Online Entertainment Insider - March 23, 2012

by John Hardin

There's a plague going around the office, and I'm not talking about the one that's causing me to take Dayquil on regular intervals. OMGPOP's mobile Pictionary game, Draw Something, is infecting the whole office, with noticeable symptoms of quizzical looks and fits of laughter. The game also attracted some pretty notable attention - Zynga snapped up the developer for a cool $200 million this week.

The Truth, the Whole Truth? - Social Media, Kony 2012 and Trayvon Martin

by Morgan McDowell

We all witnessed the immediate backlash during the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood fiasco, which ultimately resulted in Planned Parenthood receiving enough donations to more than make up for the pulled grant in a single day. Social media played a crucial role in rallying support around that cause, and doing so with astonishing speed.

News outlets constantly fight for the “scoops,” the chance to break news before anyone else, but these days, social media is often miles ahead of traditional media when it comes to spreading buzz. But with that speed often comes lack of accountability.

Feel Like Death: Hands-on Impressions of THQ’s Darksiders II

by Kia Gilstrap

The highly anticipated action adventure game Darksiders II  from (Wonacott client) THQ,  launches this summer, and THQ gave a group of enthusiastic gaming editors some hands-on time with the game in San Francisco on Monday.

Superheroes get Super Score in Superplay Games’ Sky Defenders

by John Hardin

Wonacott client Superplay Games tilted its way to success with its newly released iOS title, Sky Defenders. The game received 4 out of 5 stars from app review site 148Apps and earned praise for its brilliant graphics and solid tilt controls. So if you’ve ever had dreams of being a superhero, check it out on iTunes!

So Much Social Media…So Little Time

by Melissa Hough

Photo: Flickr

Facebook...Twitter...Linkedin...Google+...Tumblr...Pinterest…there are so many social media platforms out there, but so little time to engage in them all. To be honest, trying to stay updated on all the social media sites is somewhat overwhelming; I've realized it’s difficult to go even a couple of hours without checking Facebook to make sure I'm not missing out on anything, and putting off checking Twitter for even 10 minutes leaves me feeling left in the dust.

Lately I’ve been taking my social media endeavors to a professional level as an intern at Wonacott by participating in our company social media efforts. One big thing I’ve noticed so far is the importance of having plan in place to use social media strategically. Here are some of the tactics I’ve learned:

Online Entertainment Insider - March 16, 2012

by Chan Lim

Happy new iPad day, everyone. I am happy to report I’m not drafting this in front of a Mac store (that’s what interns are for). But it’s still incredible that the iPad and other iOS devices went from being expensive redundant gadgets to the largest handheld gaming platform in the world. You’d better believe we’re keeping an eye on the space. Oh, and if you get a new iPad, be sure to try out Sky Defenders! 

Stunts: There’s a Fine Line Between Brilliant and Boneheaded

by John Hardin

One of the most creative (and challenging) aspects of public relations is coming up with attention-getting stunts that turn the heads of press and consumers. Stunts can be a great opportunity to showcase a company, brand or product, and under perfect conditions they represent a masterful blend of marketing strategies and are fun to boot. However, there’s always a risk of going too far, not connecting the stunt to the product, alienating your target audience and more, and a lot of companies fail to stay on the right side of that line.

Online Entertainment Insider - March 9, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Greetings from the Game Developers Conference show floor! We’re wrapping up the last day here and hope that if you attended you had a great time. There was definitely some great news coming out of GDC, but I’m pretty sure all of it was overshadowed by Angry Birds Space.

International Women’s Day: Commentary from The Women of Wonacott Communications

by Wonacott Communications

Today is International Women’s Day, which serves as an important reminder of the many inspirational women in our lives. It’s because of them that we are driven – and in some cases, even afforded the ability – to chase our dreams in the pursuit of our own happiness, so we think today is the ideal opportunity to highlight some of the women who are paving (or have paved) the way for us.

Workin’ Like a Dog? Good!

by Elina Kaufman

(The Wonadogs hard at work!)

Online Entertainment Insider - March 2, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

With our new site update and corporate identity (have you checked it out yet? I’ll wait…) we decided to breathe some new life into the Online Entertainment Insider. Jason passed the newsletter torch to me, Alex Josef, vice president of the interactive entertainment practice here at Wonacott!

The Desensitizing Effects of Publicity Gone Wrong

by Kia Gilstrap

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Imagine you’re on a weekend trip with some friends in Las Vegas. Dinner time comes around so you decide to walk around and look for a fun, new place to eat. You stumble upon a restaurant with an ambulance parked in front, and then your eyes wander to the top of the building where you see “The Heart Attack Grill” in large, red letters. Just as you take a step inside to see if the place is real, there’s a man at the center of some sort of commotion who appears to be having a heart attack.  Is “this must be a publicity stunt” the first thing that pops into your head?

Boy’s Club Backlash

by Racheal Caswell

In the face of an increasing number of social-oriented games, I find myself preferring an insular experience and – unfortunately – increasingly shying away from playing certain games altogether. Something that used to be enjoyable now looms as a potentially stressful and threatening part of the culture because, despite the fact that women over the age of 25 are now the largest group of gamers in the U.S., we’re still subjected to an alarming amount of harassment and sexism by our male counterparts.

Sexism in the videogame industry is by no means a new topic. It’s been the subject of numerous articles, blog posts and even websites devoted to posting the lewd, mean and even downright disturbing messages female gamers are subject to get when playing online. This week, the conversation has flared up again, fueled by an incident on “Cross Assault,” a Capcom-sponsored reality show in which teams of Street Fighter X Tekken players compete for prizes.

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 24, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

CD Projekt Red, publisher of the Witcher series, is an anomaly in the games industry when it comes to its stance on digital rights management, or DRM. After announcing that they sold 1.5 million copies last year, they put out the statistic that there are approximately 4.5 million pirated copies. And they don’t care. They take the opinion that counter-piracy measures wind up only hurting loyal gamers; so instead, they work on improving the quality. A pretty novel suggestion, don’t you think? 

Think You Don’t Have Time for Content Curation? Hint: It’s Simpler Than You Think

by Chan Lim

I first heard about content curation at the 21st Annual Kenneth Owler Smith Symposium in April 2011. The keynote speaker, Steve Rubel, said that in today's world of excessive information, content curation is very important for brands as people do not have time to read through every bit of information available.

New Year + New Look + New Address = Awesome

by Jason Wonacott

When Wonacott Communications opened its doors back in 2007, I had one goal: To provide our interactive entertainment and digital media clients with the benchmark results of a major public relations agency while being affordable, adaptable and approachable – and while offering an up-to-the-minute perspective on the constantly evolving communications mediums. Now, as we head further into 2012, we are on the cusp of our five-year anniversary.

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 17, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Red Sox fans, and I know you’re out there, we have a lot to be upset about as famous knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is on the verge of retiring. But there could be life after baseball for him – he could join up with retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling’s game company, 38 Studios and help promote its new release – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Maybe Tim can be a marketing coordinator or something.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Social Media and the New Reality of Breaking News

by Sarah Arvizo

Image: www.WhitneyHouston.com

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Deadly Nurse Valentine from Autumn Games’ Skullgirls

by Kia Gilstrap

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 10, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Everyone remembers the classic Milton-Bradley board game, Battleship, right? Did you know Hollywood decided to turn it into your movie? Yes? Well, Activision just announced this week it was turning the movie about the board game into a first person shooter. Really? I’ll repeat that. REALLY?!