here are some examples of the stereotypes:
1. Stereotype: Games are for boys.
2. Stereotype: People use games to escape the real world and avoid real-world relationships.
The pages also gives you video clips of "how you got that idea".
World Without Internet
South Park in HD- Overlogging from South Park in HD on Vimeo.
I don't know about you, but this seems like a pretty accurate representation of life without the internet (possibly a little over-the-top, but hey exageration sells). I can see how of a lot of the world would completely shut down or just give up because their easy method of doing everything disappears. It's funny that we have prepared no backup to the extinction of the Internet. We used to get along fine without it, some would argue better. This South Park clip makes me recall that ridiculous Y2K scare. The scare was legit, but nobody was trying to figure out a grand alternative... everyone just assumed that without the internet, we couldn't exist; therefore, we should start hoarding perishibles and sink into our bomb shelters... which I still don't quite get.
-Genie Luzwick
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Facebook privacy
Our group's main focus is on facebook privacy and what that means to people on facebook. The areas we are researching in particular are current status, basic information, and photos. With the many privacy settings available on facebook, were are asking why some people are completely restricting their profiles while others are leaving everything out in the open. My main method of research is interviews. I am mostly interviewing friends with facebook accounts and so far have collected a lot of interesting information on the subject.
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