IndyaRocks, one amongst the many SNS websites that dot the Indian internet scene has made a smart move- it has launched an online gaming section, having released app 800 free games (the games are categorized as Action, Adventure, Sports, Racing, Word games etc). This could well prove pivotal in terms of the website’s traction- online gaming is intoxicating as opium to kids/youth, and when it is put alongside online social networking, the combination can be quite heady. What’s more – users can submit their own games and solicit feedback from the community; this will enable independent game developers and gaming cos. to reach out to a large community of avid gamers (guess this can form the basis of a monetization strategy). Future plans include adding downloadable and multi-player games to the collection.

This move can well help the website carve out a special place for itself amongst its target audience. While this is not novel (e.g.Facebook has a very active gaming community), it certainly adds a solid punch to the site’s appeal. Off course, Zapak is doing well in terms of building its own gaming community in India, but that’s an example of a gaming site adding social networking as an additional hook; what IndyaRocks is doing is actually the very opposite of Zapak- adding gaming to a SNS destination.

Apart from new users, the addition of gaming is likely to add a shot to IndyaRock’s stickiness (by upping its engagement metrics).