Aki Järvinen has an interesting couple of posts about how to create social games on platforms like Facebook.

In these posts he points out Valentina Rao’s work conducted on the popular social network, which in turn analyzes the concept of third place, brought by the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book The great good place.

Being home and workplace the first and second places, Oldenburg argues, there must be a third place, the place of relax, socialization and playfulness. The latter are the two main characteristics of such places, empowering social relationships through fun. Oldenburg describes the third place as recreational spots, such as cafes, bars and bookstores.

But it should be clear that even social networking sites must be metaphorical third places. And playfulness should be a primary feature to have in mind when designing and building communities.