VTA

I was coming to work this morning, listening to NPR and heard a story about Military Gaming. I listened intently, because I thought a virtual military training client of ours, FATS Inc. may be featured. But instead the piece focused on an online game produced by the Pentagon called, “America’s Army” for the general public. It went on to talk about gaming and modern warfare with the inherent social and political issues involved.

But what caught my attention was not the story’s direction, but one outstanding fact within the story. “America’s Army” ranks in the top 10 for all downloadable games and has been more effective as a recruiting tool than all other efforts combined. Wow! Now that’s a testament to a digital experience driving results.

To a small to medium size business this may sound great, but also outside of their resources. This is where social networking becomes nirvana. Only a couple of years ago I was tasked to create social networks within corporate websites. But today, no longer is the brand website the place where brand loyalist interact. Nope. It’s Facebook or Twitter. And what a great feeling it is to break the technology dependency for communication. Now it’s the social networking platform’s responsibility to flush out all the tech issues.

Hence, the Army or Coca-Cola may have digital environments for gaming or virtual interaction. But so does Joe’s donuts, on Facebook. So what I’m saying is that it’s important to interact where you can. And in today’s landscape the opportunity to tell your story and converse with your audience is wide open. Let us know your goals and ideas, we can help.

- Brett Player