Posted by Craig Maloney | November 19, 2012 | Filed under: Internet News
Professionals have LinkedIn, and for personal use there’s Facebook, but how about a social network for gaming enthusiasts? That’s exactly what Duxter, a new social network founded by CEO Adam Lieb hopes to be. Based in Seattle, WA, this enterprising new start-up hopes to differentiate itself from similar social networks catering to gamers and become the focal point of every gamer’s social activity.
According to Lieb, the problem with most gaming social networks today is that they’ve focused too much on individual aspects of the gaming experience, without paying attention to others. Whereas other sites focus exclusively on a single thing, like stat tracking or user-created content, Duxter instead will support as wide a range of features as possible, while integrating social interaction features. The goal is for Duxter to become the one site that gamers go to for all their gaming and social activity needs.
Users have the option of linking their existing game accounts with their Duxter account at account creation, and at this time the service currently supports YouTube, PlayStation, Xbox Live, Steam, and World of Warcraft accounts. Users will then be able to post and follow updates, send messages, share content such as videos, participate in discussions, play games, and earn rewards.
Lieb hopes to differentiate the site from the competition by focusing on the gaming lifestyle, rather than the gameplay. This means users can expect to see content and coverage on topics that are either relevant to gaming, and topics gamers are known to care about, such as movies and the latest news from the entertainment industry.
Their business model appears to be centered on advertising, much like the way Facebook currently is, but with a twist. Based on information from their “About” page, Duxter appears to be taking a more direct approach to advertising, aiming to connect gamers directly with brands they’re already familiar with, while exposing them to new ones based on interests.
So far, the company has managed to raise $500,000 in seed funding, and in the future Lieb hopes to both ensure that as many gaming communities as possible have a spot in Duxter, and launch a mobile and console version of the site in the future.
