The video game industry tends to be pretty interweb literate so, with the popularity of social networking, there is bound to be a fair bit of this going on.

Facebook is the mother of all social networks with more members than the population of the planet. Because it is Balkanised geographically it is difficult to search thoroughly. However there are some interesting groups.

• PC and Video Game Industry Professionals. 5,339 members. It features:
  • Articles, white papers and research
  • Links to helpful websites/books/community resources
  • Websites and companies of note
  • Features and interviews
  • Job listings
  • Message boards
  • Career-building tips
  • Videos, podcasts and more
• The International Game Developers Association (IGDA). 6,141 members. “The IGDA is a non-profit professional society that is committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.”
• Game Development. 1,751 members. “This is a group dedicated to the art of video game development. We encourage discussion of views on the industry and we are aiming to provide support for any questions people may have.”
• Video Game Developers. 1,318 members. “A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game system, such as the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, or the Sony PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including PCs.”
• UK Games Industry Massive. 1,239 members. “The folks of the very fine UK games industry.”
• GameDev and friends. 307 members. “A group for everyone who’s interested in developing video games and exploring the relevant technologies.”
• People who have had their souls broken working in the games industry. 515 members. “For people who have seen one too many sunrises, slept under one too many desks, eaten one too many takeout pizzas, been in one too many last-minute-design-change meetings, faced down one too many retarded publisher decisions, had their bonuses mysteriously vanish one too many times, had one too many WNF bugs bounced back to them… all in the name of a 6/10 review in Edge and bargain-bucket status two weeks after launch… this is for you.”
• Indie Game Developers. 361 members. “Independent Game Developers group for small companies and individuals designing and publishing their own games. Come join us and support and independent game community- get help creating and marketing.”
• Ex-Codies. 182 members. “A place for the haunted souls who were once a cog in the machine we know as Codemasters.”
• Bruceongames.19 members!. For industry professionals who read this blog. Please join.

Linkedin is social networking for professionals from all sorts of businesses. If you work in the games industry please link to me there. I am a member of four game industry groups on Linkedin.

• Electronic Entertainment Industry Network. 2,933 members.
• Game Developers. 11,696 members.
• Uk Games Developers. 516 members.
• Video Gaming Industry Executives. 2,925 members.

So there we have it. If you work in the industry and want to relate to other like minded souls there are plenty of options. And one obvious big daddy, Game Developers on Linkedin.