Allakhazam: You worked at and ran fan sites for some years before signing on with SOE. What's it like to be on the other end of the journalistic "mic?"Go ahead and read the rest.
Grimwell: It's a lot easier to get into tradeshows and conferences, that's for sure! I love being on the 'other side of the mic' mostly because I have not forgotten what it is like to work so hard on a fansite. Everyone who has a fansite and works on it is doing so out of passion. Yes, there are those who are lucky enough to also draw a paycheck from it, but there is also a lot of passion.
I find that my position allows me not to just remember what it was like, but also to try to provide things that I always wished the game companies would do for and with fansites. That's an advantage because it makes it very easy to know exactly why a particular site is asking for specific information on a Game Update, or an interview, or a screen shot, or any other resource for their site. They just want to do a good job covering the game.
Allakhazam: Do you feel like your background working on fansites gives you a unique perspective as the Community Manager in contrast to your predecessors?
Grimwell: It definitely works in terms of my relationship with the fansites, but it's not something I can rest my hat on and then relax. The fansites are constantly evolving and needing new and different things to meet their goals. Plus, there is a lot to being a Community Manager that working on fansites does not prepare you for. There is a huge difference between being able to say "Wouldn't it be cool if?" or "If I was ever working on a game I'd…" and being on the other side of the coin and realizing just how wide of an impact even a small design change can have.
July 19, 2007
Grimwell Interview
Allakhazam has an interview with Grimwell, the Everquest 2 Community Manager. I just wanted to quote a couple answers he gave: