Thing 6

Gaia is a social networking site, with a virtual twist.  You can play games, join a forum or build your virtual platform.  Like Blogger, Gaia also allows you to create your own avatar.   What's interesting is how the virtuality follows into discussions, as your comments are posted on behalf of your Avatar, like a anime.  Most of the topics discussed here (i.e. games, comics, anime) would not be of interest to me; neither gaming nor virtual reality is what I enjoy; nonetheless, for some one who is into those three things, Gaia would be a great site as it includes all three features.  Also it is bound to be connected with more people of common interest unlike facebook, where the interest you share with one person may not be the interest you share with another.  The games I would not mind allowing students in my class using as a form of reinforcement, but the forums I would caution to stay away from as the content of discussion appeared not to be age appropriate.