By Robert D. Hof

Zynga

Service: Entertainment & Video

Although online word, board, and role-playing games like Zynga's, which are played on social networks such as Facebook and Beblo, aren't often mentioned with other real-time Web companies, they have for a long time combined the essential ingredients of social plus real time. They're also lucrative: Zynga, which employs 250 people, reportedly has annual sales of $100 million from ads, virtual goods, and premium game subscriptions.