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Socialtext holds WoW's first press conference
A while ago, we told you about Socialtext's plans to run a real-life press conference inside the virtual world of Azeroth (Goldshire, to be specific). The conference went down two Fridays ago on December 1st in Eitrigg (a lot of Socialtext's employees are members of Joi ito's We Know, the guild famous for bringing corporate networking into WoW), and now here's a story resulting from the conference. Unfortunately, the story reads pretty dry (and mentions Second Life more than WoW-- apparently they're the leader for corporate schmoozing and marketing inside virtual worlds), but fortunately, writer David Ho included a much less formal (and more interesting) writeup of what it was like to talk to a corporate rep playing a Pally wielding an Obsidian Edged Blade (does the CEO of Socialtext play a DPS-adin??).We have to give Ho credit-- he didn't just show up for the press conference as a level 1 gnome (that's what we would have done), he did his homework. He got a Night Elf to level 9 before being escorted to Stormwind and then the Twilight Grove in Duskwood. And we have to give it to CEO Ross Mayfield, too-- he held to his word of forcing those with questions to duel him before they were answered. What other press contact would be willing to fight the press to the death? Wait, scratch that-- probably all of them.The press conference itself sounds more gimmicky than anything. If Socialtext was trying to actually announce something (besides the fact that they were having a press conference in WoW), they weren't able to get their message across, so it's not too likely that more high profile companies will start using WoW as a marketing outlet. But someone's got to lead the way, and even though they're Alliance (they do have a Horde guild called We No, but no word if Mayfield also has a Shammy), kudos to them for bringing an old idea to a relatively new world.
Socialtext announces press conference inside WoW
MBAzeroth points us to what might be a first in the World of Warcraft: Socialtext, headed up by CEO Ross Mayfield (a.k.a. Kalevipoeg of We Know on Eitrigg-A) is planning to hold Azeroth's first ever press conference. On December 1st, 5pm server time in Goldshire, Socialtext is going to take questions from players in the game. About what, we have no idea, but considering that Second Life has been getting all the marketing attention lately, it's interesting to see a company trying to mesh the real world with WoW.If that's what they're doing, that is. Socialtext's site has no announcement about a December 1st press conference anywhere on their blog, and Mayfield's "announcement" of the conference includes more than a few jokes-- no ninjas allowed, "questions will only be taken from journalists in PVP mode," and a link to Project Azeroth (for those Hordies who might be a little confused by all the Common going around). I'm not quite convinced this is a serious commercial entry into Azeroth-- it could just be a dig at companies like Dell who "hold press conferences" in communities like Second Life without actually incorporating the community they're entering. The guys at We Know, umm, "know" Warcraft, and it could be they're suggesting holding a press conference isn't possible (especially not in Stormwind-- you should hold it somewhere fun like on a run through Deadmines, guys).But you never know-- the only way to be sure will be to log into Eitrigg on December 1st and see what you can find in Goldshire. Mayfield's announcement does promise "those that survive the experience will gain 1 gold piece and a Socialtext tabard" (whatever that is), so it could be a money-making opportunity for both parties, in the real and the virtual world.
