[weilawei]

While it's cool to note that Obama's involved in social media, his appearance in this essay seems a bit tenuous. Roger Caillois is repeatedly quoted and torn down again. His definition of a game is suspect. I don't think immediately think of a game as "free from obligation." To me, it smells like a straw man.

All that aside, I think his analysis of how Zynga made/makes money is pretty fair. The idea of social capital is crucial. But, why is Zynga depicted as evil--even sociopathic--for utilizing that social capital, while Facebook appears to be treated neutrally, and our government officials are portrayed as doing the right thing?