Collaboration and Collective Action: the next wave of social gaming

What do Kickstarter, Minecraft, Rock Band, CodeForAmerica, and Foldit have in common? They’re leading examples of games and services that enrich people’s lives through collaboration and collective action.

People are quitting Facebook and opting-out of spammy social games because they’re tired of being manipulated and distracted by software that shortens their attention span and lowers the quality of their real-life relationships. Meanwhile, the audience for games is changing dramatically – it’s an all-ages, cross-gender market now.

The next big wave in social gaming will be driven by games that are universally appealing AND especially attractive to females – and that doesn’t mean pink, fellas 🙂  It means making non-zero-sum games and services – experiences where you WIN via collaboration, collection action and teamwork.

For more gaming market stats and an explanation of zero-sum game theory, you can watch my  TEDx talk

Where are today’s great examples of collaboration and collective action? What games & services have enriched YOUR life and relationships through collaboration and collective action? I’d love to hear your stories.