A new study from GamesGRABR, the gaming social network, has found that nearly half of UK gamers prefer content that is recommended by friends and other social networks to traditional search engines such as Google.
According to GamesGRABR and as the accompanying image shows, 45% of UK gamers prefer to share. While we were once a nation of shopkeepers, now we appear to be a nation of social butterflies who now jump over the net curtains as opposed to peering through them.
GamesGRABR itself is an interesting social network and following the rapidly bifurcating paths of niche social networks as they proliferate and evolve. While the results of its survey are undoubtedly self-serving, the data is still significant.
The relaunched GamesGRABR portal now includes a feature to follow other gamers, see their collections and discover new games based around their gaming interests. The site now has more than 50,000 games across all platforms where gamers can instantly play, buy or download. Additional features such as the ‘GRAB’ button (similar the Pinterest Pin button) allows means users can GRAB game images from any games web site increasing the relevance and community with every click.
“We’re now seeing a definite shift on how we find content. We now want content to be delivered to us rather than going to look for it, we want guidance and recommendations from people we follow and our peers. We’ve listened to our users, and we’ve spent time researching the way gamers interact socially and more social interaction means that the experience is constantly improving,” said Tony Pearce, GamesGRABR CEO.
Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.
