Social Media More So Than Social Gaming

Image via CrunchBaseKevin Slavin Sold His Company To Zynga
Meeting Kevin Slavin: Tumblr's Brilliance

In my leisurely talk with Kevin Slavin yesterday, we touched upon many topics. On my part I was very eager to get out of him the Area/Code story. And I did. He relayed how it was two people for a year. And how they grew organically for a few good years until they got bought by Zynga, and now his team is Zynga's New York City branch.

And of course we talked microfinance a bunch, which is why we were meeting in the first place. Here was a social gaming master. And so I brought up the topic of putting social gaming to the service of microfinance. And he said he was not so sure gaming was a good fit for microfinance.

We both agreed social media can play a much larger role than social gaming when it came to microfinance.

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Kevin Slavin Sold His Company To Zynga

Meeting Kevin Slavin: Tumblr's Brilliance



Kevin Slavin's - Area/Code co-Founder of Area/Code ..... Founded in 2005, Area/Code creates cross-media games and entertainment .... Area/Code builds on the landscape of pervasive technologies and overlapping media to create new kinds of entertainment. They have built mobile games with invisible characters that move through real-world spaces, online games synchronized to live television broadcasts, and videogames in which virtual sharks are controlled by real-world sharks with GPS receivers stapled to their fins. Their Facebook game “Parking Wars” served over 1 billion pages in 2008. ...... Before founding Area/Code, Slavin spent over 10 years in ad agencies including DDB, TBWA\Chiat\Day and SS+K, focused primarily on technology, networks, and community.

Kevin Slavin | LinkedIn Spent a decade or so in design, advertising and branding ..... a few years as a strategic planner...... With Frank Lantz, co-founded Area/Code Entertainment in 2005 (acquired by Zynga in Jan. 2011, becoming Zynga New York) ....... Between 2005 and 2011, Area/Code focused on cross-media entertainment and "games with computers in them." ..... Frank and I were named in 2008's "Creativity 50." ...... In 2008, I co-founded AFK with Ben Cerveny and Tod Kurt, focused on building platforms for spatial interaction. ...... In 2010, I co-founded Starling with Declan Caulfield (Fremantle) and Kenny Miller (MTV), building second-screen engagement with broadcast television. I lead product vision and development. ...... Together with Adam Greenfield, I developed the Urban Computing class at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. ..... I serve on advisory boards for a few small, ambitious, interesting companies ...... creative direction, business development, geolocative technology, urban computing, social television, advertising and marketing ....... Starling has soft-launched in Q1 2011

SEEDMAGAZINE.COM | Seed Design Series | Kevin Slavin: What is Reality? The co-founder of the cross-platform game maker, Area/Code, suggests, "The quickest way to find out what the boundaries of reality are is to figure where they break." Slavin and his team build video games to do precisely that: They create invisible characters that move through real-world spaces, synchronize online games with live television broadcasts, and attach GPS receivers to real-world sharks that control virtual ones.

Kevin Slavin(public) (slavin_fpo) on Twitter
Flickr: -- Slavin

Kevin Slavin - Playing the City from The RSA on Vimeo.

Off to Union Hall on Park Slope to meet Kevin Slavin. I've walked every inch of Prospect Park. (bragging)less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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On Union Streetless than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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@ Union Hall, 702 Union Stless than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Brooklyn bars tend to be so much more spacious and laid back.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Kevin Slavin is a minor legend. The guy sold his company to Zynga a few months back. You might have heard of Zynga. He is on his way. I ...less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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I was at this bar for an Obama event in 2007, then a few times afterwards.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Kevin Slavin, amazing guy.less than a minute ago via txt Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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Color Doldrums: Fail Whale?

I hope to someday live somewhere dense enough to see someone else's pictures on #color. #disappointed_by_NYCless than a minute ago via Tweetbot for iPhone Favorite Retweet ReplyKevin Slavin(public)
slavin_fpo

@slavin_fpo Ha ha! That is a fail whale for #Colorless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyParamendra Bhagat
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@paramendra the great white whale of the south sea bubbleless than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet ReplyKevin Slavin(public)
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The Color Social Graph Might Work Better For Books, Movies, Music
Google Images, Facebook Photos, Twitpic, Instagram, FoodSpotting

Meeting Kevin Slavin: Tumblr's Brilliance

I have been following Slavin on Tumblr for months now. I have known him as one of the most prolific of all the 100 plus people I follow on Tumblr. Him, Mike Hudack, Anthony De Rosa (soupsoup - why do you have to say it two times?), vruz, these dudes are prolific. And these are hard core politicians pretending to be in tech.

I started following Slavin because he was on David Noel's list of entrepreneurs and VCs to follow. I am not on that list. That explains why I have only 70 followers on Tumblr. I do better on Quora where I have 1,000 followers. And I am not much active on Quora. But I am on Tumblr every day.

The Music Tag On Tumblr
Mike Hudack Wearing Makeup
My Tumblr Just Got An Upgrade
So Proud Of My New Tumblr Theme
David Karp: Tumblr Or Hipstr
Tumblr Explore
Tumblr Down, Tumblr Up

Earlier I got an email from him. Hi, we have never met, but noticed you follow me on Tumblr, would like to introduce you to a friend of mine who works with Yunus. I emailed him back, then proceeded to visit his tumblog. I mean, so far I had just been seeing him in my stream. From his tumblog I went to the About page. And ends up this dude sold a company to Zynga a few months back. I was aware of that sale. I just had no idea who the founder had been, or that I was already following him on Tumblr.

He is the founder of Area/Code.

Not only that he told he was currently in Georgia. And I am thinking, Baratunde has been flooding my Facebook stream with his tweets from Georgia. My hunch was right. They were on the same trip.

And so Slavin and I exchanged a few emails. We are meeting in person on Friday on Park Slope. Both of us are saying our days are wide open that day. His day is wide open because he is post exit. My day is wide open because I am pre exit.

I just might have found my first angel investor for my microfinance startup. Good timing. I think they might grant me political asylym later today. I was shooting for an honorary citizenship, but I guess I will take the asylum.

But not counting my chicken before they are hatched. I mean, it would be great to meet someone like Slavin regardless of if he invests or not. Or at least that is the thing to say. :-)

If Kevin comes along, I am cleaning up my deck - consulting? second startup? - and going full time with microfinance.

War Reporting

Diary (2010) from Tim Hetherington on Vimeo.

(Via Kevin Slavin)

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