I had lunch the other day with a friend from Microsoft. We were discussing online social networks, and the fact that they are now coming off the web and starting to appear in more interesting places.
He told me a very cool story about a guy who got a job through his Xbox. The new version of Xbox live has alot of interesting social components, with the aim of making online games much more interactive - easy to find your friends and hop in a game with them. Easy to bond and form a friendship that lasts, after you blow up a tank with someone you really like. Anyway, some kid in Georgia had spent alot of unemployed time on his xbox, much to his mother’s criticism. He got the last laugh though, when all of those hours spent on xbox live turned into a job offer from Microsoft. Apparently, he bonded so well with a group of Microsoftians during their daily rounds of halo, that they were able to get to know one another, and he has since up and moved to Redmond, and is employed, to his mother’s delight. However, he is probably still logging alot of xbox live time!
The power of the social network is only going to become more apparent as we move away from web pages and let the social networks permeate our day-to-day lives.