Why is it Called Zynga?

Love dogs? Zynga may just be a good fit! They named their wifi network “puppynet” and encourage all employees to bring their dogs to work, everyday.

Zynga, a public company (ZNGA), is a social gaming company located in San Francisco, California. Founded by Mark Pincus in April 2007 under the name Presidio Media, which was later changed to Zynga in shortly after Prior to Zynga, Pincus started three other companies: Tribe.net, SupportSoft (went public) and Freeloader. In June 2007, Zynga launched their first game called Texas HoldEm, but was later rebranded to Zynga Poker.

They are famously known for creating Farmville, which was the first game to reach 10 million daily active users (DAU). They currently have over 240 million monthly active users (MAU) playing their games, which includes CityVille, Zynga Poker, Draw Something, Hidden Chronicles, FarmVille, CastleVille, Words With Friends, Empires & Allies, Cafe World and many more. Their games are available on a number of global platforms, including Facebook, Zynga.com, Google+, Tencent, iOS and Android.

Why is Zynga called Zynga?  

Not surprisingly, their logo and dog obsession kind of gives it away. The company was named in honor of Mark Pincus’ old American bulldog named Zinga (not a typo).

Zynga’s 228M office space in San Francisco

SEE ALSO: Why is Nintendo Called Nintendo?

Zynga.org: Play Good, Do Good

Hunger, clean water, sympathy, tsunamis, earthquakes, Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), real-life translation, education and more.

Founded in 2009 by early Zynga employees, Zynga.org is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the idea that games – and those who play them – can make the world a better place. Thought their partnership and dedicated team, Zynga.org has raised millions of dollars by incorporating virtual items to benefit social causes and disaster relief programs.

When Haiti was struck by a catastrophic earthquake in 2010, Zynga had just begun to see the impact of charitable virtual goods in games. In response to the enormous need of the communities impacted by the earthquake, a number of Zynga studios, including FarmVille, FishVille, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker, quickly mobilized to rally their players to help. Through a variety of in-game initiatives, almost half a million players responded, contributing nearly $3 million to the relief efforts.

Their mission is truly inspiring. What other companies are leveraging their product, people and audiences to make the world a better place? #whyisitcalledZynga