MEDIAWEEK — The increasing number of women who play games on social networks do so with a regularity normally associated with hardcore gaming. But according to a recent study conducted by the lead generation firm Q Interactive, most women don’t associate themselves with a gaming lifestyle like the PlayStation and Xbox lovers do—and don’t care for the label "gamer." According to executives at Q Interactive (which owns CoolSavings.com), the study was conducted in January among 770 women who were likely to be familiar with online gaming and virtual worlds. It found that while 36 percent of respondents said that they play games on sites like Facebook and MySpace, 54 percent of those who do so admit to playing social games every day...

MEDIAWEEK — Oxygen is once again looking to channel the energy of its chattiest fans by encouraging viewers of the new season of Bad Girls Club to interact via their favorite social networking platforms -- in real time as the show airs. On Dec.1 the network launched OxygenLive.com, where East Coast fans were encouraged to chat about Bad Girls during what the site calls a "real-time viewing party" held each Tuesday. During those parties, users can also post comments on the site or via Twitter and Facebook as the show is broadcast -- and read comments from other fans. The site also hosts live chats during episodes hosted by bloggers, Oxygen editors and stars of the show...

MEDIAWEEK — Just a few years ago, social networking site Facebook became an almost overnight sensation, propelled by a college-age crowd that saw the site as an exclusive sanctuary to connect with peers. Now it seems, as Facebook has gained a broader audience, the older teens and twentysomethings that drove its initial popularity are using it less, according to comScore. And according to research by WPP’s Mindshare, that group is re-evaluating its worth. Others agree that Facebook’s cool factor with younger users appears to be waning...

MEDIAWEEK — Social media advertising has stumbled in its current form, and needs new choreography. That’s the blunt message that media consultancy Media Link has for MySpace. Media Link has been advising MySpace since August, following a major executive shakeup at the troubled News Corp. unit. That message might as well be aimed at the entire social media landscape, which generates a disproportionate amount of ad impressions but commands such low prices that some in the industry even speculate it could hinder an expected online advertising recovery. Media Link president Wenda Harris Millard, who’s been directly advising MySpace, said that the site may require a dramatically different approach to advertising—including reducing the amount of ad inventory it serves...

MEDIAWEEK — Web users are far more willing to share personal information with marketers via email than on social networking sites, according to new research commissioned by lead generation specialty firm Pontiflex. The new study, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that just 12 percent of online adults have been willing to share information like their Facebook user name or their Twitter handle with a brand in exchange for information or promotional offers. However, a whopping 96 percent of online adults who have actually taken the step of providing brands personal information have shared their email addresses with marketers...