The Importance of Social Networking in World of Warcraft

Over the past 4.5 years I have encountered situations where I have suffered World of Warcraft burnout. During these times, if it wasn't for my guild and a handful of close friends in-game, I would of stopped playing the game and perhaps never returned. Fact is I'm only one subscription, however, I consider myself to be a typical gamer and if I'm encountering burn-out how many other gamers are experiencing the same thing? What kept me playing during these times of burn-out and/or returning after a short hiatus from the game? The hundreds of people I met through social networking within the game. Increasing the size of your /friends list in the World of Warcraft for grouping, pvp'ing, raiding, etc is only one form of social networking within World of Warcraft. In the following sections I will take a look at a couple other benefits of social networking in World of Warcraft.

While the chances are slim that social networking in the World of Warcraft will net you the job of your dreams wouldn't it be nice if you could promote yourself while you enjoyed playing your favorite MMO? Any research I have seen recently shows that the average age of a World of Warcraft player is 28. What does this mean? First of all, the misconception that all gamers are mouthy teenagers or adults who live in their parents basements is just that, a misconception. World of Warcraft players are working adults, and lets be honest, the more geeky or intelligent the person is, the more likely they are to be drawn to a game like World of Warcraft. I'm not saying you are all geeks! In reality, however, I feel that, as a generality, this is a fairly accurate statement. Geeks spend a lot of time learning, geeks obtain high paying jobs in specialized fields, geeks are always an excellent group of people to have in your network of friends! In-game or outside of Azeroth.