I got a new job. Personally, I thought I’d keep it quiet — you know, the first issue of the magazine hasn’t been printed yet, people have paid in advance, and they haven’t seen anything for it. We are going through a really, really long period of approvals, but my job is basically done — I’ve actually been just sort of on-call for the last two weeks and I’ve moved on to assigning stories for issue 2. <\/p>\n
But at the same time, I was also entertaining this other job offer. And it’s something I’m really excited about, but I realized I should not go public with it right away, because I didn’t want to complicate things for the magazine. I figured people who are waiting for their first issue would take my leaving as a lack of confidence, even though, like I said, my work was basically done. I resigned quietly last night, and said I’d be happy to help with the transition and keep my mouth shut for the good of the project. <\/p>\n
This morning, before my staff even found out, Future posted my job on Craigslist<\/a>. (And people noticed — in addition to Twitter<\/a>, someone asked me in IM before I even knew the position was posted.) So, um, okay — I will not let the door hit me in the ass on the way out! <\/p>\n Here’s the truth: I found custom publishing frustrating as hell. I’d done it before, between GamePro and GamesRadar, and I knew this project would be going back to that, but since it was structured like a more traditional magazine (as opposed to the catalogs and booklets that are the staple of custom pub) I thought things would be better. I was wrong; it’s still not a good fit for me. So when something else came up, I took it seriously.<\/p>\n It was also a really incredible opportunity. When I went to E3 this year, I asked Activision if they needed anybody in community management, thinking maybe I could help out on Guitar Hero from the RedOctane office in nearby Fremont. That didn’t work out, but a few months later, I got a call saying that they were looking for someone to do more than that — start a fresh line of communication to gamers and be a direct line to what’s going on within Activision. You know — blogging, podcasting, video stuff, and several other things that got me really creatively stoked. Ars Technica did a story<\/a> on this kind of position the same day I handed in my letter of resignation, which felt somehow very right. <\/p>\n I’ve done this kind of stuff on a volunteer basis on other jobs (like GamePro and OXM) because I was genuinely interested in making that connection with our readers. I really do like having discussions in forums; I volunteered to start our Facebook group; I established our Twitter feed; I love podcasting with Ryan. This new position would let me do all that stuff plus some other really cool creative opportunities. So it’s an even dreamier <\/em>dream job than the dream jobs I’ve already been fortunate enough to hold. <\/p>\n I went through the interview gauntlet over the last few months and talked about specifics, and it felt really right. So when they made the offer, I accepted. I am thrilled<\/em>. We are moving to LA in December so I can start work in January. <\/p>\n Ironically, as I type this, I’m finishing the last of the bottle of Patron that Paul Curthoys bought me when I left OXM. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I got a new job. Personally, I thought I’d keep it quiet — you know, the first issue of the magazine hasn’t been printed yet, people have paid in advance, and they haven’t seen anything for it. We are going … Continue reading