Posts Tagged ‘FarmVille’

7.5 Million Facebook Users Are Younger Than 13

May 11th, 2011
Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Some 7.5 million Facebook users over the past year were younger than 13, according to a Consumer Reportssurvey.

The report, made public on Tuesday, is based on a survey of 2,089 members of a TNS interactive consumer panel. Using that sample, the magazine was able to estimate that more than 5 million Facebook users are 10 years old and younger, making up the bulk of the 7.5 million figure. Facebook’s terms of service require users to be at least 13 years old. To join, though, users merely have to enter their supposed birth dates when they sign up.

But Facebook’s screening requirements for minors may be a moot topic. In a statement, Jeff Fox, technology editor for Consumer Reports, said the majority of parents of kids 10 and under “seemed largely unconcerned by their children’s use of the site.”

Reps from Facebook could not be reached for comment.

This isn’t the first time Facebook’s policies on minors have been called into question. A class action suit filed in August in Los Angeles alleged that Facebook’s “Like” button triggered instances in which minors were endorsing products without their parents’ consent.

Source :- http://mashable.com

  • Five million Facebook users are 10 or younger (news.consumerreports.org)
  • Facebook had 7.5 million U.S. users under the age of 13: Survey (thestar.com)
  • 15 percent of adult Facebook users falsify personal info (news.consumerreports.org)
  • Millions of kids under 10 on Facebook, says Consumer Reports (inquisitr.com)
  • Survey: 7.5 million Facebook users below minimum age (news.cnet.com)
  • REPORT: 5 Million Facebookers Are Below Age 11 (allfacebook.com)
  • Survey: 7.5M Facebook users below minimum age (news.cnet.com)
  • @ FOX: Survey: 7.5M Kids on Facebook Are at Risk – Officials: Social Sites Increase Police Vulnerability (foxnews.com)
  • Five million Facebook users are under age 11, how many play games? (games.com)
  • 5 million users experienced abuse on Facebook (news.consumerreports.org)
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Lady Gaga & Zynga Found GagaVille

May 11th, 2011
Image representing Zynga as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Two social media heavyweights — Lady Gaga and Zynga — will partner for GagaVille, an offshoot of FarmVille.

GagaVille, a uniquely designed neighboring farm to FarmVille, that sports unicorns and crystals, according to Zynga, launches May 17. GagaVille visitors will get a first listen to unreleased songs from Gaga’s album Born This Way, available May 23. The full album also comes bundled as a free download when you buy a $25 Zynga game card at Best Buy.

The deal also includes a “Words With Gaga” contest in Zynga’s mobile Words With Friends game. Playing the designated Gaga word of the day — which will be announced on Gaga’s Facebook Page each day — will give players the chance to win concert tickets and a signed copy of Born This Way. Zynga is also giving players limited edition Lady Gaga virtual items on RewardVille that can be used across Zynga games.

Such a deal had been predicted after Gaga and Zynga collaborated on an earthquake relief effort for Japan in March. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Zynga and Gaga were in discussions about a tie-in effort.

Source :- http://mashable.com

  • Lady Gaga & Zynga Found GagaVille (mashable.com)
  • Zynga Bringing Lady Gaga To ‘FarmVille’ with ‘GagaVille’ (multiplayerblog.mtv.com)
  • Lady Gaga Joins Forces With Zynga (adweek.com)
  • Cityville,Farmville,Lady Gaga, Gagaville,Coming to Zynga (socialdiets.wordpress.com)
  • Cityville Lady Gaga, Gagaville, Coming to Zynga (socialdiets.wordpress.com)
  • Zynga, Lady Gaga, bring GagaVille to FarmVille: Clash of the ‘Villes (games.com)
  • Zynga, Lady Gaga Launch Massive Cross-Promotion That Spans FarmVille, Words With Friends (insidesocialgames.com)
  • Zynga teams up with Lady Gaga through GagaVille (venturebeat.com)
  • Welcome To GagaVille! (perezhilton.com)
  • Lady Gaga Teaming up with Farmville for Born This Way | News (ladygaga.com)
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Lady Gaga Donates $750K To Zynga’s Japan Earthquake Relief Campaign

April 14th, 2011
Image representing Zynga as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

As we wrote a few weeks ago, Zynga launched a campaign with Save The Children to raise money via in-game donations in Zynga games like FrontierVille, FarmVille and CityVille for the relief efforts in Japan following the massive earthquake and tsunami a few weeks ago. Today, the social gaming giant is announcing that Lady Gaga has donated $750,000, through the sales of her Japan Prayer Bracelets, to Zynga’s fundraising initiative. She is also donating another $750,000 to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts in Japan.

And in the past two weeks, Zynga players alone have raised more than $2.5 million for Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund and other causes. In a release issued by the pop singer and Zynga, Gaga said “I’m inspired that my little monsters banded together to help those affected by the terrible tragedy…What Zynga’s players have done for the cause is equally inspiring, and I’m thrilled to partner with them to raise money that will go to Save the Children and the American Red Cross.”

Through Zynga games including Café World, CityVille, FrontierVille, FarmVille, Words With Friends, Vampire Wars, YoVille and Zynga Poker, more than 250 million players had the opportunity to donate 100 percent of the purchase price of newly created virtual items to the fundraising efforts. Via Credits, Facebook donated money generated through the purchases to support the initiative.

The Japan fundraising initiative isn’t the first charitable campaign for Zynga. Since October 2009, hundreds of thousands of players have raised more than $10 million dollars for international nonprofits through Zynga.org. And Zynga was able to raise millions for the relief efforts in Haiti last year.

Lady Gaga recently sat down with Google’s Marissa Mayer for a candid talk about tech, music and YouTube.

Source -: Lady Gaga Donates $750K To Zynga’s Japan Earthquake Relief Campaign (techcrunch.com)

  • Zynga Becomes More Addictive With “RewardVille”. (blogs.vinuthomas.com)
  • Lady Gaga Donates $750K To Zynga’s Japan Earthquake Relief Campaign (techcrunch.com)
  • Lady Gaga Donates $1.5 Million to Zynga’s Fundraising Campaign For Japan (mashable.com)
  • Lady Gaga Partners with Zynga to Save The Children in Japan (connectwithyourteens.net)
  • You: Online social game star Zynga adds new lure (france24.com)
  • Zynga, Ngmoco donating to Japan through iOS games (tuaw.com)
  • Zynga Enables Donations To Tsunami Relief Through In-Game Purchases (via TechCrunch) (preternaturalpost.wordpress.com)
  • Official CityVille Game Bar launches, promises energy bonus every 8 hours (games.com)
  • Lady Gaga donates $1.5 million to Zynga’s Japan disaster relief fundraiser (sfgate.com)
  • FarmVille Crops for a Cause (blogs.wsj.com)
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Farmville gets English Countryside Level

March 19th, 2011

English themed level will kick in for all players who have reached level 20

Farmville just got a brand new addition to its level roster with Farmville English Countryside, which has a very British slant to it. The level will be available to all players who reach level 20 in the regular version of the game starting tomorrow. This is the first time the game has got a country specific content, which is open to every player irrespective of their nationality.

In English Countryside levels, players assume the role of an English Duke on a mission to restore the village farms back to their grandeur. The new level allows players to change their avatar’s attire to take up a British theme by dressing like an ‘English Lady’ or a ‘Dashing Gent‘. It will feature natively English plants and crops like King Edward potatoes, foxgloves, and redcurrants and. The level will be dotted with more distinctly recognisable English features like English cottages, traditional police call boxes and British animals like Shorthorn cows, Shire horses and Dorking chickens.

Someone in Zynga loves the Brits because the crops in Farmville English Countryside grow quicker due to “the premium English soil”. We wonder how the French will take to these British levels.

  • Farmville recreates the English countryside (telegraph.co.uk)
  • Zynga will launch FarmVille English Countryside next week (games.com)
  • FarmVille English Countryside Animals, Broken Combine leak to iOS (games.com)
  • FarmVille English Countryside crops appear in FarmVille iOS Market (games.com)
  • FarmVille English Countryside Cheats and Tips: Working two farms (games.com)
  • FarmVille English Countryside Cheats and Tips: A new travelers guide (games.com)
  • Zynga’s FarmVille Now Allows You To Sow Seeds At A Farm In The English Countryside (techcrunch.com)
  • Zynga prepares launch of expansion game FarmVille English Countryside (venturebeat.com)
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