<s>
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
is	O
an	O
incremental	B-Application
social	O
network	O
game	O
on	O
Facebook	B-Application
developed	O
by	O
video	O
game	O
researcher	O
Ian	O
Bogost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
premium	B-Application
currency	I-Application
known	O
as	O
"	O
Mooney	O
"	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
purchase	O
different	O
cow	O
designs	O
and	O
skip	O
the	O
six-hour	O
interval	O
between	O
clicks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
a	O
controversial	O
speech	O
by	O
Zynga	O
's	O
president	O
at	O
the	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Choice	O
Awards	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
Bogost	O
developed	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
for	O
a	O
presentation	O
at	O
a	O
New	O
York	O
University	O
seminar	O
on	O
social	O
gaming	O
in	O
July	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
game	O
unexpectedly	O
began	O
to	O
grow	O
in	O
popularity	O
,	O
Bogost	O
also	O
used	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
to	O
parody	O
other	O
recent	O
gaming	O
trends	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
gamification	O
,	O
educational	B-Application
apps	B-Application
,	O
and	O
alternate	O
reality	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
critics	O
praised	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
for	O
its	O
dissection	O
of	O
the	O
common	O
mechanics	O
of	O
social	O
network	O
games	O
and	O
viewed	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
commentary	O
on	O
how	O
social	O
games	O
affect	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
in	O
other	O
Facebook	B-Application
games	O
,	O
players	O
are	O
encouraged	O
to	O
post	O
announcements	O
to	O
their	O
news	O
feed	O
whenever	O
they	O
click	O
their	O
cow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
virtual	B-Application
currency	I-Application
known	O
as	O
"	O
Mooney	O
"	O
can	O
be	O
bought	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
Credits	O
;	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
purchase	O
special	O
"	O
premium	O
"	O
cow	O
designs	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
skip	O
the	O
six-hour	O
time	O
limit	O
that	O
must	O
be	O
waited	O
before	O
the	O
cow	O
can	O
be	O
clicked	O
again	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
2010	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
,	O
Zynga	O
's	O
game	O
FarmVille	B-Application
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
"	O
Best	O
New	O
Social/Online	O
Game	O
"	O
at	O
its	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Choice	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
conference	O
,	O
Bogost	O
coined	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
cow	B-Application
clickers	I-Application
"	O
to	O
describe	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
FarmVille	B-Application
which	O
only	O
involve	O
performing	O
tasks	O
at	O
certain	O
intervals	O
,	O
since	O
in	O
these	O
games	O
,	O
"	O
you	O
click	O
on	O
a	O
cow	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
’s	O
all	O
you	O
do.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
clearly	O
demonstrate	O
what	O
he	O
felt	O
were	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
abused	O
mechanics	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
,	O
Bogost	O
quickly	O
developed	O
a	O
Facebook	B-Application
game	O
entitled	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
satire	O
of	O
what	O
Bogost	O
personally	O
believed	O
were	O
the	O
only	O
points	O
of	O
FarmVille	B-Application
:	O
to	O
encourage	O
users	O
to	O
continue	O
playing	O
by	O
inviting	O
other	O
users	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
provide	O
incentives	O
for	O
those	O
who	O
purchase	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
2013	O
game	O
Cookie	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
by	O
Julien	B-Application
Thiennot	I-Application
,	O
which	O
Ian	O
Bogost	O
describes	O
as	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
"	O
logical	O
conclusion	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unexpectedly	O
to	O
Bogost	O
,	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
became	O
a	O
viral	O
phenomenon	O
,	O
amassing	O
over	O
50,000	O
players	O
by	O
September	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Updates	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
added	O
awards	O
for	O
reaching	O
certain	O
milestones	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Golden	O
Cowbell	O
for	O
100,000	O
clicks	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
earn	O
Mooney	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
other	O
users	O
 '	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
news	O
feed	O
posts	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
chance	O
to	O
randomly	O
gain	O
or	O
lose	O
Mooney	O
on	O
every	O
click	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
continually	O
disturbed	O
by	O
its	O
popularity	O
,	O
Bogost	O
also	O
used	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
to	O
parody	O
other	O
recent	O
gaming	O
and	O
social	O
networking	O
trends	O
;	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
an	O
API	B-General_Concept
to	O
allow	O
websites	O
to	O
have	O
their	O
own	O
clickable	O
cows	O
(	O
in	O
a	O
process	O
he	O
dubbed	O
"	O
Cowclickification	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
spin-off	O
game	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
Blitz	B-Application
(	O
co-developed	O
with	O
PopCap	O
Games	O
co-founder	O
Jason	O
Kapalka	O
)	O
,	O
"	O
My	O
First	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
"	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
(	O
a	O
parody	O
of	O
simplistic	O
education	O
apps	B-Application
;	O
designed	O
to	O
"	O
train	O
"	O
children	O
on	O
cow	O
clicking	O
and	O
add	O
the	O
resulting	O
clicks	O
to	O
their	O
parent	O
's	O
total	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
Cow	O
Clicktivism	O
"	O
campaign	O
where	O
users	O
could	O
click	O
on	O
an	O
emaciated	O
cow	O
to	O
donate	O
to	O
Oxfam	O
Americawith	O
a	O
goal	O
of	O
donating	O
an	O
actual	O
cow	O
to	O
a	O
third	B-Application
world	I-Application
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
an	O
alternate	O
reality	O
game	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Cow	O
ClickARG	O
"	O
was	O
held	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
clues	O
from	O
the	O
"	O
bovine	O
gods	O
"	O
eventually	O
revealed	O
that	O
a	O
"	O
Cowpocalypse	B-Application
"	O
would	O
occur	O
on	O
July	O
21	O
,	O
2011	O
(	O
exactly	O
one	O
year	O
since	O
the	O
original	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
then	O
on	O
,	O
every	O
click	O
made	O
by	O
players	O
would	O
deduct	O
thirty	O
seconds	O
from	O
a	O
countdown	O
clock	O
leading	O
to	O
the	O
Cowpocalypse	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
players	O
could	O
extend	O
the	O
countdown	O
clock	O
by	O
paying	O
to	O
supplicate	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
Credits	O
:	O
paying	O
10	O
credits	O
would	O
extend	O
the	O
countdown	O
by	O
a	O
single	O
hour	O
,	O
while	O
4,000	O
would	O
extend	O
the	O
countdown	O
by	O
an	O
entire	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bogost	O
intended	O
the	O
Cowpocalypse	B-Application
event	O
to	O
signal	O
the	O
"	O
end	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
players	O
;	O
when	O
addressing	O
a	O
complaint	O
by	O
a	O
fan	O
who	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
no	O
longer	O
fun	O
after	O
the	O
cow	O
rapture	O
,	O
Bogost	O
responded	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
was	O
n't	O
very	O
fun	O
before.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Bogost	O
wrote	O
an	O
article	O
for	O
The	O
Atlantic	O
discussing	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
data	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
apps	B-Application
,	O
with	O
reference	O
to	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
,	O
following	O
a	O
scandal	O
involving	O
Cambridge	O
Analytica	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
Facebook	B-Application
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bogost	O
notes	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
apps	B-Application
appear	O
to	O
be	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
website	O
itself	O
,	O
whereas	O
they	O
actually	O
operate	O
with	O
almost	O
no	O
oversight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
claims	O
that	O
"	O
without	O
even	O
trying	O
"	O
,	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
stored	O
its	O
users	O
 '	O
Facebook	B-Application
ID	O
and	O
any	O
networks	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
workplaces	O
)	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
was	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
this	O
information	O
is	O
still	O
stored	O
on	O
his	O
private	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bogost	O
notes	O
that	O
he	O
could	O
have	O
used	O
this	O
data	O
for	O
malicious	O
purposes	O
,	O
criticising	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
"	O
move-fast-and-break-things	O
attitude	O
toward	O
software	O
development	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
received	O
critical	O
attention	O
soon	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nick	B-Application
Yee	I-Application
of	O
the	O
Palo	O
Alto	O
Research	O
Center	O
compared	O
the	O
players	O
of	O
games	O
which	O
do	O
not	O
provide	O
"	O
meaningful	O
opportunities	O
for	O
achievement	O
,	O
social	O
interaction	O
,	O
and	O
challenge	O
"	O
to	O
rats	O
in	O
a	O
Skinner	O
box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accordingly	O
,	O
he	O
compared	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
to	O
being	O
inside	O
an	O
"	O
incredibly	O
clear	O
Skinner	O
box	O
"	O
acknowledging	O
how	O
little	O
effort	O
the	O
game	O
took	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
keep	O
users	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jason	O
Tanz	O
of	O
Wired	O
considered	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
as	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
growth	O
in	O
the	O
trend	O
of	O
gamificationwhere	O
developers	O
introduce	O
elements	O
influenced	O
by	O
games	O
into	O
their	O
services	O
without	O
providing	O
the	O
normal	O
"	O
experience	O
"	O
a	O
game	O
traditionally	O
incorporates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PopCap	O
Games	O
co-founder	O
Jason	O
Kapalka	O
praised	O
Cow	B-Application
Clicker	I-Application
for	O
being	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
"	O
ironic	O
,	O
satirical	O
,	O
self-referential	O
"	O
game	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
game	O
ecosystem	O
was	O
lacking	O
,	O
as	O
he	O
felt	O
there	O
were	O
too	O
many	O
commercially	O
driven	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
social	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
