GamerDNA (Online Social Networking website Full Details)

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GamerDNA Inc.

Type	Private
Founded	2006-09-21
Headquarters	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Key people	Jon Radoff
Industry	Computer and video game industry
Employees	7[1]
Slogan	Bringing the World Together Through Games
Website	http://www.gamerdna.com

gamerDNA Inc. is a social media company for computer and video game players founded on 2006-09-21, now owned by Crispy Gamer. The name is usually spelled with a lower case g: gamerDNA. Members may tag themselves with information on games they have played, server names and guild affiliations, and use this information to find people they have played with in the past, or find guilds or other gamers to play with based on play style.^[2] The company is funded by Flybridge Ventures (formerly known as IDG Ventures)

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Social network for online gamers

GamerDNA helps people discover new games to play based on their interests. The site features a number of tools to help game-players learn about what aspects of games they enjoy, including automated tracking of games on Xfire, Steam and Xbox Live; a database of games that locates games based on gameplay elements such as setting, tone and game mechanics; and quizzes such as the Bartle Test, which helps a player identify what aspects of game play they are most interested in—and then form connections with other players with similar interests.^[5][6]




The company has been compared to a Facebook and MySpace for online game players, ^[7] Some industry analysts have observed that social networks for online games are part of a new trend in which major MMORPG products are spawning secondary industries.^[8]



Also like other social networks, the service allows members to form social connections with other members, and traverse the database of member profiles by these social connections or by user-defined tag clouds. However, the member profiles are geared toward the alter-egos that people play as within online games,^[9] and supports the storage of game histories, guild/clan memberships, scores and profiles, and screenshots of game accomplishments.



These features allow players to maintain social contact with each other as they grow beyond individual games, guilds or servers. The service also allows members to form groups oriented around their gaming guilds and clans, including features for event scheduling, roster management and private communication.



Other services

In April 2008 GamerDNA acquired 360voice, a service that generates blogs using Xbox 360 gameplay data using a data feed offered by Microsoft.
GamerDNA also operates TweetMyGaming, a website that displays game-related tweets from Twitter in real-time.^[10] This site utilizes a combination of Twitter and GamerDNA Helix APIs.



History

Jon Radoff founded the company in 2006. In April 2008, the company changed its name from GuildCafe Entertainment Inc. to GamerDNA Inc.^[11] GamerDNA nearly halfed its workforce from 13 to 7 employees in October 2009 causing the company to operate at "better than break-even". The company is also considering moving its office.^[1]
GamerDNA was acquired by Crispy Gamer on 2009-12-16^[12], who laid off its entire editorial staff on the authority of the company's board of directors on 2010-01-21. CEO and co-founder Chris Heldman resigned in protest. GamerDNA CEO Jon Radoff mentioned he only learned of this through inquiring journalists.^[13] It is currently unclear what will happen to Crispy Gamer and gamerDNA.



References

1. ^ ^{a b} GamerDNA cuts staff, weighs HQ move http://www.masshightech.com/stories/...s-HQ-move.html
2. ^ "Meet me at the Cafe," PC Gamer Magazine, p.14, August 2007, http://www.synthscribe.com/media/pcg_cafe.jpg
3. ^ Alistair Wallis, Gamasutra, August 7, 2007, "Q&A: Guildcafe's Radoff Talks VC Backing, Game 2.0, http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=14995
4. ^ Wagner James Au, GigaOM, April 18, 2008, "GamerDNA gets $3M from Flybridge," http://gigaom.com/2008/04/18/gamerdn...rom-flybridge/
5. ^ Wade Roush, Xconomy, December 8, 2008, "GamerDNA’s New Discovery Engine Helps Gamers Find More Games They’ll Love," http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/1...s-theyll-love/
6. ^ Hiawatha Bray, September 3, 2007, Boston Globe, "A place where Online Gamers Can Hang Out After the Game," http://www.boston.com/business/techn...fter_the_game/
7. ^ Derek Boiko-Weyrauch (December 4, 2006). "GuildCafe introduces social networking to the world of online gaming". Monsters and Critics. http://gaming.monstersandcritics.com..._online_gaming. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
8. ^ Brady Forrest (December 4, 2006). "WoW and Cottage Industries". O'Reilly Radar. http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/12/post_2.html. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
9. ^ Gamasutra, Jan. 17, 2006, "Q&A: GuildCafe's Jon Radoff On MMO Community," http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=12425
10. ^ Barb Dybwad (June 4, 2009). "gamerDNA launches Tweet My Gaming, a real time zeitgeist of gaming tweets". Obsessable. http://www.obsessable.com/news/2009/...gaming-tweets/. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
11. ^ Chris Remo, April 18, "Social Site GamerDNA Raises $3M, Renames Self," http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=18304
12. ^ Crispy Gamer Media Acquires gamerDNA http://www.crispygamer.com/news/inde...ires-gamerdna/
13. ^ Crispy Gamer editorial staff laid off, CEO resigns in protest http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/21/cr...ns-in-protest/

External links

• GamerDNA