Welcome to Gaia! :: "WoW is not a real success" - cites Gaia CEO Craig Sherman.

This is wrong. Straight out, blatantly wrong.

My world account was hacked twice, and both times my gear and guild bank items, were returned.

LEROY JENKINS!
D<

Like what Gaia seems to be doing?

Thanks. I made turned on commenting on my journal . Good points on a lot of issues above.

First: on the word hangout. Keep in mind that I use the phrase when talking to journalists or financial types about the company - when i try to explain to them what we are.

My argument is that we're different from a social network like Myspace. Like you said, we're more of an 'online world.' I've tried the words 'virtual world' 'online world' 'social world and they all kind of work. But frankly the first two sound like science fiction - like something way off in the future. (people often don't take us seriously when we use those words, unless they actually use gaia). One point that's critical I get across to outsiders is that gaia is here today, right now and going strong, not something in the future. Many people who don't use gaia don't really get what it is. So I use the following metaphor: social networks (like myspace and facebook in particular) are like the 21st century version of the telephone. A tool, a utility, to help them talk to their real life friends about the real world. Gaia is the 21st century version of the Mall or Downtown. It's a place not a tool. A place you explore with your friends and do dozens of forms of entertainment (like check out girls/guys, check out clothes, check out music or books, you might pop into the arcade, then grab something to eat....). At the end of the day someone, like mom asks, 'what did you do?' and you say, 'just hung out with my friends' because honestly most of the activities were just an excuse to riff of something to talk and hang out with your buddies. You need all those activiites/entertainment though - it's not fun enough to simply hang out with all your friends in your room at your house all day. That's why i use the word hangout. Sometimes i describe it as a virtual disneyworld - with 100 rides but actually no fun if you don't go with your friends....'. Sometimes as Social World. Sometimes as a 'creative platform' for teens to do whatever they want and things they can't do easily in the real world.

BTW, You're right that it's not all for teens. 30% of our users are 18-25 I believe last time I looked. Sometime's it's just easier to explain it though by just saying we're the fastest growing online hangout for teens and people just get it.

It's funny: gaia is really something totally new - and that's why it's hard to describe in words. If people just used it they'd know.


You asked about 'light immersion' something i also say to financial types trying to grasp what we are. Most people say 'is gaia a social network?' so I answer the above. Then they ask, 'so is gaia a game?" and I say, 'No. It shares elements of both, but it's a new category, a new type of experience that hasn't existed before. Then I have to explain why it isn't like a traditional game - and I point out that it doesn't end like a traditional game does, has a community of thousands of others, not single player or small group like a game; and it's social unlike a traditional game. Then they say, 'oh - is gaia an MMORPG?' And here's where I say, it's not like WOW where you jump into it and get sucked in and come out 7 hours later and re-enter the 'real world.' It's actually super-engaging (tons more than a social network) but less immersive than a subscription-based hard core MMORPG. And that this explains why it's just more accessible to more people than those games. And why it fits with most people's lifestyle, where they might use gaia but also listen to music, use IM, and even - god forbid - do their homework. Anyways, that's what I mean by light immersion. I think it makes sense only in the context of those conversations - but I get quoted in articles afterwards with one-liners and then people think I'm trying to make gaia less immersive. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The entire battle project, the improved quest system, improvements to forums and guilds and other things will hopefully make gaia more engaging and fun. You know? (btw, there are tons of other points I make when people ask about gaia and being an MMO - like that it's more social than a task-oriented or goal-oriented experience, it's really like the mall or downtown and an MMO or a game is like the Arcade that you pop into and play but then come out and grab something to eat or check out things with your friends, that it's free, etc.)


Finally, thanks for catching my mistake on the gold issue. That was just a mistake. I am pretty clued in to how gold works on the site having worked on the gold earnings curve, and debated taking earning off of some parts of the site and adding others. What i Meant to say was gold granting on Word Bump.

I never meant to...

"Gosh, I highly disapprove of mister Sherman...
He needs to control his word flow."