Shanti Bergel is a social gaming entrepreneur based in San Francisco. You should follow me on Twitter here. Alternatively, you can also get in touch by email at sbergel at gee mail dot com.Tumblr (3.0; @nattomaki)http://shantibergel.com/<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l6v6lnVbiN1qa0uujo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>The Known Social World (circa 2010)</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/947762962http://shantibergel.com/post/947762962Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:52:27 -0700<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l57azoxONj1qzapabo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The Facebook Economy</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/781928072http://shantibergel.com/post/781928072Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:50:00 -0700facebookSocial mediasocial networksocial gaming“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do…Play consists of whatever a body is not...http://shantibergel.com/post/660667801http://shantibergel.com/post/660667801Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:34:23 -0700game designSocial mediasocial gaming<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l33amyMv4y1qzapabo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>A Brief History of Social Games: 3100 BC - 2010 AD</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/638142189http://shantibergel.com/post/638142189Thu, 27 May 2010 10:44:57 -0700social gaming“Badges are at risk of becoming the new banner advertisement” - Foursquarehttp://shantibergel.com/post/568559263http://shantibergel.com/post/568559263Mon, 03 May 2010 10:02:15 -0700Social mediasocial networksocial gamingad fatigue<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="400" height="348" id="VideoPlayerLg44277"><param name="movie" value="http://g4tv.com/lv3/44277" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://g4tv.com/lv3/44277" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="VideoPlayer" width="400" height="382" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br/><br/><p><strong>The Game-ification Of Everything</strong></p>http://shantibergel.com/post/405065596http://shantibergel.com/post/405065596Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:56:00 -0800game designsocial gamingsocial graphfacebook“NFO (News Feed Optimization) is the new SEO” - Justin Smith Presentation by...http://shantibergel.com/post/354570954http://shantibergel.com/post/354570954Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:01:32 -0800facebookoptimizationmetricsAtul Bagga analyzes the video game space for ThinkEquity and has recently been doing an interesting...http://shantibergel.com/post/319977953http://shantibergel.com/post/319977953Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:28:00 -0800Facebooksocial gamingARPU<object width="400" height="292"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MalcolmGladwell_2004-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MalcolmGladwell-2004.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=20&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce;year=2004;theme=tales_of_invention;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=unconventional_explanations;event=TED2004;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="334" height="292" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MalcolmGladwell_2004-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MalcolmGladwell-2004.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=20&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce;year=2004;theme=tales_of_invention;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=unconventional_explanations;event=TED2004;"></embed></object><br/><br/><p><b>“Beyond the age of information is the age of choices”</b></p> <p><i>-Charles Eames</i></p> <p>The legendary design thinker almost certainly did not have virtual goods in mind when he made that statement but, in my opinion, it informs our industry all the same.  For, like the consumer staples sector, ours is a business based on consumer choice.  The work of Howard Moskowitz (see video) is extremely inspirational to me in this regard.</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/248637241http://shantibergel.com/post/248637241Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:50:00 -0800virtual goodspsychologyWith its recently announced acquisition of Playfish, Electronic Arts is now the first traditional...http://shantibergel.com/post/239251331http://shantibergel.com/post/239251331Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:28:00 -0800Electronic ArtsPlayfishfacebooksocial gamingsocial networkcross-platformcross-promotion“In virtual economies, you have perfect information.” - William Grosso http://shantibergel.com/post/238206442http://shantibergel.com/post/238206442Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800metricsvirtual goodsvirtual worldvirtual economyThe latest brouhaha in social gaming revolves around the industry use of “offers” to...http://shantibergel.com/post/232990541http://shantibergel.com/post/232990541Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:35:00 -0800cpaleadgenoffersonline marketingsocial gamingfacebookmyspace“Virtual Goods let you monetize your most engaged players” - Amy Jo Kim http://shantibergel.com/post/228931435http://shantibergel.com/post/228931435Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:38:13 -0700virtual goodssocial gamingFreemiumfree to playThe last several quarters have brought amazing new dynamics to the social gaming scene.  Companies...http://shantibergel.com/post/223918739http://shantibergel.com/post/223918739Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:03:00 -0700FreemiumSocial mediafacebookfree to playmetricsmyspacesocial artifactsocial gamingsocial graphsocial networkvirtual goodssocial games<object width="400" height="292"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/RorySutherland_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RorySutherland-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=658&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man;year=2009;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=media_that_matters;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=unconventional_explanations;event=TEDGlobal+2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="400" height="292" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/RorySutherland_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RorySutherland-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=658&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man;year=2009;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=media_that_matters;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=unconventional_explanations;event=TEDGlobal+2009;"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>An insightful and very funny presentation from Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of the Ogilvy Group, on perceived value.  While he doesn’t make this connection, perceived value is arguably at the psychological center of all virtual goods transactions.</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/214304152http://shantibergel.com/post/214304152Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:22:00 -0700FreemiumVirtual Currencyvirtual goodspsychology<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://shantibergel.com/swf/audio_player.swf?audio_file=http://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/285163352/tumblr_kupszvlSCp1qzapab&color=FFFFFF" height="27" width="207" quality="best"></embed><br/><br/><p>For those of you who will be visiting family over the holidays, please be sure not to use the F word with your mother…</p>http://shantibergel.com/post/285163352http://shantibergel.com/post/285163352Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:26:00 -0700An article in the Wall St. Journal on ‘how Facebook ruins friendships’ and the recent...http://shantibergel.com/post/205327202http://shantibergel.com/post/205327202Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:32:00 -0700facebooksocial gamingsocial graphsocial networkSocial media“Social game notification length is inversely proportional to click-through rate.” -...http://shantibergel.com/post/177156916http://shantibergel.com/post/177156916Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:23:00 -0700metricssocial gamingFreemium<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/Ad6xPAI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="325" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed><br/><br/><p>Great talk by Seth Godin on <i><b>why marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department</b></i>.  Cliff notes for those that don’t want to sit through the whole thing:</p> <ul> <li>Winners are those that have something that functions combined with an idea that spreads</li> <li>Software, more than any other product ever made, markets itself</li> <li>Figure out how make the software connect and spread, or don’t bother</li> <li>Hyper-clutter: marketplace now loaded with competitors in every category</li> <li>Most products are invisible as they’re solving problems people don’t think they have</li> <li>Word of mouth gets you past hyper-clutter; your product must be good enough that people remark on it</li> <li>The story goes with the logo, not with the code</li> <li>Zappos appears to be a shoe company.  They’re not.  They’re a software company in the satisfaction business.</li> <li>Share of wallet is easier that share of market.</li> <li>Threadless actually benefits when people game their system by telling all their friends to come to the site and vote for their entry.</li> <li>One company to rip-off from top to bottom:  37signals</li> <li> Nobody wants to join an average tribe</li> </ul> <p><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/home/?status=Why%20marketing%20is%20too%20important%20to%20be%20left%20to%20the%20marketing%20department%20(via%20@sbergel)%20http://bit.ly/3qJNS2"><img src="http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1585/tweet-this-small.png" align="middle"/><b>Click here to tweet this post</b></a></p> <p><b>RELATED POSTS</b></p> <ul> <li><a target="_self" href="http://shantibergel.com/post/123814207/how-to-succeed-in-the-coming-social-gaming-explosion">How To Succeed In The Coming Social Gaming Explosion</a></li> <li><a target="_self" href="http://shantibergel.com/post/148356891/social-artifacts-the-powerful-building-blocks-of">Social Artifacts: The Powerful Building Blocks Of Social Gaming</a></li> <li><a href="http://shantibergel.com/post/109263655/social-network-fatigue-part-1">Social Network Fatigue: Part 1</a></li> </ul>http://shantibergel.com/post/153768204http://shantibergel.com/post/153768204Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700Seth GodinmarketingViral marketingword of mouthI’ve been using the term “social artifact” for awhile now and it is probably time...http://shantibergel.com/post/148356891http://shantibergel.com/post/148356891Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:25:00 -0700FacebookSocial mediasocial artifactsocial gamingsocial graphsocial networkuser generated contentFreemium