Election 2010

This year before the election has taken place, social media has been able to give a first glimpse into how the country is intending to vote.

Facebook users took part in a huge "mock poll", in which Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats came top.

"Democracy UK on Facebook has posted a constant stream of serious and light-hearted news and discussion, including question-and-answer sessions with notable journalists providing a range of opinions."

"Facebook also partnered with YouTube during the election campaign to source questions for the three leaders to answer. Allan claimed that this had also proved popular, and that 180,000 votes were made and over 5,300 questions submitted."

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2262503/facebook-touts-success-online

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/824928-general-election-2010-facebook-abuzz-with-650-000-ive-voted-users

The Xbox Live community has also allowed users to take part in a similar mock election.

"Being a young, socially and technology aware group who certainly have their fingers on the pulse 24/7, Xbox 360 LIVE members are a vitally important demographic for UK parties."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/may/05/xbox-live-lib-dems

I think bringing the election and politics to these formats has helped a great deal to attract the interest of many young people across the country, which is a great thing. The 'Democracy UK on Facebook' page has also helped people to keep updated and understand the election this year. For example, I was unclear on what a 'hung parliament' meant until I watched one of the videos Facebook had made in collaberation with YouTube.

Halo: Combat Evolved

The Xbox console was released by Microsoft in 2001 and became a huge success. Due in part to the games that Microsoft managed to secure as exclusives to its platform.

Bungie's Halo was the most successful of these games, and revolutionised the FPS (First Person Shooter) genre.

Today, 3 sequels to this game have been released and a fourth - Halo: Reach - is on the way later this year.

Before games are fully released, online gaming allows demonstrations (called Betas on the Xbox Live network) to be downloaded and trialed. This gives gamers a taste of what's to come and also serves to advertise and raise awareness of the release. Game developers can also see what's working and what isn't and observe the reactions to the game, allowing them to attempt to meet the needs and desires of gamers. The Halo: Reach beta emerged last week and more than a million gamers downloaded it on its first day.

http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/5/7/halo-reach-beta-attracts-a-million-testers/

I download and use Betas a lot myself and I think it's a great step forward in gaming technology. I love been able to get a preview that I can interact with and use aswell as press releases and trailers. I think it also must be very useful for market research, to get a first hand look at what gamers think of their games and if they're meeting expectations. It also gives them the opportunity to work out bugs and iron out the kinks.