GamerEscape

Back in December we reported on Square Enix using Twitter and Facebook to spread the word about the upcoming release of FFXIII, and hoped that similar measures would be taken with FFXIV.  Well, we are not fully there yet, but it looks like Square Enix is embracing social media more and more as we go forward.  Today, Square Enix launched a new twitter account in order to keep the FFXI community (and FFXIV community for that matter) up to date on all the happenings from Vanafest.  French and German twitter accounts were created as well.  Facebook pages were also created (again in English, French and German).  This is great news.  First, we are seeing a real effort to keep the various communities up-to-date with the latest news at the same time.  But we are also seeing increased direct interaction between Square Enix and the communities.  Even if this information is a one-way street, the personal nature of a tweet will go a long way with the various Final Fantasy communities.

As discussed briefly yesterday, social networks and social news is believed by some to be the future (if not present) of  how we get news.  According to the article cited yesterday:

The first and most dramatic change is the concept of Social News. Social news is quickly taking over our need for staying up-to-date with what goes on in the world. News is no longer being reported by journalists, now it comes from everyone. And it is being reported directly from the source to you – bypassing the traditional media channels.

But social news is much more than that. It is increasingly about getting news directly from the people who makes it. Instead of having a journalist reporting what some analyst are saying, you hear it from the analyst herself. Social news is about getting news from the source, directly, and unfiltered.

Whether you agree or not, it is nice to see Square Enix embracing these new mediums for news distribution.