"Social games are a marathon, not a race," Mahajan said. Zynga is adapting its strategies to stick around for the long haul.

Will Herring at Social Networks: The New Marketplace for Mobile Games:

Michael Powers, founder and CEO of iPhone arcade directory Mplayit, offered helpful advice to aspiring developers looking to spread the word about their mobile games. Leading the pack of tips was the indisputable value of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. What better venue to advertise your game than websites devoted solely to social networking? Powers said 7 out of 10 gamers go online at least once a day, and if they're on a site like Facebook or Twitter, chances are they aren't doing much in the first place -- what better time to find a new app to download or game to play? Powers also said 53% of app discovery is through online buzz or word-of-mouth, so the sooner you start tweeting, status-updating, and wall-posting about your game, the sooner people will start playing it.

If nothing else, I learned that there are limitless advantages to living in a wired world like ours. If you're looking to break out as the next social gaming superstar, understanding social technology can make all the difference in marketing your game.

John Davison at a meeting with Todd Eckert, the North America director for Eutechnyx:

He said "when people talk about movies nothing is ever as good as something in the past. The best movies ever are always spoken of in a way that implies that the best is behind us. With games it's completely different. Collectively gamers and game designers all believe wholeheartedly that the best is yet to come."

Makes what we write about every day seem even more magical.