Gaming Has Place in Business but Watch for Security Risks
The Harvard Business Review isn't afraid to confront conventional business wisdom but when they published an article on the value of online gaming to developing business leadership they raised some eyebrows. What struck me most though, is that I found this article within minutes of finding another article on malware infections in online gaming indicating just how complex the online world is becoming.
First, from the HBR article by Byron Reeves, Thomas W. Malone, and Tony O'Driscoll:
Suspend your skepticism for a moment when we say that the answers may be found among the exploding space stations, grotesque monsters, and spiky-armored warriors of games such as Eve Online, EverQuest, and World of Warcraft. Despite their fantasy settings, these online play worlds--sometimes given the infelicitous moniker MMORPGs (for "massively multiplayer online role-playing games")--in many ways resemble the coming environment we have described and thus open a window onto the future of real-world business leadership..
OK, yes there are parallels between online gaming and business leadership. There are also parallels with internal security management issues. For example, one Asian news source is reporting on the rise in infected Web sites and finds:
One major source of malicious software are games and expansion packs being traded on what are known as P2P networks, warns software maker G Data. A current study by the company found that of 1,000 files taken under the microscope, 65 per cent were virus infected. Six months ago that share lay at only 30 per cent.
Looks like online gaming has something for legitimate and illegitimate businesses alike.
The study was sponsored by IBM and conducted by Seriosity. ComputerWorld has a Q&A with the paper authors.
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