How Blizzard can improve the next Twitter chat
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 14th 2010 at 2:00PM
But despite the two figureheads at the top answering questions in the Twitter chat, it's important that we look back at the last chat and make a few critical, yet fair, observations:
Target Audience and New Information
The people following Blizzard on Twitter and paying attention enough to participate in a developer chat are going to be well informed individuals. There might be details here and there that they don't yet fully understand -- but that's the nature of a game as huge as WoW. Nearly every questioned answered in the previous Twitter chat was also previously answered at BlizzCon in one way or another. All of that information is widely accessible on sites like WoW.com and through the forums. The targeted audience of the Twitter chat, by the very nature of its medium and community involvement therein, should have been people already aware of the basics of upcoming changes; not people who want to know if Goblins are going to come with a new dance.
Use the Medium
The last twitter chat worked by tweeting the submitted question with a link to the forums for an answer. The answers themselves were never given over Twitter. Essentially Twitter just became a series of links to answers, not an interactive community tool.
Blizzard had stated before that they did this because their answers couldn't fit into 140 characters necessitated by the very nature of Twitter. I agree that some answers can't fit in there, at least the full and complete answers people like to give. However, if it's the case that none of the answers could ever fit in a tweet, then Blizzard shouldn't use Twitter, and instead use an IRC based online chat system; those can handle tens of thousands of users at once and distribute full text easily enough. Other MMO companies, like Cryptic Studios, do their chats over an IRC based system, and it works well for them.
But with that said, most of the answers can be pared down to 140 characters or less if they try. Writing in short sentences, packed with information is a hard task -- but it pays off. There are loads of politicians and other individuals who prove that it is possible to convey meaning through short answers. And if Blizzard does need another 140 characters or so, using the (c) for continued at the end of the tweets, and then picking it up in the next tweet, is the conventional wisdom on Twitter these days.
Timeliness of the Information
Along the same lines as playing to the targeted audience and giving new information, is the timeliness of the information. Tomorrow would be a great time to drop some more information about the upcoming mini patch, and the reported earthquakes happening in-game (side note: I mention this and I'd be remiss if I didn't include a Red Cross link for the recent disaster in Haiti). Cataclysm information might be good, but the useful information is going to be what's coming up on a more immediate timeframe. Of course, it's possible to include both long term and short term information, but if these Twitter chats are going to continue at any sort of regular interval, make them different and distinct enough to be worth paying attention to.
Now, I do want to make it clear that I think these chats are worthwhile, and I'm glad to see Blizzard expanding out into different forms of social media and community interaction. They need to grow and change the way they handle the community as time moves on -- things now are entirely different than they were when WoW launched five years ago. Twitter is a great way to move forward in community management, and hopefully things will be done better this time around.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Terethall Jan 14th 2010 2:09PM
So are Goblins going to get a new dance or not?
Tridus Jan 14th 2010 2:19PM
The best way to improve the twitter chat: Don't do it on twitter.
If people are looking for new information and in depth answers from the developers, twitter is the absolute wrong medium to use. There are other, better tools for having a chat with more then one line answers.
Aedilhild Jan 14th 2010 2:49PM
Given how vulnerable devs' statements can be to misinterpretation, especially on class mechanics — and how limiting 140 characters really are — Twitter may not be the medium for responses.
On the other hand, I don't see a problem with drawing attention to answered questions by summarizing them in a headline and condensed link to a forum-published response. Twitter is used to promote links all the time; and as a medium for input, it's certainly more convenient for Blizzard and its player community. Twitter's one tool of many.
Xaviel Jan 14th 2010 5:20PM
I agree with this fully. I believe Twitter to be just a "fad" and it's also a horrible form of direct communication. Twitter was designed for quick, short updates that people can update on the fly. (Cellphone, etc.)
It shouldn't be used as a Q&A thing. I liked the idea of the IRC chat a long time ago... Only, they needed to prepare better... and have less of Tseric roaming around when he was fired.
Terethall Jan 14th 2010 5:26PM
I agree with both of these posts. If you want to use Twitter, go ahead. But use it in the ways that it is meant to be used. Give the fan base little updates and neat tidbits, like realm status updates, or even cooler stuff, like the teasing hints blue posters on the forum sometimes drop about unreleased content, i.e. "Dalaran Geomancers confirm recent earthquakes are the result of unexplained tectonic disturbances. Alert level is Yellow." or "Garrosh Hellscream would like to take a moment to remind the Horde that the enemy is to be treated with no mercy. Lok'tar ogar."
But QA sessions with developers is a time when people want in-depth, substantive answers to interesting questions. And I just don't think 140 characters is the best format for those answers (or even the questions).
Broken_toes Jan 14th 2010 6:32PM
Yep twitters a massive pile of crap.
If you disagree, do it in 140 characters. And do it well I'm inclined to disagree with your disagreement.
Omacron Jan 14th 2010 2:27PM
I collected as many questions as possible from the guys at scrolls of lore, all lore questions, and while I'm glad they managed to answer two out of my, like, twenty, I am rather cheesed that they simply sidestepped them. If you're going to pick my questions to answer, actually answer them. And if you're going to have a dev chat, do the community a favor and give us some new information rather than picking inane questions that were already answered.
t0xic Jan 14th 2010 2:40PM
"And if you're going to have a dev chat, do the community a favor and give us some new information rather than picking inane questions that were already answered."
This. You can go on and on about how misinformed/misguided the questions were the last time, but I think the devs were equally responsible for wasting time on questions that really didn't deserve answers in the first place.
If you can't squeeze decent questions out of the players then go to plan B where you (at the very least) give general information about the changes that are coming in the next minor patch and/or subsequent patches leading into Cataclysm. There's plenty of material to talk about if the community draws a collective blank.
Joshua Ochs Jan 14th 2010 2:30PM
As usual, nothing of consequence will fit into 140 characters. That includes this post.
RetPallyJil Jan 14th 2010 2:48PM
I will kindly avoid this little event, as I would not be able to resist telling Mr. Street how big of a jackass I think he is.
Ain't I sweet? :D
Terethall Jan 14th 2010 3:26PM
No, you're just a jackass. =)
Orrine Jan 14th 2010 3:11PM
The only question I would like to ask is will we see phoenixes in fire elemental plane/at Hyjal or Blizzard will forget about them? :)
Terethall Jan 14th 2010 5:13PM
Cool story bro.
Interesting that though you stopped leveling at 72 and canceled your account you're reading a post on a WoW blog about a rather obscure topic in WoW news.
Usually when I stop playing a game, I continue to read every blog post on popular blogs about that game, and then comment on the posts about how crappy the game is, and how I stopped playing it ages ago. Because my time is exactly that important.
But I'm thinking about switching to LotRO, Lord of the Rings Online (because I'm pretty sure most people would be too stupid to figure out what that acronym stands for.)
Anyway, I'm off to do cool people stuff in the real world with my cool real friends, outside of WoW (HOLY CRAP AMIRITE? LAWL).
Rioriel Jan 14th 2010 5:48PM
If only people would stop asking questions about new dances, dance studios or similar things that have piss-all effect on the game.
Raze Jan 14th 2010 6:09PM
I'm of the opinion that things that don't have piss-all effect on the 1's and 0's of the end-game /are/ important.
How about new character models for the PC races, or those dance studios you're decrying? Blizzard promised that feature to players more than a year ago and it has yet to find its way into the game. I don't think it's unreasonable for people to call them on it. Over and over again if they have to.
This is a visual MMORPG, not a MUD. Every facet of the game is relevant to someone, and I can't think of too many questions any one could else that are absolutely useless.
Broken_toes Jan 14th 2010 6:27PM
Well this is simple enough to answer- give out information that isn't a spoiler. Give out information that explains thinking about certain things- if folk wanna QQ about a rogue "nerf" as they see it just ignore it- I would like more info on that specifically as I find it interesting how they manage the headache that is balancing classes.
Actually it may be better to just take it off of twitter (you know... because its pointless) and pop it on a forum.
Honestly, the fact is that they put in a link to a forum page- why bother with twitter at all? just set up a forum page, lock it when the folk answerin get bored.
Job Done!
Seriously, twitter is absolutely garbage as a medium to give out information, 140 char summary of what you ate for breakfast? What is the point? its crap!
Broken_toes Jan 14th 2010 6:41PM
You played alone didn't you chris? yeah i think you played alone.
You manage to get in a guild? Did they not answer when you needed to kill a elite? yeah I bet they didn't.
SWOTR will probably be the same I'm afraid. Its a guarantee that you will have "kill 30 ewoks for ears, but not all ewoks have ears" quests, its just the way MMO's are.
You stopped playing a game but QQ about it on forums... thats just weird
Bloomindraal Jan 14th 2010 9:23PM
How Blizzard can improve their next Twitter chat - Not let bloody Eddie Carrington waste their time with stupid questions like " When will hunter's be able to tame druids"