On November 17th, Microsoft released a new update on Xbox Live that allows all of us to have a new amount of latitude from the convenience of our Xbox 360's. After bringing us the convenience of Netflix with the last update, this new update gives users the ability to Tweet, access Facebook and listen to music from Last.fm all through Live. I bet you don't realize just what sort of stroke of genius this was on the part of Microsoft and how it can help put Sony's online offering into the ground. Well, let me tell you. Twitter, for those who use it, are aware it is an exceptional micro-blogging service that allows for increased information and the spread of news at exponential speeds previously unheard of, even on the internet. To put the importance of tweeting into perspective, several game developers and news sites frequently post via the site to their vast slew of followers. Facebook, for the same three people reading this that didn't know what Resident Evil was in my Halloween top ten list, is a site that allows for a massive amount of social networking. Enabling people to communicate, find old friends and stalk that one ex that got away; Facebook has emerged as the premier social website, while slaughtering Myspace in the process. Last.fm but not least, if you've never tried it, you're definitely missing out. Imagine listening to a song at home while the last.fm client is open on your machine, after a few seconds the program will add the song to your online collection essentially allowing you to stream the song from your collection to anywhere you have an internet connection.
I'll allow you to think about that for a second. Essentially, with this latest update, Xbox Live is users more reasons to remain constantly on the service, much like people who hang out on World of Warcraft, by tying together several functions that were previously accessible via computer or smartphone. Therefore, by continuously providing services that were once only available outside Xbox Live will maintain a constant player base on the service by removing the need to log off Live. I remember when Twitter came out because I was one of the first people to tell everyone who would listen how absolutely stupid I believed the service was. I'm not kidding, I gave it six months before it would totally fail and go the way of Myspace, which has for all intents and purposes become the trailer park of the internet. After creating an account on the service, I fell in love with it. Not because the interface has done nothing but become slicker and better stabilized over time, but because in the time I've been on the service I've followed some really awesome people. At first, I brought friends into the tweeting Illuminati for solely selfish purposes, wanting people to follow me so I wasn't just tweeting to the bots and creepy people who have nothing better to do. Eventually, I would stumble on game developers who would have contests and give out codes for free games. As a result of being on Twitter, I became the proud owner of multiple demos, map packs, as well as a full-on digital copy of Spore and its expansion pack, all for free.
Additionally, the sheer amount of news and interesting tidbits that get offered up to the followers of game developers is so much easy than checking a website or waiting with baited breath while pressing F5 over and over again. Perhaps the greatest feature about Twitter, which put it on the map, was it's utilization as a communication tool for people all across the world. During the tumultuous elections in Iran this year, does everyone remember how people still found out what was going on despite the internet blackout on the part of the Iranian Government? That's right, Twitter. So, why is this important to live? Because it's certainly easier than having to check a phone incessantly or keeping a laptop nearby with TweetDeck sitting open. Sure, not everyone is going to be using the service while connected to Xbox Live, but for those of us who have the option, odds are, we'll use it. Possibly it'll be used just because it's there, but to have such a flow of information at a moment's notice in between a match of Gears of War 2, Modern Warfare 2, or while watching a movie off Netflix creates a synergy of technology that makes it undeniably necessary to have access to our Twitter feeds on Xbox Live. Facebook however offers a bit of a different boat to the weary sea travelers of news feeds the world over and its social networking at it's finest. Now, I know that some of you couldn't possibly care less about Facebook and maybe only check it about once a month, if ever.
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