An Interview with Lindsey from LOOT
by ted2112 HSM team writer
Never before have we been so connected to the things we love. Everything from our favorite games and gaming platforms down to the toothpaste we use, is all connected to us by an invisible digital line. We live in a synced world where loyalty and community have become important to companies – very important.
Most of the time, this connection to our favorite things is done via a company’s community manager. Think of them as the circus ring masters of old; they are the emcee’s of many talented performances who not only try to keep the audience in the loop, but to hold and nurture that connection as well.
We gamers have had an excellent relationship with community managers for maybe longer than most. Being our world is interactive, we have demanded the same from the companies who create those experiences for us. The gaming world is smaller than you think, and unlike many other communities, the gaming world stands together a lot more equally than most. Whether we are the person who makes the games or the person who shells out the hard-earned money to support them, we are all genuine fans of this industry, and we all frankly need each other. The community manager has become much more than that person who releases news, updates, code giveaways or simply hangs with a community of fans, they have become the very voice and the face of our favorite companies.
For this article – and a few more – I will be focusing on community leaders and the important role they play in our gaming world. I am indeed fortunate to have started this ball rolling by interviewing a figure most likely familiar to many of us. Allow me to introduce Lindsey from LOOT.
How did you end up being a community manager for LOOT?
Prior to LOOT I held community positions for a number of sites/video games, like on Star Wars: The Old Republic for BioWare Austin. As soon as I met the team here at LOOT and all we did was talk about video games I knew I was in the right place. There were no questions like “where do you see yourself in five years” or anything like that. They were all about their team and the gamers, which is how I feel. To me, community is where the heart is, so this position is exactly what I’m meant for. And luckily, the team here at LOOT felt the same way about me! Since I can’t program to save my life, but I am just as obsessed with games as the programmers, talking about the games and getting the word out to our fans makes me super excited every day. I seriously love my job.
What’s the best thing about LOOT?
The crew I get to work with every day and the LOOT community are truly what make this job so fun. I’ve been so fortunate to have worked with some amazing people during my time in this industry, and out of all the communities I’ve worked with, the PlayStation®Home/LOOT community is hands down the best.
How do you feel about being the public face of a company?
I don’t mind it. I mean… no pressure, right? But in all seriousness, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it, especially given the fact that one mistake can not only ruin the reputation of the company but my own as well. The Internet never forgets, so I have to be really careful what I say and do. Of course, there’s a difference between accidentally posting a picture of your cat on the work Twitter handle and intentionally saying something inappropriate in front of your community, but for the most part, I do my best to be as open as I can with the community. Having that open dialog is something we really appreciate and I do my best to uphold the highest standards as voice of LOOT.
It’s definitely not for everybody though, because I will admit there are days when I can’t just put the laptop or phone down and just unplug. It’s kind of a 24/7 thing. We really want you guys to enjoy what we’ve worked hard on and to be happy, so I pretty much stay in touch most of the day (and most days) to make sure we are listening.
Could you see yourself being a community manager for a non-gaming related field, say a supermarket chain, or is the gaming field the only one for you?
Gaming is honestly the only industry where my passion lies. Of course, there are other things I really enjoy like music, movies, and comics. Would I ever want to handle community for them? Perhaps, but only if I were really passionate about it. It’s funny because I’ve thought about what I’d do if I could no longer work in gaming and I can’t really come up with anything. I’d feel kind of lost – it’s a little scary.
It seems in many ways community managers live a kind of open book life. How do you balance having a personal life vs. being social and nurturing of fans and supporters of your company’s products?
There is definitely an increased level of transparency between us and other positions in the industry, but I’m not sure if that has to do with the fact that people tend to be more open on social media in general. The irony is that I’m actually an introvert, but not when I’m in my element online or promoting at gaming events. Conventions like E3 and PAX are incredibly draining because I’m going nonstop for several days straight, so when I get home I just hole up in my bedroom to recharge.
Going at such a rapid pace, the transparency of my position, and being “on” most of the time takes some getting used to – and there’s also the issue of knowing when to unplug. I do my best to maintain some level of privacy because there are some things that just aren’t meant for a professional public forum. For example, I don’t usually discuss my family, but I’m more than happy to share relevant interests I have with the community (personal or professional). I also love being able to meet people at events to make that personal contact and put a face to the username. It’s always very exciting, so if you see me at an event please don’t hesitate to stop me and say hello!
What was the evolution of the term “soon” that LOOT has become known for?
It’s actually something from my previous gig when I was on Star Wars: The Old Republic. It became a bit of an inside joke within that community, so we’d see “soon™” on the forums. When I started seeing people asking a lot of questions about things I couldn’t talk about (but desperately wanted to), it only felt natural to bring the majesty of “soon™” to the LOOT community. We also joke here that the numbers of o’s in soon should be used as an indicator as to just how soon it’ll be, but we’ll see if that fully becomes a thing.
How much are you kept up to speed with everything LOOT is working on, and does this knowledge affect the way you do your job?
We’re big on communication here, so if we aren’t emailing each other or having a quick chat, we are meeting throughout the week. We have several weekly meetings where we review everything the team is working on. It’s beneficial for me because I know about most things in advance so I can plan accordingly for press outreach and social media. I also use the meetings as a chance to share the feedback I get from the community, so please know that your voices are being heard!
Tell me about a typical day of your life as a community manager.
Oh boy, do we have a limit on how long this answer can be? Well, my day starts as soon as I wake up. The first thing I do is check my phone for email, Twitter and Facebook to make sure that nothing disastrous has happened while I was asleep. Then for the rest of the day until I go back to sleep my phone is attached to my body at all times – I’m not even joking.
As soon as I get to work I check emails again and hop on the sites I monitor throughout the day. The remainder of the day really depends – I can be in meetings, on phone calls, or working on projects. There are also press releases, blog posts, and marketing timelines that come up, sometimes without a lot of warning. In my position I wear a lot of hats because we’re such a small team. I handle community management, social media, marketing, PR, customer support…you name it.
I also lurk around on forums quite a bit. The forums are where people really say what they think (about us and our competition) and I find a lot of valuable feedback (and some not so valuable) that help us continually improve the overall gaming and interactive experience.
Perhaps more than anyone at a company, the community manager is very much in touch with the public opinions, wants and needs. How do companies use this valuable knowledge?
There is nothing more valuable than direct communication and feedback from our community. There are lots of ways to find out how a product is performing in the market, but the numbers don’t always tell us how to improve or where we can go next. That’s what our community does for us. And as a small team, we have the freedom and agility to listen and interact with the ability to quickly respond to community feedback.
How often do you play Home and Forsaken Planet, and how does this further reinforce your understanding and connection to those respective games and their communities?
I am admittedly a little obsessed with both. Right now I’m on a Forsaken Planet kick just because we’ve got this super sweet internal build that we’re working on, but we have some really cool things coming to PlayStation®Home this year that’ll definitely pull me back in.
Aren’t gamers the best people on earth?
[laughs] Do you really need to ask? Of course we are! We’re tirelessly passionate about an entertainment medium that allows us to become anything or anybody we want – without any limitations or barriers. Gamers are able to live through epic stories where we can save the day or bring an entire galaxy to its knees, or we can visit exotic locations and experience wonders the likes that many of us will never get to see during our natural life. I could go on about this for ages, but I’m proud to be a gamer and proud to be a part of an incredible culture that will be around for many decades to come.
This was a fun interview to do and I would like to thank Lindsey for sharing her thoughts and feelings. I would also like to thank LOOT and Sony for their continued support of what we do here at HSM. It’s a great thing to meet people that are truly passionate about what they do and it’s also nice to know that these people who are in these gaming positions are genuine fans, just like ourselves.
August 9th, 2013 by ted2112 | 5 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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Nice interview Ted. I liked the way she talked about being a true gamer at heart because without that passion a job becomes just that, a job.
Wow nice interview! I think this field might be every gamers dream job. Where do I sign up?
Great interview.
Great interview and questions. It was nice learning about the people behind the scenes at Loot! Loot has a lot of cool stuff on Home and I own a lot of it. Its nice to see she is so passionate about her job and also about gaming! Even though her job is very busy, it sounds like a fun job!
If that’s your pic, Lindsey, you’se a pretty enough gal with your 40s 50s look to marry. We could play Glenn Miller Orchestra songs at our wedding reception if you’ll accept my proposal of which I have a bunch.
Speaking of Loot, any chance of getting 50s and 60s tunes on all our Loot radios?
Relationship ends before it starts.)
(Oh oh
Hello heartache, goodbye marriage,
I guess I’ll be on my marry way.
Maybe another girl, another day.
Nice article and good luck to the writer and Lady LIndsey.