15 Minutes of Game Is Moving

Hey everyone. The time has come to move things around a bit. We really appreciate all the support that everyone’s been on the podcast, and because of that support, we’re moving the podcast off of my blog and into it’s own home. From now on, all 15MoG posts (and podcasts) will go up over at http://www.15mog.com. The iTunes feed is a bit trickier to deal with, as the free wordpress setup this blog is on doesn’t easily allow us to update the feed. So, if you’re an iTunes subscriber, know that you may have to switch over your subscription soon. Sorry about the mess, but that’s why we’re doing this now, before we get more people on board.

Thanks for everything!

Negotiating Between Consultation and Creativity

Two days ago, Ryan Arndt (@CertainlySocial), Community Manager for the IGDA, sent me an article called “The Web is a Customer Service Medium.” You can click the link and read it for yourself, if you’d like. In fact, I encourage you to do just that.  In the article, Paul Ford discusses the nature of the web, and the differences between it and other mediums, spefiically traditional print publishing. Ford suggests that every medium answers a question, and that in the case of the internet, that question is this: “Why Wasn’t I Consulted?”

Much of the article is about adapting for success on the internet, focusing on creating experiences that give people a voice and a feeling of that voice being heard. Ford draws a line between what I feel are two very important pieces of the internet. On one side, he references the content of the web. Whether it’s blogs, book excerpts, podcasts, or some other content, it’s usually an extension of some other medium, and old-school media frequently struggles to understand why publishing these snippets doesn’t generate a community.  Ford’s ultimate conclusion is that “The web is not, despite the desires of so many, a publishing medium. The web is a customer service medium.”

He’s right. This idea, the “Why Wasn’t I Consulted?” question, is the very reason that the job of Community Management exists in the first place.

15 Minutes of Game – Episode 18

Following up on our last episode, we talk about what to do after you’ve been invited to a community summit. We share with you some of the stories we’ve collected about what not to do at a summit, and give you some advice about tailoring your coverage to ensure that you get invited back every time.

Download – Episode 18

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15 Minutes of Game – Episode 17

So you’ve heard all about these awesome community summits where community sites are invited to studios to look at games early, but you can’t seem to get yourself invitd to one. Well, we’ve hosted several of these events between the two of us, and in this episode, we’re going to talk a bit about how to get yourself invited to future events.

Download – Episode 17

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Inception, The Greatest Trick Nolan Ever Pulled

 My wife and I finally got the chance to watch Inception recently. I know, I know, we’re behind. We chatted about the movie a bit afterward, and the next day she had a pretty awesome take on what the film was about. I asked her to write up her analysis so that I could post it here to share with you guys. I know you’re already thinking tl;dr, but I think that if you are even remotely interested in the film, you should give this write-up a read. And when you’re done reading, go watch the movie again.

15 Minutes of Game – Episode 16

In this episode, we talk about re-inventing the wheel. It’s a subject we’ve danced around in previous episodes, but I definitely felt it was worth touching on directly. How do you guage the next big moves for your website? Are you re-inventing the wheel, or are you creating something that brings new value to the community at large? 

Download – Episode 16

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15 Minutes of Game – Episode 15

Today’s show topic comes from an email that I recieved recently asking how best to go about extending your presence beyond your own community site. Jon and I discuss some of the best ways to do this both from the internal company perspective, and from the external fan site perspective.

Download – Episode 15

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What succesful ways have you found to involve yourself with other communities?

15 Minutes of Game – Episode 14

The Spike VGAs are coming up this weekend. It’s the game industry’s chance to recognize our best and brightest. Or is it? This week we take on a VGA topic request from twitter and discuss what we feel are the strengths and weaknesses of the game industry’s only large award show.

Download – Episode 14 

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What do you think of the VGAs? Do you watch?

15 Minutes of Game – Episode 13

15MoG: Earth One. In this episode, Jon really wanted to discuss the merits of the latest in DC Comics’ string of Superman reboots. We take on JMS’ modernized Superman origin story and talk about what we liked and hated.

Download – Episode 13

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Have you read Superman: Earth One yet? What did you think of it?

15 Minutes of Game – Episode 12

In this day and age, do you really even need a forum to build a community? That’s the question that Jon and I tackle this week, straight from a twitter request. We each take a different side of the question, and hopefully give you something to think about with your own community building.

Download – Episode 12

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Give it a listen and let us know if you think forums are essential to building a community.