Gaming can help but it is not a magic bullet
Google has been adding to this arsenal through acquisitions, a process that accelerated during August and where the emphasis was squarely on social gaming, particularly mobile. The latest acquisition, SocialDeck, has built an expertise in developing social games for the mobile platform, while Jambool specializes in allowing app developers to create virtual currency systems for games to enable monetization. The ability to monetize social games through ad revenues and an emerging inbuilt virtual goods economy is driving the supply-side trend of social gaming.
Google clearly sees gaming as an important plank in its social media strategy, and it can certainly add tactical value. Users are flocking to social games and are spending a considerable proportion of their time engaging with others in this environment, which is good for advertising. Google’s emphasis on mobile gaming is canny as social media is increasingly going mobile while mobile games already dominate app stores. Google’s location capabilities can enhance social mobile gaming further, while it will no doubt look at developing cross-platform social gaming in the future. Adding all this to the social mix could prove compelling.
Games can add value but a strong framework and front end are required
Strong social networks have scale, thriving developer communities, big audiences, and a monetization strategy based on advertising. This is core to Google’s own interests, and it needs to position itself in this space for defensive and offensive reasons. Google is clearly preparing to make its move, and weaving gaming into the social mix is attractive and could help advertising revenues. However, by itself this will not be enough to provide long-term differentiation, and there are fundamental issues that Google needs to address as a matter of priority. It needs to pull its social media assets into a coherent framework with a user-friendly front end or social hub, where search can make a great contribution.
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