Play with me

Meant to post all this last week.  Took an impulse trip to Florida to watch the world UPA Ultimate Frisbee championships.  Just got back to the cold frozen north last night.  Joy.  ;)

Follow-up on Loitering post
Last week I proposed that youth activity online could be viewed as a form of "loitering."  In the same vein, Mark Glaser over at MediaShift  speaks to the social media usage of youth.  Great collection of stats about youth from a variety of sources such as Nielson, Pew, and eMarketer. 

He references the limits on youth today and how social networking sites give them back their freedom of Expression.  What I found most interesting were the references from Danah Boyd which identify online social sites as "identity development processes".

[To paraphrase pretty heavily...]  Where blogging requires authorship, many of these profile building sites, like MySpace, allow users to cut and paste an identity together and even develop their view of self.

Wow.  So much for dressing up like Boy George or Madonna like in my day.  ;)

Game Dynamics
Why are some online properties so addictive?  The folks at Shuffle Brain propose it's because of the implementation of game dynamics.  See their powerpoint presentation for an insightful walk-through even without their notes.  A must read for anyone developing or following "web 2.0" successes. 

Certainly explains why I get so addicted to checking my Squidoo page and my Technorati ratings, feeble as they may be.

Do the Nike step (virtually).
Artist and Designer friend Bernice (aka TrickyDog) launches "nikestudio" on Second Life. Build and customize your own Nike shoes with your own designs and art. 

Interesting example of Nike looking to bring value while still allowing for its brand.  What I like is it doesn't attempt to "trick" users or exploit the conversation.  And it potentially provides value, allowing users to design, purchase and sell their customized Second Life nike shoes.  Read more...

UPDATE: I was swindled! Er... confused, rather. This was just a CONCEPT that Bernice came up with. But a brilliant one. Anyone know anyone over at Nike??