Sunday, August 2, 2015

#PeopleBrowsr is pleased to announce that Lynn O'Connell will be stepping into the new role of Player Champion for Empire.Kred.

PeopleBrowsr is pleased to announce that Lynn O'Connell (e)OMDIRECT will be stepping into the new role of Player Champion for Empire.Kred. We see a bright future for the site and are eager to build on the game you all love so much. As part of the transition, we are committed to engaging leaders in a meaningful way. You know and love this game and, after seeing comments from game influences, we realized that we needed to incorporate the energy and enthusiasm of this group as we move forward. That's why we asked for nominations, and we are very pleased that we were able to retain your nominee and create a new role that will allow her to champion the interests of leaders and all players. 

As Player Champion, Lynn has already filled us in on some of the ideas, brainstorming, and planning work Leaders have done. She will continue to do that and will also lead targeted brainstorming as well as asking for your reactions to specific features/ideas. She has requested upgraded community software to help make it easier for everyone to be heard... that will come soon, but for now, she will keep us abreast of community concerns, suggestions, and critiques. 

You also asked for a return of events, games, and sales while we work on our long term plan. We heard you and [X]Pendapalooza showed us how energizing these events are. We've asked Lynn to move quickly to put a schedule of events together, and she'll be reaching out to volunteers and communities to help make this happen. 

Lynn will also lead a team of moderators. We will be announcing the team soon. (If you'd like to volunteer for moderating or event planning and promotion, please PM Lynn or email her at lynn@empire.kred

Please note: moderators and volunteers do NOT handle support, billing issues, or reinstatement of accounts. Please continue to direct your support and individual account issues to support. 

Please join me in welcoming Lynn to our team! Whether you are interested in volunteering, have ideas to share, or can serve as a sounding board when we solicit feedback, we are eager to have such a strong community on our side.

Lynn O'Connell says : I am very honored by the nomination and excited to have the opportunity to help leaders (and all players) have a voice as Empire.Kred evolves. I have been briefed on their preliminary plans and vision, and it looks to me like the site will be moving in the right direction. Maybe not as fast as we'd like -- after all, we spent 13 months visioning the next phase and we'd like it to happen overnight. PeopleBrowsr is working to keep the heart of the game intact as they move to simplify for newbies, reduce pain points, and create a development plan. It's a methodical plan, and, most important to me, it includes engaging leaders. That won't mean that we get everything we want, but we will be heard and have a voice, which is BIG news after this long wait. There are a few of you who will be less than thrilled by this choice. Here's what I can say to you: until the site was sold, the site was working under extreme financial constraints. Every month, our first mission was to bring in enough money to keep the site up and running -- which, together, we did. Without leaders, Empire Avenue very well might not have lasted long enough to find investors. Decisions made during this period -- including the focus on events -- were all driven by what COULD be done, given the severe programming and budget obstacles we faced. Some people better understood the limitations and made suggestions that worked within constraints. It wasn't that we liked those people more - it was simply that there were some things we could do and a whole lot of things we couldn't do. The new owners have more resources and are working carefully to strengthen and enhance the game. I believe that many of the most critical recommendations leaders came up with will end up in the plan. Short term, we will bring back the regular events to keep the site lively while People Browsr develops their plan, and while leaders prioritize and brainstorm. Stay calm: this doesn't mean that is all that will happen. Leaders asked PB to get the site fun and active again by bringing SQRL and games back while they work on longer-term projects. You asked for it, you got it. I am out of town until Wednesday, so I won't be on as much as normal. I do have wireless access and will be reaching out to past volunteers as well as inviting new volunteers to contact me via PM. So, if you are interested in volunteering, send me a PM. Thanks again to everyone who nominated me.
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