Are poker sites social, really social?

... on social network, I mean?

Poker sites should have it so easy because poker is a social game and the world is moving towards social content and social advertising.

And yet a look at the social strategy of the large poker sites reveal an almost blind spot. PokerStars are, as always, head of the pack but their efforts revolve around an active Twitter account and armful of Facebook pages.

Full Tilt Poker was a fastest growing online poker room, maybe biggest poker room, but we all know what happened with Full Tilt and that PokerStars has completed the purchase of Full Tilt Poker.

A successful poker social strategy is about making sure friends can play together and by themselves and it’s not about having facebook and twitter accounts, but they are crucial to have. It’s basically making sure the software and marketing bring home games online because home games have retention factors online poker would kill to have. Today, when organic poker traffic is hard to come by and the time to time players get eaten up too fast by the grind on the tables, sites should encourage friends to play together and without outside players should they want to. And no, the refer a friend programs are not even close to that.

Companies today utilizing the viral potential of the new internet. Some of them do a great job, some do not.

For example Ford, for the first time ever, is bucking with tradition and turning to the web - Facebook was the platform  to exhibit its vehicle and them has been using the Ford Explorer Facebook Page to drum up excitement in anticipation of the event of the day.

Then Gap. Gap, with great success, used Foursquare to boost traffic during a sales event.

And poker, online poker? Online poker adapting so slow to the new social internet.

According to some sites, social media in the poker world is led by players like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth.

Every poker site gives as some option to play with celebs and we just want to play with friends.

And I want to Full Tilt Poker give me my money  back ;