By now, you’ve most likely heard the news, but it is never too late to send congratulations over to our client, Jambool, whose virtual economy platform Social Gold has received plenty of attention over the past year – most recently after Jambool’s acquisition by Google.  As the social gaming and virtual goods industries continue to grow,  we look forward to seeing what our talented friends at Jambool can come up with next at Google.

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We took a video of the talk – view it below! View it in HD and full-screen if you’d like to have a look at the the slides from the updated presentation.

Chris Heintz, TriplePoint, PR 101 For Indie Game Developers from Ed Zitron on Vimeo.

View the notes-oriented version of the presentation on SlideShare below:

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The showcase was a big success with great turnout. People came through the office from a variety of outlets including Good Housekeeping, PC Magazine, CBS News, Joystiq, Men’s Health, Worth Magazine, The Street, CNET, MTV Networks, and more. Many of the journalists came by with specific items in mind to see, but stuck around and checked other things outside of their beat.

It’s great to provide a showcase for TriplePoint’s clients in a relaxed environment where the media can feel like they’re hanging out in their living room, not getting a “hard sell.” The attendees all seemed to appreciate the laid-back environment and variety of items. We were able to show each journalist what interested them most, letting them have a good time in a more relaxed environment than the average convention. The next showcase is scheduled for early 2011 – more details will be posted here as they become available.

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Instead, I fill my iTunes playlist with songs that few would recognize, songs that only players of certain video games could appreciate.  Songs, though many wordless or in a language I do not understand, still mean so much to me after being on my playlist for many years.  I can dream to the sound of my inexperienced fingers playing “To Zanarkand” on the piano.  I know every word to “Suteki Da Ne” even though my abilities in Japanese are limited at best.

My obsession with video game music brought me to three performances (in different cities) of Video Games Live and two performances of Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy.  At these concerts, I have experienced perhaps some of the most profound moments of my life and realized I was not alone when a thousand other fans around me were brought together to that one moment in the game when this song was blaring from dusty speakers connected to an old TV set.

If you attend one of these performances (which I highly recommend regardless of whether or not you are a gamer), you will notice that most of the music you hear will be from AAA titles typically purchased at a retail store and played on a console for probably over thirty hours.  But what about music from the digital download market?  iPhone App games are making revenues in the nine digits.  Castle Crashers on the Xbox Live Arcade® sold one million copies within the first year of its release.  Does music from these digital download titles have the ability to move a crowd?

Some may argue that some production studios of downloadable games do not have the budget to make grand scores, but after six short hours on Castle Crashers, I was fairly impressed by the soundtrack (put together by members of Newgrounds).  A symphonic melody coupled by a faint 8-bit tune in the background, I could not believe what I was hearing.  I didn’t realize how a side-scrolling beat-em-up featuring four little almost-faceless sprites could passably be paired with such an epic soundtrack.  And sound plays a similarly crucial role in another notable Xbox Live Arcade® title, Limbo (which has sold over 300,000 copies to date), a game which has absolutely no music, just a melancholy silence, just as haunting and engaging as the wails of the Ocarina from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  As IGN so cleverly noted, the lack of text, dialogue, and musical soundtrack made Limbo into such a frightening and impressive piece of art.

The jury is out and statistics don’t lie.  The rise of the download era has begun in both casual and hardcore markets.  Now I ask, as downloadable games like Castle Crashers and Limbo gain as much praise and critical acclaim as their retail console counterparts, will the music (or lack thereof) of downloadable games be able to bring players together like soundtracks from games featured at Video Games Live and Distant Worlds?  Or has the music from these games already done just that?  Are there any XBLA players as mesmerized by the music of these games as I am of the music of Final Fantasy?

In any case, I shall at some point decide to dig through some links on Newgrounds and add some of those Castle Crashers tunes to my iTunes playlist, where they will play alongside the music that moved me to become a gamer.  Perhaps the next time I attend a Video Games Live concert I will hear Castle Crashers or perhaps the main theme of Tap Tap Revenge on the repertoire and as I hear the audience’s cheers around me, I will realize that it doesn’t matter what video game’s music I am hearing; that music, after all, is the universal language, a language we all understand, a language that connects us all.

As I hear “Party in the USA” for the Nth time in one day, I wonder if the only thing determining the song’s popularity is the message that all fans of the song subconsciously love so much: innocent little Miley learning for the first time that when thrust in an unfamiliar environment far away from her Nashville bubble, she can let loose and feel connected to the strangers around her with the power of music.

If music from Final Fantasy, Zelda, and all the other games I have come to love can bring me back to the most memorable moments of a game I played, and if a simple song by Miley Cyrus can get a whole dance floor hopping, then I guess it really does not matter where the music came from—video games or mainstream pop, a 30-hour RPG or a 6-hour-long downloadable game.  Video game music has the power to define an experience for a gamer.  It certainly has for me.

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Beyond logging in, when you finally do get to tend to your social game goings-on, it seems like there’s a pop-up every 3-4 clicks. I have hundreds of trees on my farm, and if I want to harvest them all one-by-one, I should be able to without having an annoying pop-up in my face after every 4 trees!

No – I don’t want to send free gifts to my neighbors right now. If I did, I’d click on that enormous Gifts tab staring me in the upper eye. No – I don’t want to check out the new virtual items. If I do, I’ll go to the store.

For games with such simple play mechanics, it just seems downright unreasonable to interrupt the only real “gameplay” you offer. It’s almost like you’re playing a FPS (think Halo or Call of Duty), and the developers randomly throw a pop-up notification during an important battle sequence. Sure, social game pop-ups aren’t going to leave any casualties, but they still disrupt my gameplay experience all the same.

My humble suggestion? Change the gameplay for more experienced players so they don’t have to deal with an entry-level info dump every session. We know already.

Even outside the game – I guess I mistakenly thought the Facebook Games tab reorganization would eliminate news feed notification noise. Nope. Time to revisit the news feed rant…

Have we crossed the line between social and spam yet? Facebook game notices in your news feed are like the new high-tech pocket protector – sure to repel friends at every sighting. I like playing, but not so much that I’m willing to alienate my friends who don’t care that I found free fuel on the farm today. Some people create dummy Facebook accounts to conduct their social gaming (and not to annoy friends), but that’s not even technically allowed in the site’s TOS.

What’s a rule-abiding user to do? I don’t know the answer, but I do hope social game developers can overcome this tightrope before players give up the balancing act and jump off for good. Being a geek is one thing, but being a social network spammer is totally uncool.

This article was originally published on Frisky Mongoose.

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Frisky Mongoose has compiled a list of 25 top titles for “brainstream” gamers both young and old. Did your favorites make the list? poweRBrands and Empire Avenue are 2 of our favorites, simple because they offer something totally unique and relevant for PR and marketing folks like us. Several – if not most – of these social, mobile and casual games are free, so put on your smarty pants and play learn your hearts out!

Facebook games:

poweRBrands by Reckitt Benckiser – “The first Facebook game of its kind, designed to test players’ marketing and business abilities, teach strategy and decision-making skills, and introduce users to the culture and challenges that face the company’s marketers every day.

Brain Buddies by wooga – Brain Buddies offers its users a playful way to determine their brain weight. The game is focusing on a contest among friends to find the one with the heaviest brain. A large set of mini games as well as entertaining graphics make the game fun to play for a long time.

Who Has the Biggest Brain by Playfish – A series of mini games test your abilities in 4 brain areas: Calculation, Memory, Logic and Visual. The combined score from each of these categories add up to your overall brain rating. A great opportunity to settle the debate, who really does have the biggest brain? After playing you are awarded a ranking – one of 27 different ‘Brain Types’ used to rank you and your friends.

Two other studious selections to try from Playfish are Word Challenge and Geo Challenge.

DumbVille by GSN – Tackle quirky questions and puzzle your way through mindless mini-games to rise through the ranks from Village Idiot to Mayor of Dumbville. Every time you succeed AND every time your friends fail, you’ll win Oodles – redeemable rewards that you can use to purchase sweepstakes entries and prizes on GSN.com.

Scrabble by Electronic Arts – A new version of the original board game includes built-in chat and dictionary, multiple word lists, dynamic animations, and multiple speed settings for public games. An easy-to-use interface lets you play with anyone who loves the game!

Online games:

Empire Avenue – Reap the benefits of expanding your online influence while buying and selling virtual shares in your best friend, your favorite blogger or that pizza joint down the road – anyone, for free. Connect with other people who like the same things as you, find interesting bloggers to follow, or unearth a cool new business in your home town! This Internet thing is pretty useful, you know, and Empire Avenue helps you find the people and businesses that are relevant to you.

Risk: The Game of Global Domination on Pogo.com – Establish your military objectives, take command of your army and begin your campaign to rule the world. Based on the classic board game of strategic conquest from Hasbro, Risk comes to life online where the object of the game is simple: Global Domination! Risk is a turn based game with each player starting with their own controllable army in an attempt to capture territories from opposing players and control the entire map.

Word Whomp on Pogo.com – This freebie challenges you to whomp adorable gophers and spell as many words as you can from a given set of letters before the clock runs out. Gophers will dig up veggies and bonuses as you unscramble words. Reach the carrot to enter the bonus round and score big!

Jeopardy on GSN.com – Test your trivia knowledge, just like the actual game show. Select a question from one of the six game categories by clicking on a dollar value under the category of your choice. When the question appears, you may choose to either “Respond” or “Pass.” If you choose to respond, you will have 15 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question. The game will end when you don’t have enough money to play on.

Wheel of Fortune on GSN.com – You can compete for cash and prizes, just like contestants on the actual game show, with 5 turns to solve the word puzzle. Correctly identify consonants or “buy a vowel.” Each successful guess gives you an additional free spin, but the faster you solve the puzzle, the higher your time bonus! When you choose to solve the puzzle, if your answer is correct, you’ll play in the Bonus Round. If not, you’ll lose a turn.

Tiny Planets – “Targetting kids aged six to 14, this game is based on the Tiny Planets animated TV series, and offers six ‘planets’ for users to visit consisting of simple games, web videos, social networking, a virtual world, goods, and currency, and, of course, learning opportunities. Tiny Planets is rich with entertaining and educational activities that focus on space, conservation, science, creativity, and critical thinking skills.”

FitBrains.com – Provides scientifically developed brain games targeting the five major brain areas: memory, problem solving, concentration, visual spatial, Language. Focus on one brain area or play all the games to give your brain a complete workout. Brain games are a fun way to exercise your brain and an important pillar in living a healthy life. Try your luck and test your skills in games like Travel Quest, Sum Snap and Uber Brain.

Fantage.com, a TriplePoint client – A next-generation destination site for children that offers games and adventures to entertain, delight, and promote positive social interaction in an engaging, exciting, safe environment that both kids and parents love. Fantage also provides an age-appropriate, safe social networking experience within a fun virtual world.

iPhone & iPad games:

The Oregon Trail by Gameloft – Assume the role of a wagon leader in a side-view journey where your strategic decisions must ensure the safety of your party along the treacherous Oregon Trail. Overcome the perilous journey to Oregon in America’s Wild West. Just like the real pioneers, experience the decision-making, problem-solving, and role-playing fun of this historical event. A unique strategy/educational game relating the first pioneers’ journey to Western American.

THINK by TriplePoint client, Ravensburger Digital – 16 exercises spread across four distinct categories, all designed to give your mind a rigorous workout in different areas of thought. THINK is currently available in English, Spanish and German. Could your brain use a boost?

RedFish Puzzle by Fresh Planet – “Fun games for smart people.” Fresh Planet offers several brain games on various platforms, including the RedFish series of learning apps for young children on the iPad. RedFish Piano 4 Kids is another good one to check out.

Words with Friends by Newtoy Inc. – Turn-based crossword gaming in your pocket! Not much else to say, besides this game is Scrabble in your pocket, with your friends, in real time… and it’s as addictive as they come.

HexaLex by TriplePoint client, Nathan Gray – Takes the classic, easy to learn but hard to master crossword game and adds a new dimension. Hexagonal tiles let you play words in three directions instead of two. Words interact in new and interesting ways. But have no fear, you’ll be up and playing in no time, thanks to the tutorial and detailed, built-in help. If you’ve ever played Scrabble, Lexulous, or Words With Friends you’ll feel right at home!

Word Warp by MobilityWare – Word game fans rejoice! Similar to Text Twist, Word Warp is a challenging anagram type of word game in which you try to form as many words as you can out of the six letters you are given before time runs out. You will receive points for each correct word, but in order to advance to the next level you must come up with at least one word that uses all six letters.

Word Scramble 2 by Zynga – Scramble is the fast fun game of finding words in a jumbled grid. Quickly slide your finder over letters next to each other to make words! Compete with friends and play live with fellow word game fans.

Nintendo games:

Big Brain Academy (Wii and DS) by Nintendo – Weigh Your Brain! With 15 activities that challenge your brain in single-player Test and Practice modes, Big Brain Academy Wii sees how you measure up in five categories: memory, analysis, number crunching, visual recognition, and quick thinking.

My Word Coach (DS) by Ubisoft – Developed in collaboration with linguists, helps players improve their verbal communication and vocabulary in a fun way. Practice need never get boring with six different exercises to choose between. Players can input missing letters from words, spell out the answers to various definitions, choose which word matches a particular definition, form specific words with Scrabble-like tiles, and more. Three levels of difficulty are available, and the game includes a built-in dictionary of over 17,000 words.

Personal Trainer: Math (DS) by Nintendo – Makes learning fun with fast-paced, high-speed arithmetic problems that keep your math basics fresh, from addition to subtraction and multiplication to division. As your calculation speed improves, earn medals in each exercise to prove your mathematical mastery!

My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to 1st Grade (DS) by Mentor Interactive – By combining the kid-friendly Nintendo DS with a proven reading curriculum developed and tested at the University of Colorado, My Virtual Tutor: Reading makes learning reading skills fun, affordable and portable. Through interactive books, school age and grade relevant phonics instruction and fun quiz modes, your child will learn the comprehension, phonics, fluency and vocabulary necessary to become an expert reader, all while having fun with their Nintendo DS.

Brain Age (DS) by Nintendo – The title is a series of minigames designed to give your brain a workout. The 17 engaging activities are all designed to help work your brain and increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. Whether you’re playing simple songs on a piano keyboard or monitoring the photo finish of a footrace, you’ll love your new mental workout!

This article was originally published by Kate Hancock on Frisky Mongoose.

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Yesterday, AdGrok, a Silicon Valley startup that optimizes search engine advertising, posted a wonderfully crafted (and somewhat incendiary) blog post about the San Francisco bay area vs. New York City tech scenes. Written by founder Antonio Garcia, a former Goldman Sachs number-cruncher who ditched Wall Street to do his own thing, the post blew up:

Scoble Scobleized it. TechMeme posted it. Twitter exploded.

Anyway, why am I posting about it? This is a little window into the future of PR, folks. It’s easier than ever to publish original content, and it’s easier than ever for that content to get around – if it deserves to.

And Garcia knows exactly what he’s doing. In an earlier post about moving to the left coast and starting up a startup, he described what life’s like on the job, compared to his Goldman Sachs past. One of the daily to-dos? “Writing linkbait blog posts to get us free PR (like the one you’re reading now).”

Time will tell whether or not the extra pageviews will translate into success for AdGrok, but it’s a very tangible example of the power of original content. If you’re looking for exposure, say something that’s worth exposing.

No related posts.

We all know how to create a Facebook fan page and I think at some point we have all recommended a client create one for their product or brand, but then what?

Facebooks’s VP of Global Communications, Elliot Schrage, said “the tools we are creating fundamentally change the way institutions and companies communicate and respond to feedback.”

Fun Fact: Facebook’s own Facebook page is only the 3rd most popular Facebook page (after Texas Hold ‘Em and Michael Jackson)
The tools that Facebook offers to promote a company or brand can be simplified into 3 distinct categories:

• Pages
• Events
• Ads

Key Points:

Status Updates provide the most impact per character
“We used to focus on our blog as the primary form of content, but now we’ve realized the status update is more immediate and more impactful” – Facebook.  Something as simple as wishing someone congratulations or happy holidays means something about the company or brand.

Save the media some junkmail
Facebook doesn’t put out press releases very often, and they don’t need to because they make announcements on their own Facebook page. When clients come to us with news they want to publicize, should we direct them to social media channels?

Consistency is Key
Daily updates are best if you can do them. Weekly update is the minimum to keep a fan base engaged.

Facebook Page should not be an arm of PR, it should be a window into the company
Think about ways you can tap employees at every level to contribute to your social media feed. Doesn’t have to be PR people or product managers. One of Facebook’s most successful fan page posts was on mother’s day where employees shared stories of what it was like when their mom first joined Facebook.

Events + Ads = WIN
Don’t forget about Events. If you have a Facebook page, use it to publicize your events. In Facebook’s opinion, their most powerful and effective ads are for events. When you see that one of your friends is going to an event that is advertising to you, you won’t feel like you’re being marketed to.

Be a Dude, Not Like… A Corporation, Man
Be direct, authentic, casual, and personal. You’re talking to friends, not users or customers.

Assorted Tips from Facebook on Facebook
Interesting guest bloggers get views

Call to action: ask readers to do something, answer a question or offer an opinion.

Create Feedback loops: Use your Facebook page to offer something like a promo code or discount code that users then take to your website/store. You will be able to measure the uptake very quickly.

Livestream on your FB Page: What do Obama and the Jonas Bros have in common? They both livestream on Facebook. Use the livestream to have a CEO respond to a crisis in real time. Use it to broadcast your event. Use it to show the fans a window into your preview media tour or your E3 booth. What about using it instead of your press tour?

So the next time a client says “What’s your social media strategy?” You have one!

Or you could refer them to an expert.

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Know why I prefer writing on the weekends? Because all the noise dies down around me – our unrelenting 24/7 news cycle doesn’t stop, but it slows down long enough for a person to clear their head…. During the week, we’re lucky to have time to think about how all the news “pieces” of the day fit into the bigger puzzle – not just in the tech & gaming industry, but anywhere.

Everyday we’re bombarded with new games, new features, new partnerships, milestones and announcements of all shapes and sizes. I’m speaking from experience in 3 crucial game industry roles: PR (public relations), journalist (news editor), and most important for the advice that follows, gaming/tech consumer.

You may be wondering… what makes consumer experience most important when you’re handing out PR advice? Everything. For example, the “corporate stuff” does not matter at all to 95% of consumers. Most people could care less about *who* develops, publishes, promotes or profits from a game, as long as it’s fun, and it’s a good value for their time and money. If you lose sight of that – from any business level, you’ve got an unenviable, uphill battle ahead. That’s not to say corporate announcements don’t have their place, so long as you’re telling consumers what it means for them in the end.

Anyway, speaking of fun –

Back to reasons I like writing on the weekend. It’s easier to pick out the cool, fun, unique stuff (from the weekly news noise) when you’re actually *playing* games and doing things IRL (in real life) that you *enjoy*. The distracting, buzzing news machine is all but silent when you are doing (or writing) something because you want to.

I haven’t logged into FarmVille or Cafe World in weeks. I’ve been busy this summer, traveling too much for any successful harvest schedule. I have been social gaming though – here’s some of what I *have* played lately: Rock Band, The Gig, Wii Sports, LEGO Universe, foursquare, Words with Friends, Bejeweled Blitz, HexaLex, DizzyPad, Pure Hidden, Spot the Difference, Poker, Tennis, Mini-Golf, Bowling, Bean Bag Shuffleboard, Ping Pong, Beer Pong, Name That Tune – well, you get the idea And I’m not alone -

Social and casual games are fighting for the time, attention and money of a generation constantly at play. Everywhere we turn there’s a game-like distraction to pass the time (or sell us something). Why pay when we can get great game experience for free? I imagine that’s a developer’s eternal conundrum, but that’s another topic, another post…

For journalists, it’s getting harder and harder to report anything new in Facebook gaming. I’m tired of pretending to care about new virtual goods. When did microtransactions become the end-all be-all for social games? I realize the freemium model can be somewhat limiting for innovative revenue options, but all these collectibles, gifts, power-ups and digital doo-dads are starting to feel like deja vu all over again.

Ditching the distractions

Pro tips are always common sense once you’ve heard them, so try this on for size: If your pitch is newsworthy, it will write itself. If you are just sending an announcement to try and drum up news or sales during development downtime, you’ll find yourself stretching for a “hook”, and you won’t fool anyone. I’m not being cynical, jaded or bitter, and I know the rest of the world (and industry) is still spinning when you aren’t, but just be patient. Wait for the *right* times and get the *right* stories out there – don’t make your game/name another distraction – make it a hot topic. The biggest news, best promotions, most important business moves, and most unique pitches/campaigns are the easiest and most fulfilling to pull off. More importantly, they generate the best impact and results. In other words, BE news to make news.

(duh)

Here in the social gaming news space, so far, we’ve been pretty darn open to distractions. Everything from new in-game items and UI tweaks, to free gifts and fan bonuses, gets plenty of play in all social game blogrolls (including the ‘Goose)… But as more games come to market, Facebook users are slowing spreading out across a multitude of titles.

Too big for their britches?

If your game isn’t in the top 25 leaderboards (aka, has 7+ million MAUs), or growing like a weed in in the top gainers category, you’ll be hardpressed to get coverage on your new line of virtual goods. (#justbeinghonest) Unless, of course, you’ve partnered with X top brand (a la Zynga – 7/11), will support a well-known charity by donating some significant portion of virtual good sales, or are giving away large sums of cash in an exciting contest, tournament or event… But that all goes back to *being* news to *make* news, in the end.

Even still, the top 25 developers and other social game superstars are starting to find less bang for their buck *because* the increasingly diversified industry has become too big and too busy. It’s simply not possible to cover every individual update, even top titles are becoming a newsfeed distraction for straying users. On the bright side, this diversifying market should eventually yield more loyal players, who play more often and don’t need/want a barrage of third-party news. These loyal fans already know about new items, and want to hear something new – something more. They want to be heard, be connected, be a part – not just the end-user. Give players major real world news that brings them back to your game – they want culture and they want it now!

Your turn – Where do you draw the line between social and casual gaming, and how do you intend to drown out the distractions?

LEGO Universe and HexaLex are TriplePoint clients. This article was originally published on Frisky Mongoose.

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This week, the folks at Greenopolis are proud to unveil Oceanopolis, a new social game on Facebook that offers an innovative approach to recycling and conservation – make it fun and rewarding through the vehicle of social gaming!

Referred to by TechCrunch as a “Facebook Game With a Mission,”   Oceanopolis combines the engaging experiences found in today’s top social games with real world calls-to-action for recycling and conservation of natural resources.  With the ultimate goal of building a long-term sustainable community, Oceanopolis players are encouraged to maintain their environment through the in-game actions of converting waste into treasure by recycling. The team over at Greenopolis have done a fantastic job in summarizing what players can expect when the game, currently in open beta, receives a full rollout in the coming weeks.

Oceanopolis is not your standard social game,  as it connects the real world with the virtual world by offering  real life rewards for in-game actions such as retrieving and recycling plastic and glass bottles, steel and aluminum cans and cardboard boxes. Since 2008, Greenopolis, a subsidiary of Waste Management, the largest recycler in North America, has developed new ways for consumers to participate in acts of recycling and conservation.  Through blogging on Greenopolis.com and by physically bringing in recyclables to on-street Greenopolis Recycling Kiosks, people have been able to collect points in exchange for their efforts in fighting pollution and promoting conservation.  These points can now be combined with those earned by playing Oceanopolis and redeemed for rewards or discounts from thousands of restaurants, theaters and other retail establishments.

The Greenopolis team, currently at Casual Connect, is celebrating the Oceanopolis beta launch with a Twitter event which started yesterday and will continue into tomorrow.  The Greenopolis Foundation will donate $1 for the first 25,000 people who tweet the following message during the three days of Casual Connect:

“Make waves. Fight ocean pollution with http://apps.Facebook.com/Oceanopolis #Oceanopolis”

All proceeds will go to Ocean Aid, a 501c3 non-profit that will fund research into pollution-filled ocean gyres through an annual benefit concert.  Every person who tweets the message will also be entered to win two tickets to the Ocean Aid concert.

We hope you will join in the cause to raise ocean awareness through social gaming and check out the game for yourself at http://apps.facebook.com/oceanopolis/.

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