Buzztime: The FIRST Social Network. (Yup, We’re Totally Going There.)

Gotcha, didn't we? It's probably not the first place you'd go when playing the word association game, but dig a little deeper and it makes perfect sense:Buzztime isanetwork of people from all overNorthAmerica-- competing, interacting... socializing, Sound familiar? Ends up we were onto something waaaay back in 1986... we just hadn't labeled it "social network."

An oft-usedquote during a typical Buzztime product meeting goes something like this:"We were a social network before people knew what a social network was." We think that's pretty spot-on.

If you talk to players who have been loyal to Buzztime from the beginning (ah, the good old NTN days!), you'll find a group of people who have built ournetworkinto the very foundations of their lives. As our community continues to grow, we find new users folding into the already-established social and gaming circles of our existing player base.People have met playing our games; have married trivia teammates; formedcross-country friendships; plannedmeet-ups and reunions; and become a part of each other's day-to-day lives. We could go on and on, but you get the point.

For our players, we've become a lifestyle; a network by whichto forge relationships and rivalries; a means for finding people like themselves and building connections. A social network, in its most organic sense, that has been around for 25+ years; the unintentional -- and gloriously fortunate -- by-product ofa network of games aired in bars and restaurants.Are we gushing just a bit? Of course... this is really good stuff.

Add to this already impressive social structure the fact that we then give our network of playersa productby which to socially interact... in person... away from the computer and out in the world, and you've got a perfectly functioning network of networks. Letusillustrate:

Create game network --> players play games on network --> meet other players --> form social network --> social network facilitates players gathering to play game network -->repeat.

And there you have it - traditional in-your-face social networking, with all of the bells and whistles that actually come from physically being with actual people… socially. Brilliant.

So, what we're trying to say is "We Win," and we're calling shotgun on the whole "First Social Network" thing.

Now don't get us wrong, we love today's social networks. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are the equivalent of the Buzztime online community on steroids.They're the new definition of social network; one that builds an entire community right behind your computer screen. They facilitate socializing in a different way. They keep people interacting from the comfort of home. Social? Yes... but in a non-traditional sense (with none of the built-in face-to-face stuff).

As these networks continue to grow and evolve, each finds a very valuable place in day-to-day life (and business, for that matter). Theyall complement each other in very different ways. There's plenty of room for all of us...as long as everyoneremembers that we were here first.

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