Marketing Monday: World Of Warcraft
Marketing Monday is a weekly installment talking about a person, business, or website doing something cool online. If you have an idea, let the BE Blog know!
I recently ran into someone at a local coffee shop who was telling me how he was motivated to reopened his Second Life account. “I’ve been getting gigs to Second Life parties to play my guitar and people actually pay me like $40/hour to do it!” he was saying. Yes, this is a video game character playing the guitar and yes, he is playing for actual US dollars.
As someone who’s never gotten past level three of Super Mario, I was intrigued, and maybe even slightlyjudgmental about people who play computer games like this. I was about to tell my man friend Dan how weird this conversation was when I found out he’s a gamer.Dan has been playing World of Warcraft on and off for three years. I decided to pick his brain about virtual worlds, and how and why they are so popular:
What about WoW makes it more interesting to you than something you’d play on a gaming system (Playstation, Wii, etc.)?
You can’t beat the game so the game has more replay value. There’s always something more you can do, which is motivating.Every two to three years, the developers add on an expansion, raising the maximum level of characters, adding new maps/quests, etc.
There is a group element to the game, encouraging user interaction. When you start playing WoW, you join a guild. The guild has their own chat, and there are options for guilds to get together and help each other out. You can talk to people individually or in a group format.
Fun Friday: Things I’ve Learned On Reality Dating Shows
At the end of the week, I write about whatever I want. Because I can.
So my love for television shows that most people publicly shame is well documented. My latest guilty pleasure has been dating shows. I could only stomach about 15 minutes of the Bachelor but the less sincere ones like ‘Seducing Cindy’ and ‘Rock of Love’ make me laugh out loud about group dynamics and the predictability of people’s public behavior.
I’ve learned the following from watching celebrities try to fake sincerely look for love in front of a bunch of television cameras. Single people, take note. Maybe one of these realizations will help you nab the B-list celebrity of your dreams.
Celebrity Reality Dating Show Rule 1. One person has the power.
In any relationship, one person does the choosing and the other is chosen. In the really realistic scenario of living in the other person’s fourth house with the 20-something other people pursuing them, each powerless person will only get more so as the season progresses.
Celebrity Reality Dating Show Rule 2. You have fit in the other person’s life, but they aren’t worried about it working in the other direction.
While you will be asked superficial questions like what music you like or where you grew up, the celebrity will be asking themselves how the potential mate will fit into their lives. They will never ask the reverse question.
I Did It For Science And Fun Friday: Chat Roulette
On Fridays I write about (almost) whatever I want. Because it’s fun.
Like everyone else on earth, I’ve been hearing lots about ‘chat roulette’. I give my friend Ogy credit for ‘breaking’ the story because right after he mentioned it, all of a sudden everyone was talking about it… to the point where Jon Stewart had to create a parody.
For those of you who also don’t spend way too much time on the internet, here’s what it is: You go to www.chatroulette.com, enter your birthday for age verification, and you get to a simple interface. You can turn your webcam and microphone on or off. Random strangers show up in the other video camera window. If you want to talk to someone else, click ‘next’. That’s it.
So you hear about all these terrible or weird things you are going to see. And I’m not telling you I didn’t see anything inappropriate but I didn’t see nearly as much bad stuff as I was expecting. A few observations.
Chatroulette is like that chatrooms of way back, except now better looking people have an advantage.
It’s oddly insulting when someone takes one look at you and clicks the ‘next’ button. That said, it’s nice when a hot girl tells you you’re ‘sexi’. By actually seeing the person, there is a bit more of feeling like you at least know a bit about who you are talking to.
Aren’t good looking are are afraid people won’t talk to you? Try to be memorable. Wear a mask, play an instrument, be a puppet listening to people’s emotional problems (all have apparently happened). Take a cue from the Chinese who are having much more zany fun with this than the average American like myself.
Other people seem to also be investigating.
I won’t say I didn’t run across a few naked people but I ended up having nice conversations with an Egypian business student and a New York book publisher, two people I would have never otherwise talked to.
Top 5 Things To Never Say To Someone Who Is Grieving
Yes, I know the BE blog is on break, but I was reading this old post that I wrote on my old personal blog after my father died two years ago. I thought it might be appropriate to rework it and post now.
I put my dog down last night, and for those of you who struggle to find words to comfort someone who is grieving, here is a little advice that may be helpful. Thank you to those who have wrote or commented; your kindness is appreciated.
I’ve learned a lot these past two years about losing someone important, first suddenly with my father two years ago, then rather slowly with my dog with her finally passing yesterday. More than anything during these times, I’ve noticed how many important people touch your life and reach out when you need them.
People have said some pretty comforting things to me but also a few odd things. I thought I’d pen a blog sharing these ideas because I find people often don’t know what to say.