社交游戏拥有一种十分鼓舞人心的能力，它能影响其庞大的玩家群体，引导他们为人道主义支援做出贡献。在今年的1月，我们便看到了这么一个例子。Zynga在社交游戏FarmVille, FishVille, Mafia Wars和Zynga Poker中创造了一些限量道具。身处47个不同国家的游戏玩家可以购买这些道具，为海地地震中的受难者捐款。

这是Zynga首次将虚拟商品的全部收入投入慈善事业，这次活动中的善款主要用于支持世界粮食计划。Zynga的举动为所有的社交游戏开发商树立了榜样。活动最后，Zynga总共捐款150万美元，其中FarmVie游戏用户的捐款超过100万美元。

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Zynga公司4款游戏的限量道具都和海地有着一定的联系，如FarmVille中的海地白玉米，Mafia Wars中的海地鼓，FishVille中的海地鱼还有Zynga Poker中的 a chip package。此外，如 Café World, PetVille, YoVille.com、Zynga.org以及site.Zynga等其他Zynga游戏中也有相关的捐款链接。

在一般的救援过程中，救援工作时常会由于捐款疲劳、政府资源有限或者公众安全感缺失等原因而止步不前。巴基斯坦便是一个鲜明的例子，由于上述的三种因素，该国政府无法及时地筹集到救援善款救助当地的2000万水灾受难者。而社交游戏恰恰能弥补这方面的不足。他们能吸引全球人民的关注，并利用游戏中简单的通知便可以帮助筹集善款。

很显然，这种动力将在很长时间内保有强大的发展潜力。据NPD Group报导，在过去的3个月，每5个美国人中便有1人玩过社交游戏。此外，随着社交游戏逐渐开发儿童市场及Facebook和社交游戏的发展，我们可以想象将来这将成为聚集善款的一种主要方式。

我希望将来科技与社交商业将形成为一个长期的社会支援。从FarmVille游戏中我们不再只是寻找乐趣，而是享受一种最崇高的自我奖励——帮助他人的认知和情感。

你是否认为游戏公司正在引导其玩家施行善举？在这方面，你对社交网站又有什么看法呢？

现在fash company推出这篇文章有公关嫌疑，目前zynga正处在mafia wars名称侵权案、mafia wans营销举措备受质疑的关键时候。

fast company

One of the most encouraging and exciting applications of social gaming is the ability to leverage its massive popularity to generate contributions to causes and humanitarian crises. We saw this in January this year when Zynga created limited edition items in FarmVille, FishVille, Mafia Wars, and Zynga Poker that were purchased by users from 47 countries with proceeds going to victims of the Haiti earthquake.

This was the first time Zynga gave 100% of the proceeds from the sale of virtual goods to charity, in this case the World Food Program, and it should serve for a model for social gaming in the future. In the end, Zynga generated $1.5 in donations with Farmville users donating over $1 million.

The limited edition items created across the four games had a Haitian touch including Haiti white corn in FarmVille, a Haitian drum in Mafia Wars, a Haiti fish in FishVille, and a chip package inZynga Poker. Further, links for donations were promoted on Zynga’s other games including Café World, PetVille, YoVille.com, and the Zynga.org site.

Too often relief efforts are frustrated by donor fatigue, limited government resources or even public fear. We see all three factors impacting the relief funds being raised for the 20 million victims of the tragic floods in Pakistan. This is where social games can help by stepping into the void and leveraging the global reach and fun of the games to help generate donations on short notice.

Obviously the same dynamic has enormous potential over the long term. NPD Group reports that 1 in 5 adult Americans played social games in the last three months. Add to that gaming’s adoption among kids and factor in future generations growing up with Facebook and social games, and you can see how it can become a mainstay of collective giving in the future. What’s more, it’s great PR for the brands and even the players get to collect assets that aid them in the game.

The use of new media technology to help others is the next stage in the necessary integration of living and giving. As Don Pallotta explains in his insightful book, Uncharitable, the separation between the lives we live and the comparatively small charitable donations we give, mean that we can’t meet the crises we face with necessary force.

My hope is that in the future technology and social business will enable sustained, social giving. Not only do games like Farmville make it fun, but we all get to enjoy the most selfish reward of all–the knowledge and feeling that you helped others.

Do you agree gaming companies show use their popularity to do good? What about the social networks themselves?（source：fastcompany）