The Game of Networking - Mingling for Fun and Profit!

The Games Industry is a $25 Billion a year industry that many people only know a little about and despite its size, it still remains one of the most exciting industries with which to be involved.  Companies large and small are continuously innovating new technologies and business models, vetting them across diverse psychographic and geographic markets.  And every year the center of this creative vortex is at GDC.

GDC is the Game Developers Conference (usually held annually in March), which is the most in-depth and entertaining industry event for the Video Game industry, bar none.  Attended by over 6,000 people from around the world, GDC brings together people from different functions (Developers, Publishers, “Creatives”, etc.) and various industry segments, including:

-         Mobile Games

-         Casual Games

-         Serious Games

GDC attracts some of the most experienced, entertaining (and sometimes esoteric) speakers, who cover a broad range of topics from “putting the FUN in Funding” to “Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games” and how to leverage AGILE development to increase the quality and decrease the development time / cost of your software project.  People come to GDC to learn and connect with friends and colleagues, old and new, and this year was no exception.

With the theme of “Learn, Network, Inspire”, GDC was organized around seven summits (Casual Games, Outsourcing (new topic) Independent Games, Serious Games, Worlds In Motion, Mobile Games, IGDA Education) and eight tracks and tutorials (Audio, Business and Management, Game Design, Production, Programming, Vision, Visual Arts, Game Tutorials).  And, with the Game Developer's Choice Awards and the Independent Games Festival and Awards, it is very much a celebration of all the hard work that goes into creating, producing and launching a game in the market. 

But if there's one thing that makes GDC really rock it's the PARTIES!!!

(um, I mean the “Networking Events”...) 

The Games industry is one of the friendliest, coolest and most fun industries in which to work.  And even though people are friendly & open, some of the same rules still apply:

1. Bring LOTS of business cards
2. Make sure you have at least ONE online profile established somewhere that you can direct people to (LinkedIn and Facebook get a lot of traction here...)
3. Be open and have a genuine interest in the person you are talking to and what they are saying
4. Enjoy yourself!

To help with the networking aspects, the good folks at CMP Media employ interesting tools to help conference attendees connect in advance of and during the show.  Last year's tool had a visual representation element to it, showing the strength of potential relationships, based on topics of interests, career experiences, etc.  This year very much had a MySpace / Facebook feel to it, with the “myGDC” web space.

While not as cool as last year's interface, it served it's purpose.  My issue with the MySpace / Facebook / etc. type of interface is that it relies on the users to provide content in a fairly rigid format without much allowance for spontaneity or creativity.   Further, it's yet “one more” online network profile that users have to create and maintain, and try to keep synchronized withe their other online profiles.  That aside, I definitely appreciate conference organizers trying to help attendees get as much value as possible by leverage online communities. 

So, what technologies do people use to connect with one another int he game industry?  As one might expect, there is definitely a high percentage of people in this industry who use technologies to enable their networking.  LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are what most in the industry use.  Skype and other VoIP technologies are also in widespread use; in fact, I had more offers for follow up calls via Skype than I have in any other industry segment. 

When asked, “What was the coolest thing at the conference this year?” I was hard-pressed to give a definitive answer.  I saw lots of interesting designs and technologies (check out the Dreamflyer at their website and here, and also a new, innovative computing interface for the mass market). 

Ray Kurzweil provided one of the best keynote addresses I have attended, in which he related his thoughts on exponential growth.  Nanobots are on their way!

And, to introduce a topic I'll be discussing more in upcoming articles, games will continue to change the ways in which we interact with each other in what is quickly becoming an increasingly blurred, online / offline world.  LEGO talked about their plans for LEGO Universe, in which they will take their existing brand and product lines in completely new directions, and further strengthen their already strong customer loyalty.  They are deploying tools online that enable customers to design their own models – models which can be purchased by anyone.  Think of the Product Management and Brand implications!

How could you apply Lego's approach to your business, and increase your customer loyalty?

Until next month...Chris

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