TriplePoints of Interest

Secrets to PR Job Interviews

Interviewing for a job is difficult. The interview process at TriplePoint goes beyond the cookie-cutter question sets you’re used to being asked. Beyond the skills required for a PR career, like superior writing and the ability to make decisions quickly, the ideal candidate for an intern or entry-level position must build a combination of rapport, confidence and trust during the interview process. My goal when interviewing candidates is to determine if I could rely on you to speak professionally in a client meeting, trust you with a project if I get sick, and eventually add you to a variety of client accounts.

Instead of feeling anxious about an interview, think of it as an opportunity to meet new people that have the same interests you do. Your goal should be to inspire your potential employers. For us, interviewing a candidate means we have half an hour to learn everything possible about someone we’re most likely meeting for the first time. Let this interview be a highlight of our day! I’ve included a couple of tips to make this happen, below.

Continue reading Secrets to PR Job Interviews

Pitchcraft: What PR and Venture Capital have Taught Me About Pitching

Before joining TriplePoint I worked briefly for a growth stage fund at a venture capital firm, specializing in mobile, ecommerce, adtech, and cloud technologies. It’s not hard to imagine that my favorite part of the job was sitting in on the pitches entrepreneurs made to attract funding for their companies. When I moved over to the public relations side of the tech scene, I experienced a complete role reversal. Now I am the one presenting pitches, in the form of a tailored email or occasional call to a journalist. From this process, I’ve learned a bit about what makes an effective — and cringe-worthy — pitch. While I’m still always learning new ways to pitch, I’ve developed a few tips for pitching someone, whether you’re looking for investment support or media coverage:

Continue reading Pitchcraft: What PR and Venture Capital have Taught Me About Pitching

Making a Case for the Smartwatch With a Look Into the Future

There’s no doubt that wearable technology has gained widespread acceptance among fitness and health enthusiasts. The simple bracelets track our movement and encourage us to live a more fit lifestyle, a goal most of us aspire to but struggle with when it comes to ongoing engagement. Companies like Nike and Fitbit are making major headway into this category, while other technology giants jump in to tackle the next evolution of wearable tech with the smartwatch.

Yet, skepticism remains about the viability of such devices and their impact on our lives. Is it a necessity? What form will it take before gaining mainstream acceptance? When will form meet function and design before we’re all genuinely excited about it?

I believe that there’s a massive opportunity with wearables, particularly the smartwatch, as devices that will become just as ubiquitous as the smartphone, if not outright replacements. Let’s take a look at some of the players and trends pointing the way.

Apple
I recognize it’s strange to lead off with a company that has yet to reveal a smartwatch. Yet, the rumor mill continues to swirl about the company’s plan. The most interesting rumors involve a secret army of engineers working on a “special project” (the TV could be another), and motion sensor “system on chip” manufacturer Invensense tripling its company size to accommodate orders from Apple.

We should also recognize that Apple does a fantastic job of incorporating accessibility and assistive technology into its devices, many features of which will overlap with an advanced UI necessary for tackling problems with smartwatch usability.

The market is also still ripe for innovation when it comes to both form and function. Nailing the look and usability of such a technology is no easy feat, but that’s a challenge that Apple has repeatedly shown to excel at with the personal computer, MP3 player, smartphone, tablet, etc.

Here are a few interesting concepts:

Additionally, Tim Cook sits on the board of Nike and can often be seen wearing a Nike+ FuelBand. He’s a strong and vocal proponent of the FuelBand. You can count Cook among those who believe in the future of wearables, with Nike as the perfect testing ground for his own company’s aspirations and fueling speculation of Apple’s plans in this category even further.

Google
Probably one of the more exciting news in wearable technology of late is Google’s announcement of the Android Wear OS.

Not only are the initial Motorola 360 and other designs revealed with the announcement a great step in the right direction to making an attractive product, but the attention to solving UI challenges should add fuel to the race. With Android continuing to build momentum in the smartphone and tablet space, Wear is a testament to Google’s commitment in the smartwatch category and an important sign that this isn’t going away.

And in case you’re wondering, no, I don’t believe in the future viability of Google Glass, primarily because of its intrusive nature that will never gain social acceptance.

Samsung, Pebble, and others

Pebble is the most notable company to enter this space with a splash, setting the tone for how smartwatch design married with tech can get tech enthusiasts excited. Its move to deploy an SDK and a discovery portal (an Android app containing a library of compatible Pebble apps) is a smart one, which should accelerate developer adoption of the platform as it continues to expand its install base.

Samsung is another major player taking this space seriously, coming out with its own Galaxy Smartwatch line. Most recently, the company revealed a whole slew of new designs at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Gear Fit receiving the most recognition of the bunch due to its curved screen and attractive look. While Samsung continues to contribute great effort to this space, it’s still not quite enough to solidify the smartwatch as a must-have gadget.

So what’s needed to cross the chasm from tech enthusiasts to mainstream acceptance? What can we expect?

We need to completely change the notion of a smartwatch as an accessory to the smartphone, but a piece of technology that is convenient to use and solves common problems in our everyday lives. We once thought that feature phones were an amazing piece of technology that couldn’t possibly get any better, until color screens with web browsing capabilities, improved data bandwidth, and eventually the iPhone came along to change our perception of cellular phones and becoming a necessity, not a “want.”

I’m personally not satisfied with having to carry an $800 electronic brick in my pocket, and I imagine my 3 year old daughter growing up and wondering in disbelief that we’d use it as the central communications tool. Let’s look at three key areas that have yet to truly materialize — areas of focus that will drive the future of smartwatch adoption and utility.

Design: Let’s face it; it needs to look good. A curved and/or flexible screen will help makers achieve the perfect balance of form, function, and style, which is no easy feat. While not quite “wearables”, we’re seeing this marriage of technology and design take form in making old and ubiquitous tools “smarter”. Only Nest could really nail it with the thermostat to result in a $3.2 billion acquisition by Google. The Livescribe 3 smartpen (a TriplePoint client) achieves a slimmer form factor and mirrors the style of luxury ink pens, making it a best-selling product for the company. Technology can no longer just work, it also has to look beautiful for today’s consumer.
Technology: The Android Wear OS will hopefully optimize power consumption, a big challenge facing smartwatches available on the market today. Meanwhile, battery technology continues to advance, and will one day give us a device that can run on a single charge for days. Additionally, improved voice recognition will be necessary to allow for hands-free control of the device strapped to our wrist, something that both Google and Apple continue to work on. Finally, other features are sure to improve the overall utility of a smartwatch, such as the ability to project the screen onto a tabletop or wall for larger visibility, such as maps and websites.
Cellular chip: All of these things will lead to the integration of a cellular chip directly into the smartwatch, which will be the ultimate driver of adoption, as long as all other challenges are addressed first. The need for us to continue using a smartphone as the gateway to voice and data connectivity is a problem and the reason why I’ve yet to buy a smartwatch. To become truly functional, it needs to operate independently. Surely we’ll continue to use smartphones or tablets for expanded applications that require a larger screen, but they will become the accessory that displays data transmitted via the smartwatch over direct WiFi, not acting as the cellular gateway itself.

Many events and meetups are sprouting up around the world to discuss topics in wearable technology, which speaks to the real momentum behind the technological movement. I believe it’s going to be just as big, if not more important than, the advent of smartphones and impact our lives in nearly every way imaginable, from fitness to health and just everyday utility.

One such event is being put on by ReadWrite, coming up in San Francisco on April 9th – ReadWriteMix: Grappling With the Future of Wearable Technology with Pebble’s Eric Migicovsky.

View more information about the event and RSVP for free here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/readwritemix-grappling-with-the-future-of-wearable-technology-with-pebbles-eric-migicovsky-tickets-10981442791

It’s sure to provide more insight on this hot topic, and I’m looking forward to participating in the discussion. Look out for me there, or reach out in advance to make sure we connect!

Five Things You Should Know About Playing Professional Dota

The original “Dota” was a mod created for Warcraft III, and after the games immense success other MOBA style games debuted and stuck to the addictive formula, including League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth. Valve, best known for their online distribution platform and the Half-Life series, acquired the rights to Dota in 2009 which they subsequently used to release Dota 2. In 2011 they hosted The International, a three day Dota 2 tournament held in Cologne Germany with a $1.6 Million Dollar Prize Pool and a grand prize of one million dollars. It was at this moment that eSports (electronic sports) had finally arrived in the eyes of players and fans.

To celebrate that original tournament, Valve recently debuted the Free to Play, a feature-length documentary that follows three players who competed on different teams in the 2011 tournament. The documentary is definitely worth checking out, as it give a great insights into the trials and tribulations such an event has on one’s like. That being said, here are five things you should know about being a professional Dota player.

Continue reading Five Things You Should Know About Playing Professional Dota

Pushers–Why Titanfall will not save the Xbone (yet)

Titanfall launched a couple of weeks ago, and the reviews are very good. The game has an 86 on Metacritic, which reflects (if nothing else) a unanimously positive response from the aggregated gaming media, and players are raving about how great the game is. I myself participated in the Beta test for Titanfall on PC, and found the game fast-paced, intense, and generally fun to play.

But it won’t sell Xbox Ones. Not yet. Continue reading Pushers–Why Titanfall will not save the Xbone (yet)

Slide to Survive: Flourishing in the Cutthroat Mobile Industry

The mobile market is still growing fast; in 2014 the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world’s population. With over 1 million apps available on both the iTunes App Store and Google Play, the competition facing mobile developers is fiercer than ever before. With so many app options, the sheer volume of marketing has grown to a cacophony… so where does this leave mobile app PR? The market has shifted substantially over the past year, and PR pros must adapt rapidly. Formerly bulletproof techniques have become less reliable, while new PR strategies are evolving in their place. All this upheaval is thanks to three little characters: F2P.

Continue reading Slide to Survive: Flourishing in the Cutthroat Mobile Industry

Six Ways to Stand Out at a Career Fair

By Valerie Turpin and Bethany Hill

At TriplePoint, we regularly attend university and local startup career fairs in search of candidates to join our team of lovable games and tech nerds. All of us were once on the other side of that flimsy banquet table, and know just how surreal and stressful a career fair can be.

After meeting nearly 100 applicants of varying ages, majors and interests at a recent career fair, we took away several insights and have outlined the key takeaways below for those looking to shine the next time they meet a potential employer.

1. Do your research. Before approaching a company, you should have a basic knowledge of the organization and its industry. Most career fairs provide each student advance information briefly describing each company in attendance. If a company seems particularly interesting to you, do a little more research. It saves time when an initial conversation with an applicant is, “I was reading up on you guys and think it’s so cool you specialize in video games and tech!” and not “Is TriplePoint an engineering company?” It makes us really excited when you already know who we are when you approach us.

2. Perfect your elevator pitch. Those who introduced themselves with, “Hi, I’m [Name], I’m interested in [this]” fast-tracked the conversation to a point where we could mutually discuss if a candidate could be a good fit. Be honest about what you want in your next job. Interested in PR, but don’t care in the slightest about video games or tech? Then TriplePoint may not be the best fit. Outlining your interests passionately and clearly will help everyone.

But Valerie, I’m a freshman and don’t know what I’m looking for yet!!!

Don’t panic! At this stage, it’s more important to know what activities you like over what career you want to have. If you know you dislike talking to people, hate writing and couldn’t care less about the games and tech industries, then that’s some direction in and of itself. If you like learning about cool startups, know you’re detail-oriented and enjoy writing, then we’d like to speak with you.

3. If you’re looking for a full-time position over an internship, be prepared to back up why. For a soon-to-be college grad, internships might not sound like an ideal option; however, not all internships are alike, and some are worth pursuing. Unlike in other industries, public relations agencies often hire college graduates at the intern level, with the opportunity to promote them to a full-time position. While many applicants have acquired the necessary skills for PR — writing, critical thinking and interpersonal skills — agencies also require background knowledge and expertise in the companies they represent. We’re both former interns-turned-full-time-employees!

Think of an internship as paid on-the-job training — at TriplePoint, we believe strongly in paying interns! An internship at TriplePoint exposes you not only to the basics of PR, but also to the ins and outs of the tech and video games industries: from the outlets, to the journalists, to major news and events. We look for applicants who can adapt quickly and move from an internship to a full-time position.

Community — When being personable is scary.

4. Be personable. We really want to like you. Seriously, we do. It’s much easier if you shake our hands, ask how our days have been, and are genuinely interested in talking with us. We’ve occasionally had candidates at career fairs that refused to make eye contact or couldn’t seem to keep their attention on us while we spoke. We know it can be intimidating talking with recruiters, but remember: we’re rooting for you to be the person we hire.

5. Tell us something that makes you proud. Even if it’s completely irrelevant to the job, we’ll remember you better if you give us a particular fact or anecdote that makes you unique. Were you a champion equestrian in high school? Did you take a year off from college to travel the world? Can you recite the alphabet backwards (Valerie can!)? The more information you can share about a talent or experience, even if it isn’t directly related to the company or job opportunity, the more you’ll stand out from other applicants.

6. If you really like a company, follow-up via email as soon as possible. This is absolutely essential. Not only does it show you care, it helps us remember who you are. No matter how delightful you are, it’s hard to remember a name and face with every resume once you have a stack of them, apart from writing directly on your resume “I like this person” right in front of you. A simple, “Great meeting you and talking about [whatever cool thing we discussed]; I’ve attached a copy of my resume for your reference” shows us you’d like to move further with a career at TriplePoint.

Have more thoughts or questions on becoming a standout? Find us on Twitter at @valeriecturpin or @andbethanysays!

Photo sources from here and here.
.

On Apps and <3s

Ah Valentine’s Day, a time for chocolate and flowers and punny cards, but also a time to reflect on the connections we share with friends and loved ones. Maybe it’s because I’m a twenty-something-year-old living in New York City, where people are constantly plugged-in via one or more devices, but it seems like everywhere you look, people are obsessed with connecting via messaging apps. Whether in the form of “relationship” apps such as Tinder, Hinge, and even Wingman, or social platforms like Viber, Line, and Snapchat, it’s hard to ignore the feeling that as a society, we’ve taken to outsourcing our most basic interactions to the cloud. Don’t worry, we’re not becoming antisocial, and most of us are still a long way off from a mustachioed Joaquin Phoenix – but researchers are predicting that this is just the beginning.

Yesterday Gartner released data announcing that in 2013, worldwide sales of smartphones surpassed sales of feature phones for the first time. As mature markets become increasingly saturated with connected devices, and emerging markets witness meteoric growth, app stores have been flooded with ways for people to connect with others either down the block or several time zones away. As these apps pop up seemingly overnight, some are rewarded with huge user bases, astronomical funding, and successful exits. Meanwhile, others fall by the wayside. But with hundreds of millions of users (and the theoretical money accompanying them) up for grabs, and those numbers growing every day, the motivation is high for new players to get into the game.

So what makes for a successful messaging app? While factors like luck and timing certainly play a role, there are some distinct characteristics that can position an app to do well when entering this crowded space. Offering a unique experience (and not just, say, an Instagram for selfies) is necessary, because short attention spans mean people are not going to regularly use 10 different messaging apps; they will choose the few that offer the most valuable experiences. Intuitive usability and simple design are also key factors for success – apps that can be used with one hand are that much easier for a user to adopt and revisit.

But most notably, in keeping with Valentine’s Day, apps evoking emotional experiences for users are at a distinct advantage. It’s no mystery why sites such as BuzzFeed and Upworthy are so popular and are constantly shared across social media. There are few things that bring people closer together than humorous content and uplifting stories to rally behind, especially when accompanied by adorable gifs and powerful images. A strong image (be it selfie or emoji) speaks anywhere across the world, and the ability to create these images and messages draws people in, opening up new avenues of expression. Creating an authentic sense of connection and engagement with users has become imperative for any social app, and we can expect to see the sustained development of this theme as the mobile messaging space continues to evolve and grow. Let’s just hope we won’t be seeing more apps capitalizing a little too much on user sentimentality.

Should YouTubers Be Considered Journalists?

Much in the same way that bloggers rose a decade ago to disrupt the media landscape by giving readers immediate access to information over their print brethren, YouTubers have arrived in a similar fashion to give a new, younger audience a fresh perspective on the games they love. Though YouTubers have been around for the better part of a decade, it is only in the last year that this surge of user-generated content has come to the attention of game publishers and developers as they scramble to understand how to work with these personalities. Like the bloggers of yesteryear, this influx of influential talent has led PR professionals and their marketing colleagues to learn more about this next generation of game changers but which camp are YouTubers in? Should they be approached like editors? Do they have the same ethical guidelines as journalists? Are they supposed to behave like reporters in the first place?

In the last month, this notion that YouTubers should adhere to similar ethical standards as editors—i.e. not accepting money for content—has been argued both for and against by many in the industry. Lumping all YouTubers into one batch, though, is a step in the wrong direction toward understanding this novel segment. With journalism, all reporters are held to a universal standard, but this is not the case with YouTubers as there are couple different types of personalities to contend with. Instead, when evaluating a YouTuber, it should be done on a case-by-case basis as each one has their own set of rules; some aim toward being pure entertainers, much like a daytime TV talk show host, while others portray themselves as unbiased and critical, much like journalists, in their assessments of games and yet they still do what they do for entertainment purposes.

On the pure entertainment side of the spectrum, look at popular personality PewDiePie. He doesn’t present himself to be a critical voice in the games industry; his videos are mostly comprised of himself and friends enjoying themselves while playing an assortment of games. By no means is PewDiePie proposing that you should buy X game or stay away from Y genre, he just wants to entertain—and he does, to the tune of two million views per video on average.

Is it unethical for an entertainer to accept a branded deal for content creation specifically? If the entertainer posits themselves as just that—an entertainer, much the same way as, let’s say, a comedian does—then it is this author’s opinion that it shouldn’t be an issue who sponsors the entertainer so long as it is clearly disclosed to the viewer the same way it has been done in television for decades.

On the other side of the coin, you have personalities like Total Biscuit who certainly come with their fair share of opinion and whose audience is craving this sort of critical feedback to base their purchasing decisions on.

Could one who proposes themselves as a critical voice in the YouTube community accept promotion for content creation? While accepting payment to create a positive sounding video could be considered a conflict of interest much the same way an editor would never accept money for a positive review, a YouTuber of this variety may still accept branded deals in the guise of voice acting, using sponsored products, and other promotional considerations outside of specifically creating positive videos about games they wouldn’t otherwise play. Branded deals for a critical YouTuber could be viewed the same as an outlet taking ad money from a publisher to keep their site running. While editors can argue that they themselves do not sell ads and that there is a clear separation between editorial and sales, this distinction isn’t transparent when it comes to YouTubers. Again though, any sort of paid promotion should be clearly disclosed to viewers and readers so the audience is aware of the situation.

Simply put, YouTubers are indeed a different beast and should be held to the ethical standards of disclosure, especially when there is money changing hands. Furthermore, these actions should be made clear by both parties involved. This is where the similarities between journalistic ethics and YouTubers end, though. No matter how critical a YouTuber may be, they are still in the business of entertainment and though some critical YouTubers will not accept money for content creation—and personally I feel this is a great thing if one is positing themselves as a serious critic—a YouTuber may still opt to take branded deals, something a journalist simply cannot do.

It is necessary for an audience to determine the validity of a YouTuber’s content and for a PR pro to keep these things in mind when researching who to reach out to regarding a game or product. If a personality has a reputation for not properly disclosing when they take payment for content creation then they’re not a good target for your game as people will question the integrity of the YouTuber’s words in their videos, much the same way a journalist would be questioned if they were caught taking money to write positive articles. Clear disclosure is the ultimate ethic that all of us in the business of brand awareness, whether it be paid or not, should abide by.

Personal Branding: Picking a Twitter Name

The first online pseudonym I ever took for myself was “FreeK.” Yes, with the capital K at the end, and everything. My thin justification for that ‘edgy’ spelling was that if you wanted to, you could pronounce it “free-kay” like someone saying “freaky” with an accent. Don’t judge me too harshly; it was 1993, and I was 13 years old. Having discovered that Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was a magical technology where geographically disparate strangers could speak with relative anonymity, I was tasked with picking a username — much in the same way that the modern Internet denizen must select their Twitter handle. 13-year-old me had fewer concerns about the lasting impact of his nom de pépier, but admittedly that didn’t stop 30-year-old me from still being a smartass about it.

PR professionals are trusted to be caretakers of incredibly valuable brands. When we interact on behalf of a client, it’s understood that what we say and do reflects back on that client – for all intents and purposes, our words are coming out of their mouths, so we need to act responsibly. Just as often, though, we’re simply interacting as ourselves, whether it’s to swap jokes with industry contemporaries, share interesting news, or simply shout our fascinating thoughts into the ether. I’m speaking, of course, about Twitter, that marvelous social media equalizer that gives each of us the same 140 characters to act as cleverly or callously as we please.

The basics of how to behave on one’s personal Twitter account should, by now, be common knowledge in the professional world (even if one still sees occasional evidence that they’re not). I am not here to harangue anyone about the blurred lines between personal and professional personas; anybody in PR ought to understand that you need to be professional in both — especially in an industry driven by public interaction and relationships — maintaining one’s own brand takes just as much care as a client’s. My point of curiosity, instead, is this: if our online profiles are our brands, how do we come by our branding? In short, why do we pick the Twitter names that we do?

Based on my own anecdotal research, roughly 95% of us go the simple route, picking a handle that is directly derived from our real names. It’s a basic concept, of course — if we’re to establish ourselves as thought leaders, social butterflies, and other highly visible personalities, naturally we want our names out there, attached to our thoughts, standing behind our two cents whenever we chip them in. As with the rest of the world, including the likes of @tim_cook, @andersoncooper, and even @barackobama, most of my colleagues, contemporaries, and clients have Twitter handles that are simply their names (underscores or abbreviations notwithstanding). Simple, straightforward, memorable, and no explanation needed.

There are plenty of reasons not to go this route. Frequently, this is simply because one’s real-name handle is already taken. The Internet is a crowded place, and few want the stigma of imitation or “being late to the party” associated with a username like “@BobJones2.” Whatever the reason, however, picking a non-given name reflects a much more personal and conscious decision, much more in line with a brand. You’ve got just 15 characters to encapsulate some facet of yourself — so what will you pick? A favorite literary character? A frequent hobby? What is the element of your character that is so dominant that you have chosen to name yourself after it?

After doing a bit of digging, I discovered that, like myself, most of my colleagues with non-tradtional Twitter names (i.e. not their actual names) have a personal story behind their choices, typically one rooted in old real-world nicknames: names their friends and family gave them in school, or frequent pun-based alterations of their names that others have made. Branding by focus group, if you will. Like any brand, however, the double-edged sword is that once a brand becomes recognizable, you’re more or less compelled to keep using it.

My current Twitter name isn’t anything explicitly profane or offensive; I don’t profess a love of illegal drugs or antisocial behavior. It’s nothing bad, per se, but it’s questionable from a maturity standpoint. It’s irreverent at best, and that’s how I like to hope it’s interpreted — but, like so many others’, it’s “mine” now, and it’s been around long enough that several friends would blink if I were to drop it.

Could I rebrand myself if I needed to? Almost certainly. But the tongue-in-cheek nature of my brand is one I try to support with wry messaging, and I find it makes a more memorable first impression than a simple @MyName selection. Besides, I’ve checked on the Twitter names with my actual name on them, and there’s at least 7 of them. So far, I’m the only one using my particular Twitternym, so I’ve got that market segment locked up.

If you liked this post, you can follow me on Twitter (just not at @JesseHenning ’cause that’s not me).

The Next-Gen War Has Changed: The Long Road Ahead

It’s been almost eight years since the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii launched. It was quite a spectacle; the gaming industry boomed and helped create new ventures in e-Sports and online broadcasting. Gaming became a mainstream phenomenon.

Yet, there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for the new console launches.

When the PS3 and 360 were announced, my jaw literally dropped when I saw what was in store for me and my friends. It was impossible to contain the excitement and buzz for those consoles. We wanted it. We couldn’t wait. Our fingers were ready to push buttons and wobble joysticks like fiends.

This year’s launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 had no magical sense of excitement like the one that I felt with its predecessors. The graphics look spectacular, but it’s not a major leap from where we left off. The launch lineup for both consoles is mediocre, with no title taking the lead as a must-own.

It feels so… underwhelming.

Yet, that hasn’t stopped both consoles from having record-breaking sales on their launch days. It’s a sign that there has been a shift in the industry: the conversation has moved from the “measuring sticks” debate on who has better processing power or visuals to a battle over the ultimate living room experience.

Graphics are no longer the key selling point. The extended capabilities each console has to offer – instant streaming, a stronger online community hub, social media and app integration – will be the heart of the console generation marathon. The PS4 and Xbox One are no longer just about playing games, but also about creating an extension to the gamer’s life. Games will always be part of the deciding factor, but now mainstream consumers have the option to choose how they want their experience enhanced.

One of my favorite features right now on PlayStation 4 is the remote play feature, allowing me to play AAA next-gen titles away from my actual console. My roommate, on the other hand, is completely sold on the Xbox One’s Kinect voice commands, letting him go hands-free to complete simple tasks to enhance his entertainment experience. It shows that Sony and Microsoft are really trying to provide similar but unique experiences to their user bases.

This (next) gen is also all about socializing. The last generation built an online foundation and paved way for the rise of e-sports. The integration of social media, online streaming, and game recording is going to be an integral part of the gameplay experience. Who knows what else Sony and Microsoft will have in store for us in the future?

The dust hasn’t settled and we probably won’t know who the real winner of this console generation is for a long time. With the limited fanfare, it’s hard to tell. Sure, Sony won the hearts of many with its policy on being DRM-free, but that quickly flatlined as Microsoft caught up with its own changes. I’ve got a good feeling that all of this is just a calm before the storm; I’m expecting the battle to heat up next year during E3 2014 as both companies start landing on their own two feet.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to share them with me on Twitter @RahottieR or @TriplePoint.

Video Killed the Game Review Star

Digital media is changing the process of selling and buying in almost every industry. With reviews, peer ratings, articles, social media, special deals and more, there is a growing wealth of content for consumers to peruse before making a purchase. Video games are no different, and across the board we’re finding that video content has a rising stake in the process, boasting the most engaged and influential audience compared to other media.

In the past two or three years, we’ve seen explosive growth in a number of video content providers for video games, and it makes sense. The best way to decide if you want to play a game is not to read a review about it, but to watch someone play it, and importantly, to be entertained along the way. Sure, I could read a few reviews, average the scores, take some journalists’ opinions into account, but at the end of the day I want to see if Contrast is fun before picking up the PS4 copy.

The explosion of Twitch.tv is one example of the rise in appetites for showcasing games with video content. The game streaming website’s unique monthly viewership doubled from about 929,000 in October 2012 to more than 2 million today (via data from Compete.com).

The movers and shakers in the gaming industry are acknowledging how important it is to give gamers a place to share and watch their experiences. PlayStation 4 launched with seamless Twitch streaming as a major selling point, and though Xbox One missed the feature at launch, it will come with a software update soon. Not only are traditional gaming media outlets taking advantage of this feature, journalists are building their own individual audiences to compete with seriously popular Twitch channels like NorthernLion and Cry.

The number, quality, and fans of gaming YouTubers are also on the rise. When I was at PAX this year chatting with a YouTuber, fan after fan kept coming up to him to tell him how much they loved his show and to take a picture. More so, Microsoft’s Xbox One launch event debacle with controversial YouTuber KSI, shows just how much influence these guys and gals have to shape news from the industry. It’s a new world. TotalBiscuit can have just as much sway as top gaming writers.

Beyond the views, engagement numbers are insane on many of these YouTube videos. For example, PewDiePie’s hilarious playthrough of Outlast, an indie horror game by TriplePoint client Red Barrels, has racked up more than 7 million views, 200,000 likes and 63,000 comments. For comparison, IGN has just over 5 million unique visitors a month according to Compete.com, and its highly anticipated PlayStation 4 review has 9,706 comments. Consumers are often going directly to YouTubers for gaming entertainment and news, or linking to them from the increasingly important gaming sub-Reddit. As a result, developers and PR agencies are paying more attention to these folks. TriplePoint client Spearhead Games even named an achievement in upcoming PS4 game Tiny Brains after half-uber fan, half-YouTube star The Completionist.

PewDiePie plays horror game Outlast. — PewDiePie plays through horror game Outlast with more than 7 million YouTube views.

My emphasis on the rising influence of video content makers is not to say traditional gaming websites are losing their importance. They still cater to folks that buy lots of games, and they are amping up their own video offerings with video reviews and regularly programmed Twitch channels. Perhaps more importantly, these respected publications’ editorial decisions drive YouTube content, as YouTubers likely choose what games to play and feature based on what’s being talked about on IGN, Kotaku, GameSpot, Polygon and the like. After all, direct outreach from game makers to YouTubers is still relatively limited.

Whether the gaming media can beat YouTubers and Twitch prodigies at entertaining and informative video content is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that the medium is hard to surpass when evaluating games. Watching a video playthrough is by far the closest experience to playing a game itself. As such, the reach and adoption of Twitch and YouTube will only continue to grow – begging the next challenge for studios and marketers: how to address fragmented video audiences.

What are your favorite Twitch and YouTube channels? Let us know in the comments below or share your thoughts on Twitter @DianaHSmith and @TriplePoint.

Of PR Flacks and Gym Rats: What Athletes and PR Professionals Have in Common

During my short time at TriplePoint, I’ve acquired the reputation of being the “office gym rat.” Anyone who knows me personally knows that I go to the gym at least five times a week, and I supplement my workouts with short-distance running or HIIT (high intensity interval training). I regularly complain about how sore I am or mention various healthy eating habits.

Unfortunately, I love working out in an age where people who work out avidly are associated with stupidity and d-baggery. I won’t deny their existence: they completely exist and they even go to my gym. However, after a high school experience of affectionately being called “fatty” (and for good reason), I have my own personal, non-meathead reasons for working out and for running. Doing so makes me feel better, more productive, and less stressed overall. I’ve endured the frustration and soreness, and felt triumphs that only being active can provide.

I‘ve been working in media relations jobs since my sophomore year of college, and learned that PR and athletics have a great deal in common. For instance…

Start your day early.

There’s nothing quite like getting to the gym before anyone else; no one’s using the machines and you’re unlikely to find any steroid-taking, no-neck gym bully waiting to give you unsolicited lifting advice (thanks but no thanks, bro.) You also bask in the unique accomplishment of being awake and productive while most people enjoy their last few hours of sleep.

Starting your day off early is biologically superior for the human body. Little known fact: humans are not diurnal but crepuscular, meaning that our minds reach peak efficiency in the hours closest to sunrise and sunset. In PR, I’ve found that pitching earlier in the day usually yields better results. The morning is also a great time to sit down and read a few articles… gotta stay up on the news!

Do your research.

A politics professor who I greatly respect once told me that if you don’t have an insatiable appetite for news, you simply aren’t bound for the top. This somewhat harsh truth spurred me to broaden my reading – not just politics, but also video games, fitness and sports news. Top fitness personalities note that if you aren’t well-educated about proper form and nutrition, you’re unlikely to get results and may even injure yourself.

Like working out, reading articles forces one to engage in the world at large. For TriplePoint, this means taking an interest not just in our industry, but also in the journalists we interact with. For me, this was following them on Twitter and keeping up on their writing. After all, we are people working with people, not PR working with journalists.

Have a buddy.

When I first started running seriously, it was truly awful. I was huffing and puffing after 30 minutes with miles to go in my intended route. So I started running with a good friend, because friends seem to make difficult activities a lot less terrible. In the gym, same thing: I always work harder when someone else is right there, holding me accountable. In PR and most office jobs, this means proofreading. Having someone help with grammar and wording is crucial. I’ll freely admit that my press release writing and pitchcraft still need fine-tuning. But just as in the weight room, I enjoy that I work with professionals who actively make me better.

Slow progress is still progress.

Seriously, though… nobody becomes great at anything overnight. For me, getting in shape was a process laden with soreness, fatigue, upset stomachs, shin splints, muscle cramps, and days feeling like utter crap. And it was worth it. Ultimately, determination makes muscles larger and more defined in the long run. Building friendships in the media is the same as building any other type of friendship: it takes time and persistence to see positive results.

Do your research, again.

…Because the first time wasn’t enough. Knowing what’s happening in the realms of tech and gaming is a constant, ongoing process.

Leave it all on the field.

This picture of my brother Sam pretty much says it all. Whether you’re in the weight room, on the treadmill, atop your bike, circling the track, sprinting to the baseline, or grinding it out in the office, dedicate one thousand percent of your effort to making yourself better. I do my best to leave the office with no unresolved issues, just as I never leave the weight room without finishing what I set out to do. Of course, this doesn’t always happen; some days are better and some days are worse. The point is to be consistent, honest with yourself, and eager to keep learning.

And remember, nobody strives to be mediocre. Train hard, my friends.

5 Takeaways from The Battle for the Marketing Cloud Event

On Tuesday we helped our friends at DoubleDutch put on a panel discussing what’s next in marketing technology and how startups can capitalize on the skyrocketing CMO tech budget. The event was called “The Battle for the Marketing Cloud,” and it was a hit! CEOs from DoubleDutch (social events platform), KISSmetrics (data analytics), Traackr (influencer marketing) and Genius.com (marketing automation) spoke to a packed house of startup founders with insightful moderator Mike Maples, one of the valley’s top notch VC’s and managing partner at FLOODGATE.

Reflecting on the discussion, I’d like to share my top takeaways from the event:

1) The “shift” in budget from the CIO to the CMO is not really a shift.

Since Gartner predicted that the CMO’s tech budget will eclipse the CIO’s by 2017, there has been a lot of hullabaloo about these two positions competing for cash. In reality, that’s not the case. CIO’s aren’t losing money for tech to their colleagues in marketing; CMOs are just rapidly gaining budget because new digital tools are making it easier for them to prove ROI on their spends. A classic marketing problem used to be, “I know half of my advertising budget is working, I just don’t know which half.” Trackable, data-driven tools are increasing transparency into what channels and messages work. Hence, the boom in enterprise marketing-focused startups. (Credit: Mike Maples, @m2jr).

2) Cloud software is democratizing the marketing vendor space.

Cloud software is making it easier for startups to quickly deploy solutions, and therefore, it’s very easy for in-house marketers to try many different tools and evaluate them. While this helps create an even playing field to edge out software incumbents like SAP and Oracle, it also means that your solution could be booted as quickly as it was installed. The bottom line: you can get in relatively simply, but your product must be rock solid to keep its place in a CMO’s tech mix. (Credit: Lawrence Coburn, @lawrencecoburn)

3) Complex marketing sales require buy-in from the CIO.

Even though the cloud makes it easier to sell to the CMO, marketing software sales that span a large enterprise usually require buy-in from the IT department as well. In the case of data analytics platform KISSmetrics, penetrating an organization usually starts with a lower level developer or marketing manager. Then, as the product gains advocates, the KISSmetrics sales team can move up the food chain, eventually working with both the CIO and the CMO to develop the most productive, long-term customer relationships. (Credit: Hiten Shah, @hnshah)

4) Integrating point-based marketing solutions is the next big opportunity.

Because the cloud has created a boom in point-based solutions that focus on solving one marketing problem elegantly, marketers are usually dealing with a number of tools that don’t talk to each other. The next wave of truly “disruptive” solutions will integrate data from all tools – social, automation, email, events and more – into one easy-to-understand platform. This new solution would empower marketers to understand how their channels work together with powerful data visualization. (Credit: Pierre-Loic Assayag, @pierreloic and Sam Weber, @SamWeber).

5) The best companies don’t compete.

Mike Maples had so many insights about what makes a startup remarkable, it was hard to choose just one to highlight. However, my top takeaway from Mike is that the best companies don’t compete at all. They are not trying to be the best in their category; they create categories. In this position, a company should develop a provocative point of view that repels those “villains” who you would rather not have as customers and attracts others that share your spirit. For example, Salesforce ran with the “no software” perspective that drove away slow-moving traditional sales departments and excited those looking for a less clunky CRM service.

In Mike’s opinion, capitalism isn’t about competition, it’s quite literally about gaining capital, and those who are the only force in their particular market segment usually win this battle. (Credit: Mike Maples, @m2jr)

A big thank you to DoubleDutch for sponsoring the event and to Mike Maples, Lawrence Coburn, Hiten Shah, Pierre-Loic Assayag and Sam Weber for participating. You can continue the discussion by downloading the DoubleDutch event app here or tweeting me @DianaHSmith.

Smartphone Game Controllers – More of a Game Changer Than You Think

Ask any game developer on iOS and Android today about the challenges they face in succeeding (i.e. turning a profit, making a sustainable living), and chances are there will be expressions of frustration and negativity. Save for companies that have already established themselves in the mobile marketplace and can afford to build and sustain a customer base, an overwhelming majority will never see a penny of profit.

At the same time, the mobile game market is at a crossroads. On one hand, you have casual experiences being churned out that can be monetized through growth hacking, a.k.a. the ability to target, but and convert players into paying customers. On the other hand, unique game experiences with deep and engaging levels of gameplay that can appeal to true “gamers” are finding it incredibly challenging to succeed, experiences that might command an upfront payment for a quality experience, one that such gamers are willing to pay.

Yet, the touchscreen experience doesn’t match the deep level of gameplay that sufficiently satisfies the needs of the average gamer. A few hours of playing a serious shooter, and you’re left with finger burn and a crooked wrist. This is why I adamantly support Nintendo’s strategy to continue building out their own platform with dedicated portable consoles, but that’s best left said in another blog post that I previously wrote.

While these challenges will persist in the near future, there is a bright spot in the mobile industry, steadily growing to help push development of high quality, deep gaming experiences that consumers might be willing to pay for – Bluetooth game controllers. Yes, multiple companies exist that provide such solutions, such as Green Throttle, Nyko, MOGA and others, but the tipping point will come with native integration of controller support by Apple and Google.

We already know about Apple’s controller API released with iOS 7, one that any developer can integrate into their game to support any wireless Bluetooth game controller. Google can’t be far behind, and we can be confident that we’ll see the support in the next year, at the most.

Free-to-play games rule the roost, and likely will for some time to come, if not permanently. This has allowed companies with the most capital to execute “growth hacking” techniques weighed heavily on user acquisition to build and sustain a player base. This has unfortunately led to an incredibly difficult marketplace for less capable developers to navigate and get discovered, especially the indie tier where the best ideas are generated and the least analytical capabilities lie. And we certainly can’t count on a quality game to succeed based on a one-time payment model. Free-to-play becomes even more challenging for the serious gamers, an incredibly difficult balance to manage in avoidance of pay-to-win perceptions.

As for “quality” games following the paid download model, $1.99 is unfortunately the maximum a majority of smartphone gamers will pay, with $9.99 and $19.99 being special price points for console ports – generally not optimal experiences built from the ground up for the touchscreen.

With universal game controller support built into iOS and Android, we can count on gamers playing for longer periods of time. With such higher engagements, developers can build deeper experiences with flexible game mechanics and backstories that have gamers investing tens of hours of time. Such game experiences are why 35 million gamers around the globe own a 3DS, and games that sell for $40 each sell in the millions within several days of release. These are the games, like Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty, that smash entertainment sales records, surpassing movies and music. Many of these games just wouldn’t work on a free-to-play model.

We’ve witnessed a variety of companies enter the market to disrupt the console business, most of which have been categorized as “microconsoles”, dedicated set-top box hardware usually build on top of Linux/Android. Yet, I can’t help but think that the last thing developers need to worry about right now is another platform, particularly one with little install base to justify the additional resource investment.

Why the need for a microconsole, when we all already own one, sitting right in our pocket? The smartphone and tablet, both iOS and Android, will quickly displace the need for dedicated microconsoles that offer the same value. Connectivity to the TV an issue? Tap and stream, enabled by Apple TV and, soon, the likes of Chromecast, will eliminate this hurdle for mainstream consumers. Don’t worry about the gamers – they’re savvy enough to make it happen now, as long as they have a reason to.

To summarize why I’m optimistic about the smartphone and tablet gaming space for the future of gaming:

1.) Native integration of controllers accelerating developer adoption into games.

2.) Games built from the ground up with controller support can lean on deeper experiences that please core gamers.

3.) High quality game experiences that can be played for hours (and avoid finger burn) can command premium price points and not rely on free-to-play access and conversion.

4.) Smartphone and tablets significantly increasing in power and capabilities can offer an experience that pleases the core gamer.

5.) One-tap streaming from smartphones/tablets to TV will all but eliminate the need for dedicated consoles tethered to the TV.

6.) More freedom and flexibility for gamers – one game file and experience no matter where you are, whether played on the road or on your living room TV.

I truly believe that there’s still a bright future ahead for experiences that gamers can enjoy and would be willing to pay a premium price point for on mobile devices. The hurdles that face development and adoption of such titles is a technology challenge already being solved in the form of native controller support and mobile-to-TV streaming. This is an exciting opportunity for developers to harness and create rich game experiences that meets the behaviors and consumption habits of gamers both casual and core. For all the gamers out there, we get to enjoy great games using the hardware that we own coupled with an affordable controller, anytime, anywhere.