My quick notes during the session:

• Sitting in 54-100 for the Digg panel with @msaleem @mrbabyman et al #roflcon
• Almost every meme goes through #digg which is then pounded into submission
• How are memes formed and how are they getting to a massive audience? #digg #4chan #reddit #fark social media
• “I saw this panel on #reddit yesterday” @msaleem #digg #roflcon
• Can’t talk about the future of #digg or they would ban our accounts!
• The new #digg will be more open for site owners to put more stories out. Expansion but no monetization

I check Digg daily… more like religiously every day for interesting stories that people submit. But this one hit so close to home… it is actually my life story… to a certain extent.

Burbia.com is a site where people submit stories of the suburbs, people ranting about lawn trashing, crappy paint jobs but have a right to because they own a house out in the “burbs”. One particular story from Burbia was about a husband and wife arguing about video games. That’s right… video games.

As I’ve stated in the “About Us” section, I love World of Warcraft and not just that, but many video games in general. I don’t own a 360 (although Andy is trying very hard to convince me) or a PS3 as I am a PC gamer, but I do bust out the old Xbox once in awhile. Anyways, the conversation between the couple is below:

Woman: You think it’s normal spending so much time on video games?
Guy: What’s normal?
Woman: Probably not all waking hours.
Guy: I don’t….
Woman: You’re right, once in a while you sit in front of the TV eating Doritos watching wrestling.
Guy: By whose standards is any behavior normal?
Woman: By my standards, that say if you don’t cut down the gaming by say, 90%, I’m leaving you and taking the kids.
Guy: (pauses) Those are your standards.
Woman: Yea, and you’ve got a week to make them yours.

Now, I’m not one to watch wrestling as I think its absolutely boring and stupid and I eat Doritos once in a blue moon, but I do game a lot. I play every Sunday during the 9+ hours of football, I play at night when I’m not tired from my job for a couple of hours and I play whenever I get a free chance. But when does gaming become an addiction? Nathan wrote about the movie Second Skin and how addictive gaming can be, but am I addicted?

My girlfriend thinks I am, playing while working on TNMS, while watching TV. Yes, I am a multi-tasker too! I can’t go a second without doing something constructive or reading something interesting. Maybe its ADD or ADHD or restless leg syndrome and so, I play. I play to communicate with friends and hang out in a virtual world rather than driving 30+ miles in the snow to grab a drink. I play to challenge the mind (yes, the game is like chess only instead of 1 opponent, you have many and need to plan your next several moves accordingly) and immerse myself in a world of fantasy and magic.

Am I addicted, yes, I guess I am. But will I stop like this guy did? I will soon…