Mapping the Twitter networks of #legendsofecho

Ed's note: This is a guest post from Nicky Allen who has been doing some incredibly interesting data-mining and representation using Nodexl.Twitter is such a great way to gauge whether a brands PR campaign is working. Until now you had to rely on some dodgy report and some old fashioned press clippings from your PR agency .A few weeks back saw the launch of the “Legends of Echo” a multiplayer social game for mobile phones launched by The Grid team. It’s a cool game that maps South Africa in the echo and players build battle gear, trade and battle. So after a week of action I mapped Twitter activity of #legendsofecho and it’s pretty impressive.This nodexl map shows the action across Twitter on #legendsofecho. Everyone on the map has mentioned, replied or retweeted #legendsofecho in the first 4 days. The lines between the participants indicate a tweet containing #legendsofecho. The bigger and messier the birds nest, the better. This indicates lots of conversations and a dense network. The size of the images indicates the number of followers that participant have on Twitter, which indicates that there are a number of rockstar participants.So what does this really tell us?Right now Legends of Echo is on the right track, the right people are saying cool things about the game. This is what every brand aspires to in a launch phase. But Legends of Echo has a way to go because right now the tweets have not yet expanded far enough beyond the product team. While there is conversation around the core group, @Nicharry is still central to the tweeting. In time the team wants to see many duplications of the map above, see it growing and @Nicharry and the @Legendsofecho tweeting becoming less central, then they will have reached an effective virality on Twitter.I pulled this map a couple of days ago, about 5 days after the last one. It shows some interesting development. The twittershere around the core group has become quieter but there are some interesting developments, Legends of Echo has been picked up by people completely unconnected to the core group, this is show by the individuals and the small 3 and 4 connected groups along the bottom. This is good and bad news for the team. While it’s really exciting to see Legends of Echo picked up by unconnected others, however most of these peoples tweets were not retweeted or replied too (hence the isolated individuals). What one wants to see is that these groups grow to the size and bigger and mirror the birds nest type activity of the core group.All in all it’s been a good first few weeks for echo on Twitter, I’ll keep watching and map the progress with interest.*Disclaimer: Nicky Allen is the Marketing Coordinator for Legends of Echo.

Buying Xbox360 games online: An SA website comparison

Since my purchase of the fantastic Xbox360 I have been searching for the perfect site with the perfect prices and the perfect delivery package to buy my games from online.In this post I will be comparing three sites that I have found.For this comparison I will be looking at three main criteria: Cost of game, delivery package (incl. cost) and variety of available games.The Websites:digitalplanet.co.za - This site is not exclusively about gaming. You can buy various other products and software. This sort of broad service always puts me off. The site is manageable enough for me not to feel lost.You are able to search through the Xbox games by price tag (R0-R99, R99-R199 etc etc), alphabetically and by page. Nice and easy.Take2.co.za - The great thing about this site is that I've actually tried and tested it. And it works. On top of that their game-filtering system, or search facilities are great.You are able to search within the specified list of games and filter the search. Filters include asking for what's in stock, sold out, pre-order, local, international and more. You can then sort your filters alphabetically and a variety of other ways. Very handy if you know what you are looking for.Edreams.co.za - This site has done a lot of promotion on Facebook with banner ads and in fact that is how I found this site. That immediately, for some reason, puts me off. Although I have friends who swear by this site in spite of a couple of late deliveries. This is definitely the most visually appealing of all three sites and is probably the easiest to navigate. Edreams also sells various other products which as I have said, I don't like (although I can't imagine there is a lot of money is an exclusive Xbox or Gaming website).Cost of games:I will be looking at 5 games and comparing their prices across the three sites. The reason for 5 games is that I wanted to look at the most recent (pre-order) games as well as older more classic games.The games and their prices:Tiger woods '08Digital Planet: R 421.20Take 2: R 453Edreams: R441Cheapest: Digital PlanetTony Hawk Project 8Digital Planet: R 336Take 2: R 361Edreams: R274Cheapest: EdreamsLost Planet: Extreme ConditionDigital Planet: R 513.63Take 2: R 538Edreams: Not on saleCheapest: Digital PlanetRockstar Games presents Table TennisDigital Planet: R 250.80Take 2: R 270Edreams: R137Cheapest: EdreamsCall of Duty 2Digital Planet: R 237.60Take 2: R 256Edreams: R260Cheapest: Digital PlanetOVERALL CHEAPEST WEBSITE: Digital PlanetThere could be a better mix of games but this is what I have chosen.Delivery Package:Digital Planet: Delivery fees range from R30 to R250From their site:

Currently we have a few delivery options. The delivery price is dependant on the size and weight of your product. Delivery fees range from R30 to R250. Please call our call centre on 0860 245 000 for any queries.

Take 2: Shipping to South Africa only - R29From their site:

Deliveries to towns outside of the major Metropolitan Areas ( Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, East London, Port Elizabeth, George, Nelspruit and Pietersburg) will be done by means of Speedservices Couriers. It will therefore be delivered to the post office where you have a post office box or private bag. If you only have a street address, it will be delivered to the nearest post office. We will notify you by email as soon as your order has shipped and your Speedservices tracking number will also be provided. In most cases the items will be delivered to your post office within 24 hours of despatch.

Edreams:From their site: Calculated by weightFrom their site:

All our shipping rates are calculated according to the total weight of your parcel and destination of delivery.

Variety of games:From the review above it seems as though the only site that is lacking in games when I searched for them was Edreams. The others seem to have availability on most games available and Take 2 will even source and deliver from overseas distributors at a cost.The end result:Overall I like the results that Digital planet have presented. I suppose it really is a matter of choice and experience with each individual site. So if you have experience with any of them please let me know!I am going to be trying out all three sites over the next while and will update as I do. For now, make your choice and get gaming.

I'm not tight, I just prefer Xbox360

I recently purchased an Xbox360. I deserved it. I worked hard for it and I didn't need it.Buying something that you want is always more rewarding than buying something you need. I need some new clothes - I'm tired of losing the office fashion show - and I need to get myself mobile internet of some kind. These things can wait. I WANTED AN XBOX360! So I got one. Simple.My tip to make you feel good today: Go and buy something that you really want. It doesn't have to be expensive, just make it something you want. Trust me, after the initial guilt settles, you will be the happiest person around even if it is just for one day.

Super Mario Bros Bloopers

What a laugh, takes me back... kind of.

Wii vs PS3 - Wii Wins, Heads Down

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

PS3 Release

Watching Sky news and they are previewing the new PS3. It looks amazing. The word on the street is that Americans are queing up outside Toys R Us just to PRE-order these things. Apparently without a high definition TV owning a PS3 is pointless. High definition basically means looking at a plasma tv, flatron vibe. PS3 is apparently only getting to the UK in March next year.Interesting stuff. Strange that the Xbox 360 and new Nintendo gamebox have already been released (Xbox 360 has been out for a year), while PS3 is holding out. Personally I would think that this is a mistake, but I don't work for Sony so what do I know. But as a user and Xbox fan I would not purchase an Xbox 306 to only a year later purchase a PS3. Im an Xbox man and think I most probably always will be.

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