Live, or Memorex?

I am finding myself increasingly interested in alternate reality games ( ARGs ). This is a game that uses the real world as the gameboard, with clues and actions being all present in real time, in real life. You might have to go to a certain website or a certain address and do something, talk to someone, or whatever. I played a kind of lame-but-still-interesting version of this kind of game at GenCon last year... and now I'm interested in making one go.

It would bring into one tight little package several areas of interest I have: viral flow of information across social networks, game design, and writing in particular.

I have an idea for a sort of starter-game. We'll see what I can come up with.

There are companies that do this, for money. This job has officially made it onto my Dream Jobs List.

; )

Here's a story from Wired that discusses one such ARG.

Facebook v. MySpace

I've been reading a lot lately ( in the nerd places I research ) about how Facebook is increasing in popularity and use, and MySpace is becoming more and more like that restaurant that was cool -last- year... but not not-so-much now.

I go to my own MySpace, and visits are down. Huge. Tumbleweeds rolling past, crickets chirping outside the window.

Of course this might have to do with my own dwindling celebrity : ) But I have a feeling there are other factors contributing; MySpace seems to be less busy.

...



The general observations I've been reading about seem to be these:

- Facebook is just more popular now, Like MySpace was after Friendster; it's simply the new "place to be".

- People are moving off MySpace along vaguely class-related lines. College grads and more upwardly mobile people are Facebook-ers... MySpace is for a younger crowd not necessarily in college, or heading there.

- The "look" has something to do with it; Facebook is cleaner, and for whatever reason this is seen as better than MySpace's ability to customize.

- At the moment, there's virtually no spam on Facebook.


So I'm wondering if you have any feedback or ideas on this. Are you using MySpace less... if so, why? Do you see the two sites becoming polarized, with different groups of people choosing "sides"? If so, who? Do you use a different network than either of these two?