Showing posts with label esports and social media.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label esports and social media.. Show all posts

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Social Media & eSports; for Better or Worse



by Louis "Guichex" Lemeillet

In the last few weeks, I've come across multiple articles talking about the influence of social media in eSports, each one adopting a different point of view. A great deal has been written about the departure of Amazing, Dexter and Thorin from their respective structures and, in the end, it all came down to the pressure caused by social media. With the explosive growth of eSports, social media is truly a third power, and it can influence the career of professionals in the field. But as eSports are a worldwide phenomenon and couldn't exist without the internet, social media is a part of this model and can't be rejected. I wanted to discuss the pros & cons of this model and how it could possibly evolve.
           
We've never been so close to our public figures.

Many share the opinion that eSports have created a new way to interact with public figures, professionals, players, game editors and even tournaments promoters; and that it allows everyone to have a role in this big adventure. It's the truth. We have never been so close together with the expansive use of Twitter, Facebook & Reddit. Our questions can be answered by other passionate fans, promoters and professional players themselves. We can ask questions, and expect quick answers. We can offer opinions and they'll be read almost every time if they present some kind of value. We, as social media users, have a “power” we don't have in other traditional sports where most famous public figures are relying on PR agencies to handle their communication and to tell them how to react to given situations. We have none of this in eSports. Each player or professional is handling his own social medias accounts and they give direct answers. Moreover, the streaming possibilities are endless and pro-players appear to us “au natural,” speaking without any control and even giving information on topics they maybe shouldn't talk about.
           
Is it a good model? I can't decide on my own. But it has its perks. I believe that because players are so thankful and approachable, fans give them respect in return. Almost every official match we're seeing crowds cheering for great plays and players, even if they have a favorite in their hearts. We cheer them all, and they thank us by being as close and friendly as possible. There are few lies. It's a short distance between them and us and it gives me a unshakable feel of joy and hope towards human kind. I've never experienced something like this before and I believe that traditional sports should seek inspiration in eSports, and learn that fans enjoy much more hearing honest opinions than premade or shady ones.

Great power means great responsibilities.

In the other hand, every system has its flaws and many great players or contributors of the field have been facing extreme amounts of social pressure, together with work pressure, which can deeply affect their personal lives. Because eSports are still very young, and because it gained an immense amount of popularity in just a few years, people are still figuring out the limits of a system almost entirely relying on social media. In traditional sports, newspapers were here before and they adapted their system to the internet because it became so huge it couldn't be ignored. But eSports were born because of social media. Of course, it is not the first business that emerged due to the internet, but it is the first sport to do so. And as we all know, sports unleash our passions more than other things. Therefore, social media become a double-edged sword: whenever players are performing well, we congratulate them; whenever they are underperforming, we are telling them to get back on tracks (often in a poor way). In the end, we are just expressing opinions as always, but we are not expected to be heard that much and some people don't realize how it impact the one who reads it. And viewers are not the only ones to blame.
           
I don't want to point fingers on people, but it is because of this use of social media that Thorin got fired from Ongamers. But he's not the only one to mix personal feelings and work. Is that something they should work on? Yes and no. Yes, because you have to consider that you're talking through social media to extremely young players. Most of them were shut-in guys with no idea of what fame or popularity could mean, and I believe it is extremely difficult for them to face crude remarks head-on and not feel a thing. In traditional sports, they have decades of experience facing paparazzi, hateful journalists, experts, etc. and they learned how to deal with it. I don't think that's the case for eSports players yet. But you can't shut down social media's hateful comments or journalists picking on you; and as a player you can't be kept in a cocoon where you hear nothing. You'll have to face this problem sometime. If Thorin was fired, it's not because a structure or a pro-player complained, it's because at some point CBS & Ongamers felt he would deteriorate the image of the company, period.
           
Yet, here we are in this Season 4 of League of Legends where two European players went back home because they didn't feel welcome in North America. They bowed to the media pressure, both social and journalistic, and went back to a more comfortable environment. Who can blame them? They are already facing extreme mental pressure on a daily basis because of their work, with few ways to escape even more pressure as Reddit was one Alt+Tab away. It'd be insane to deliberately add more mental pressure on oneself, when they can escape it quite easily as their gaming level will allow them to get back on their feet elsewhere. Nevertheless, it's still a loss for the team they left behind. On the human side, I think it can cause or compound several anxiety issues. It also means a third party destroyed the adventure of a young European player hoping to live big in North America. How would you feel if you went studying in a foreign country and a lot of people picked on you ? I'm not sure any of us would really enjoy that trip.

I still want to be a part of this adventure.

Despite having strong flaws, I believe the eSports model still has more benefits. Being able to feel close to public figures is something we should hold dearly as it reinforces honesty, generosity, solidarity and the warm camaraderie of a shared passion. That stomach churning feeling - when someone is criticizing eSports - is something I hadn't felt before, even as a lover of traditional sports. It's like, the people who come together through eSports are somehow closer and more protective of themselves as a group.

Nevertheless, having a professional flee their team because of social media pressure is quite problematic. What do you do as a team owner when you're seeing one of your biggest players go away just because fans and/or journalists were a bit hateful? Do you try to limit the use of social media so they can avoid the harsh reality? I don't believe it's a solution, as at some point they'll still read what is said and it will still hurt them. Do you try to control it? Then you'll lose all the popularity and monetary perks that come with an interactive sport.

For a team owner, the answer could be to allow PR firms to handle the work and make players focus only on the game. Let them tell you when to go see fans, when to sign stuff, when to wave, etc, but I find this truly horrible. In the other hand, you can't be that idealistic Gale-like friend, coming right out of Hunger Games and saying, “What if no one would bully them? If we stop bullying them, they will feel welcomed.” Yeah, great stuff, except it's impossible. For me, the solution would be to recruit both psychologists and communication professionals inside the gaming structures at the sole service of the pros. We are seeing the beginning of it with  SK recruiting a sports psychologist, but it's not enough yet.

What does a communications professional do better than a PR agency? First, he would be part of the team and would consider only his company's interests. He won't take care of the communication of other teams, or even other companies, and therefore feel better integration and stronger loyalty. Second, he would be almost all the time with teams, players and coaches, and can understand with the help of a psychologist what are their personality and how to take advantages out of it. They can help by highlighting some aspects of the players personalities, developing them into true individual beings and not the same as others; therefore making them realize their uniqueness to boost their confidence against mass hatred.

The players who understood this at some point are very few: Krepo, Tabzzz, Aphromoo, Kiwi, maybe Dyrus and some others. They all use their unique traits to communicate. Krepo is the analyst/adult guy, Tabzz is really down-to-earth and honest without being mean, Aphromoo is just plain honest and respectable, Kiwi is crazy, and Dyrus is often “salty.” But the best part of that combination of comm/psych would be just to be there and act as a constant support whenever players are feeling down or unsure due to social pressure. They could be the part of the staff which helps new players feel at home, and could act as a relay between the head executives and them.
           
Of course, it'd cost some money which structures might want to spend elsewhere, but I'd say those guys are one of the most important parts of the infrastructure a team could want. Moreover, even if communication and psychology are their primary mission, they could easily help on other fields like lifestyle coach, analyst, etc.

As eSports are a new model of sports, it brings its perks and disadvantages, mostly because of the use we are making of social media and because of the pressure it can create towards guys who were mostly shy shut-ins three years ago. But a new model brings also its new kind of solution. We must take the best out of traditional sports, and out of eSports, and always be reluctant to just copy a given model. We are already making something better, we don't want to blew it or stop along the road.

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by Louis "Guichex" Lemeillet