Journal Entry #2 for PIDP 3240 Social Media

Assignment #1

Journal #2

Building on the social layer by Seth Priesbatsch

The next decade will be where the game framework is built.  What does this mean?  Using video game dynamics, it is possibleto shape/influence the way people behave.  We have already built the Social Layer on the Web, connecting people, building the structures of say Twitter, Facebook, Blogs as well as hundreds of other sites.  We can now all connect and interact, what is next?   Build on top of that what is called the Game Layer.  This idea will use things we have learned through video game design to influence people. 

While many people may have scoffed at video games and their sphere of influence, the ideas created and designs have led to innovation on a huge scale.  With millions of dollars being spent on the video game industry and many sharp young minds creating cutting edge ideas, it was only a matter of time till this energy and innovation was put to different use.  People and companies can now use the lessons learned with video games and then apply them to other sectors of the population to influence or shape, for good or bad. 

What does this mean for us as a society?  We are already bombarded by advertising, product placement and attempts to influence us as consumers.  Commercials on television, billboards or the radio can be filtered out.  What happens when our spending habits and purchases, internet viewing and TV starts being used against us?  Can the government use this information to influence our voting choices?  Can big business use this information to further sell their products or push their agendas without us even realizing it is happening?  What about the generation raised on video games?  Are millions of people in the coming generation already predisposed to becoming more easily influenced, having grown up accustomed to the process and the dynamics of, as Priesbatsch calls them, Appointment, Status, Progression and Communal discovery?

Social media and access to the internet is a fantastic tool.  But at what point do we say enough?  Is it ever going to be possible to stop the growth and expansion?  Will our reliance on it spell the end for independent thought?  Like everything else, will government and multi-billion dollar companies take over and exert their influence using these game dynamics to further their agenda?  Sounds like conspiracy theory but just look at newspapers and the big television networks.  Is the Fox network a source for the most important, unbiased, intelligent news coverage?  Probably not, but millions of other people may think so.

In the meantime this next step does represent where the internet is growing and moving.  Like a living creature it is further morphing and being shaped.  Inevitably some incredible ideas are being created and put to use, hopefully for the greater good.  It is changing the way we communicate and interact with one another and helping revolutionize people working together on a global scale.  This state and rate of change is unprecedented, I for one am having trouble keeping up.