 Welcome to the wide world of eSports, a show devoted to all things eSports. I'm your host, Catherine Norr. Today, our show is about networking, the power of networking, the value of eSports next. My guest is Makayla Frank, and she's an account executive at eSports Trade Association. Welcome, Makayla. Hey, how's it going? All right. So okay, we're talking about networking today, and we did a lot of networking at a conference in Chicago called eSports Next. And Makayla, why don't you tell us about that conference? Yeah, so it's a conference in Chicago. It's put on by the eSports Trade Association two days. We started with a networking ball game at the Wrigley Field, and then two days of learning about the eSports, the state of eSports, and just meeting other people who have the same interests and all of that stuff. It was very fun. That was my first time in Chicago, and I love Chicago. It's a great place. All right. So I found that conference to be different than many that I've attended and probably the most memorable. And let's just start with the Wrigley rooftop, okay? So I find out when I buy this ticket for the Cubs game at Wrigley Stadium, I find out that we're going to be at Wrigley rooftops. And I'm thinking, how are we going to watch the game from this place next door? And in fact, if you look at that picture of Lindsay and I, you can actually see that's from a deck at the Wrigley rooftops, and you can actually sit on bleachers up there and watch the game. But what's interesting, Michaela, let me ask you, did anyone watch the game? No. I don't think I watched the game at all. Yeah. I mean, it turned out to be more of a networking event. When I envisioned this game and going to that Cubs game, I envisioned sitting next to people from eSports Trade Association and us all watching it, and then maybe having a chance to talk here and there. But it turned out that we were eating and talking. And when I saw you, the picture of you and I, okay, that's kind of interesting. When I saw you there, I said, oh, I'm going to go upstairs and watch the game or go upstairs and see it. And you looked like totally shocked that I would even do that. And I said, I'll be right back. Yeah. I mean, I came from Dallas, so I had a lot of fear of the sun, so being inside in the shade, maybe looking out at the field every once in a while was okay with me. And there was a lot of people there that I haven't met in a long time, so catching up and all of that, I think, was my main goal to be there. Okay. So your goal when you went there, your goal was to actually see people, talk to them, meet new people? Yeah. Yeah, definitely. It was like a pre-networking event, so yeah, just a more relaxed way of talking to people than I guess at the conference. I mean, not that the conference was any, was not relaxing. It was just a different atmosphere, I guess. Sure. And so did you, okay, our lives are like this. We're virtual, in fact, I actually was running in a meeting on Zoom, and so what do you think is, is there anything better about meeting in person, or do you think it's the same, or do you like meeting virtually better? In person, I think it's always a lot better, rather than over Zoom, you get to see the person, talk to the person, you know, the environment that you're in really makes a difference too, you know, it depends on where you are, you know, in a meeting room, in a conference center, or at a restaurant, at a Cubs game, whatever, right, like the environment definitely contributes to the atmosphere of like the networking, but when you're just like, you know, virtual, it's cool, because like, you know, you can talk to anybody whenever you can see anybody whenever, but I think definitely it's a different environment. I get too comfortable at home, so well, and you know, you go out there and you talk to people in person, you have to be, I guess, put on a more professional phase a little bit. Sure. Okay, you know, now let's bring up the picture of you and Amila. It's like, yeah, that's it. So, Amila, so a little background here, okay, so Amila was my guest two weeks ago, okay, and actually behind you is your husband, and your husband is actually Yes. Marine, okay. So these moments, yeah, happen on when you're virtual. These in-between moments where you where you're goofing around and taking pictures and and, you know, kind of like having those little side conversations. Like, for example, if our meeting this morning had been in person, I would have a chance to tell you a funny story or a joke around with you or something like that before and after and walk out with you or, you know, those kind of things. And then there's no, no handshaking hugs or anything like that or, you know, Yeah. Selfie together. That's another thing, you know. So let's move on to a very important networking part of that conference. And that is the speed networking, okay, let's keep that picture up, okay. So, Amila, tell us about what we were doing here. It's like a network conversion of like speed dating. I think that's where the, what is that the inspiration coming from, you know, you get to, you sit in a row and a long table and you get face to face with like, you know, another person and you get think like three minutes to introduce yourself, the other themself. And then, you know, just have like a little conversation and then when the three minutes are up, you get to like, you know, move over and talk to the next person. And then the point of that is, you know, to get to talk to as many people as you can and introduce yourself to as many people you can is, yeah, that's basically what it is, just speed networking. Networking really, really fast. Right. Okay. So now if we, if we bring up the picture again, I'm going to show you something really interesting about this. And I don't know if you know it, Mikayla, when you were doing it. Well, let me ask you. Did you do this? Did you participate? I did not get a chance to. I was doing an interview during that time. So I did not get a chance to. So by the time I was done with that, I was went over there and everybody was already started up like, oh, no, that was the one thing I really, really wanted to do. Okay. So you were, you were doing your podcast, the podcast, right? You were hosting, okay. We'll talk about that in a bit, but okay. So what's interesting about this picture is if you look down that table, there are so many people and the volume got so loud that we could not hear each other. So everyone was shouting at each other across the table. Did you hear that when you walked in? Yes. Yes, I did. I think, yeah, it was very, very loud, but it was, it looked so much fun. I wish I could have done it. Yeah. I think that it's great to do that speed networking. It's just you have to separate the tables and move them away. Otherwise, there is no way. I mean, we were just, I mean, I think everyone's voices were hoarse after that. Well, I'm sure, I'm sure with all the yelling and shouting and things like that, but. But I mean, what we're really trying to do is we're really trying to find out whether that person across from us is someone who might be a good connection for the future. Yeah. Might be able to have a business relationship with them. Yeah, because you never know, right? You never know who you're going to meet. You never know who then, you know, might be a good fit for you. So definitely. Right, right. And, you know, speaking of that, Michaela, what types of people attended the conference? Oh, my goodness, all sorts of people. We had, we had college professors. We have teachers. We had city officials. I think the city of McKinney was there. We had business people, investment people, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs. We had, we had so many, so many different people there. It was, it was crazy. I mean, eSports connects so many different industry together. So like it's, it's crazy the kind of people you actually meet there. And we also got to meet the experts. Let's pull up that photo of, yeah. Okay, so I actually wanted that table, the AR, VR and the Metaverse. And what were you doing about what was going on there? So they, we were testing some kind of like audio equipment thing. And then I was just asking them about, like, you know, the equipment. And I think they had a problem testing, setting up the equipment. So a lot of it was me going, hello, hello. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? So. But, you know, that meet the expert thing was we had a whole bunch of round tables and they had, you know, a couple experts or one expert sitting at the table and we got to go around, go to whatever table we want and talk to the experts and ask some questions. And when I walked up there, I had no idea what you were doing. I, you know, I thought you were having some, I don't know. I thought you were doing another podcast or something. I mean, I wasn't sure. And, and I ended up not, I mean, I think I asked Brandon that was at that table. I think I asked him, McQuesterner chatted with him a little bit. But that was kind of, it kind of reminded me of the speed networking in a way because of the way that people were like, it was just, you know, quite a zoo in a way, but it was really fantastic. It was really interesting. Organized chaos is what I like to say. So, you know, you know what was interesting to me? And I think in terms of networking, I've never actually experienced this before. There was a couple of things that I thought were interesting. One of them was the announcements at the very beginning when we were talking to each other, like over at the coffee area where the announcements were made, do you not stay and talk to someone for a long time? Move on and talk to people you don't know, right? Yeah, definitely, definitely. I remember that. And I think that held true throughout the entire conference. And I think people actually really did take it to heart because, you know, as people, we tend to stick to people that we know and we tend to speak stick to people that like, you know, we're comfortable with. And, but the whole point of like, you know, going to a conference like that and networking is to meet new people and, you know, have conversation with people that you would not normally get to meet. So I really actually really appreciated that that announcement at the very beginning, the first copy of the conference. Sure. And people were, you know, just going up to people they didn't know. And they, yeah, they did that all the time. And then another unique thing is we have, we had uniforms, right? I mean, we're wearing them right now. That is true. Yeah, these are our gamer jerseys that say eSports next one. And if you show the very first photo, yeah, there we go. That's what they look like. And what's your name on the back of yours, Mickey? Oh, my game attack is Aqua M. Okay, mine is Ninja. Okay, but no one that is awesome. No one can see it because my hair covers it. But anyway, I thought that that also brought people together. And we, there was another thing that was interesting and in that. We actually have committees that make up the association and there were there were tables that had the committee members. And Mickey, you were at my table because we're both on the education committee. And we have some other people. I don't have a picture of that. But but do you how do you feel that that puts people together? Or what do you think about that element of it? Well, I think so part of that is I think a bit of two things. I think one is to show people what like, you know, what the association does and like, you know, having like different committees and then just dividing them up into like, you know, what are you interested in when you within like, you know, I guess, e-sport or the trade associations because we have like research and data. We have events we have fundraising was part of. And yeah, we're on the education committee. So it's just separating, I guess, you know, finding your pack. Sort of thing like, you know, what are you interested in, you know, and then you get to talk to people with like similar interests in you. Or like, you know, if you're curious about like a certain aspect of it, you can get to find all the people who, I guess, you know, are interested in that or have like knowledge within that particular area. So then that you can say, hey, you know, I want to learn more about this. What do you think? Sure. And you know what? I kind of like it better than how a lot of conferences do it where they, people are separated either by clicks, you know, who they like to come out with, or they're separated into companies and you have these situations that I, or regions, or, you know, or they might be like, you know, like in an organization that I'm involved in, you see all the friends hanging out together, you see all the people from their local association hanging out together, or you see, you know, it's divided differently. And I liked how it was divided different, you know, you could move around. And, you know, when you have a meeting like this and you let people sit with their own company, they could sit with their own company or their own region anytime, you know, when they're home. They don't need to travel to do that. So, yeah, right. Okay, so let's show the photo of the pitch contest. Yeah, I think it's also like a really cool aspect of the conference chance to like, you know, I get pitched their idea or company or startup, whatever, you know, at the end of the day, Esport Next is still like, you know, a very business-oriented conference. So, but giving people a chance to do that, I think, is something unique. It's like our own version of like Shark Tank, so. Yeah, and that isn't really a networking bit, but I had to throw that picture in. Those were the judges. And, you know, it just made it fun. And you know what was interesting about this event is it was heavy on the networking and there wasn't as much content to watch. But that was actually positive because we can do that virtually. What we can't do is meet people in person. And I'm sure that when you were, you were another cool thing is you were actually one of the hosts of the podcast during the actual conference right outside. Did you meet a lot of people that way? Yeah, when I was interviewing people, definitely. I get to talk to a lot of like the panelists that were, that was on, that was doing the panel. I get to talk to a lot like the vendors who supported like the conference. And I think you were like actually my first guess on there. So that was a lot of fun. Right, right, right. Yeah. And I think that that's just another thing to play around with, another opportunity. And I found that kind of like a cool addition. Now let's talk about after-party. You can't go to a conference without an after-party. So let's look at photos. Okay. So this one was the Player X one. And that was a really kind of intimate little after-party that was, they had actually, you could play games and see some tech. And I thought that was kind of cool. What were your thoughts about that one? Yeah, the Gamer House was definitely my favorite. I really, really liked that. I love the chairs at the Gamer House. There's a little lounge chairs. They were amazing. So I think it's, it brought a little like edge to the conference. And the display area by the Player X is also really, really cool. Yeah, I think that's actually, that was a really neat way to incorporate like the vendor space and networking. So sure. And I did meet people in that space. Now let's pull up some other after-party shots. Okay. So this is in the restaurant at the hotel. And yeah. And then there's another one with a big group of people. Yeah. Here we go. We're all sitting around. Yeah, us. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, these were neat because it was a really fairly, it wasn't a huge hotel. So there was only one restaurant. So if you go to that restaurant, you actually get to sit with people and talk with them. And, you know, so that was kind of cool. What did you think of that, Micaela? I liked it. I liked the little like, I guess, bar area. Bar area that they had. Like it was like right up front. And it was like, so after you exit the convention space, you know, the bar is right there. So everybody like kind of hang out there a little bit before they went to have dinner and whatnot. So it's a, it's a good place to like, you know, relax and chill and just, you know, recap today or again, you know, like meet people and talk to people. Otherwise, you otherwise would get to see. And there, and you know what? There was actually a little hidden secret networking opportunity that, that some people shared. And that was taking Uber rides to and from different things. Like Dexter Carr Jr., one of my former guests, we took the Uber, we took Uber rides to and from the, the Wrigley Rift Hops event. And you and I and your husband and, and I think it was Noel, we shared an Uber to the, one of the after parties at, I can't remember what it's called. Yeah, the Albert. The Albert. Yeah. And so did you, did you make connections in that, that opportunity? I did. I actually made, made a lot of like connections during there. And actually one of the funniest thing was that during the, the Albert after party, I was talking to three different people. And we all realized that we came from the same town within Texas. But the first time that we met and actually found this out was actually in that conference in Chicago. So that was, yeah. That's what happened when you, you know, you, you work virtually. Now, you know, I had the opportunity to do something really special. And that was, I actually met in person a lot of guests that have been on my show. And so let's look at this picture. Okay. So we've got James Pass and Megan Van Petten. We've got Nicole Dexter Carr Jr. So they've been guests on my show. And, you know, I, it was really fun to do, walk around and take selfies with these former guests. And, and this one, Jeremy, Justin, Zach, Chris, you know, these people were really fun to talk with in person. And they'll probably be guests again. And, and then there was another one, the John Cash picture. Yeah. And, you know, it was very special to meet these people in person. And it was a different way of getting to know them because I've gotten to know them by asking them questions. And then I got to hang out with them and find out what they're doing now. And then I'll have them on my show again. So, yeah, since you, you're a guest for the first time, you didn't get that opportunity. Oh, no, I mean, it's still a lot of fun. I mean, we get to see each other, like, you know, in person at a, at a networking event, at a conference. So that's always, definitely always fun. So when you go to a networking event, what is your, what's your key objective, Mikayla? I don't really have too many key objectives. I just want to get to know the person, you know, hey, what are you doing? You know, and like, what is it? Is it in line with what I'm doing? But even if it's not as cool, like I get to talk to someone's cool. If so, then, hey, you know, like that, that works out. A lot of like, you know, business connections are made that way. So like, I went to a mixer about a few weeks ago. And I got a chance to talk to somebody who was, you know, able to help me scout out like a venue for like a tournament that I'm going to be throwing like pretty soon. So, you know, you never know who is there and you never know, like, what is it, what they do and how they can help you, whatever business ventures you're doing. So sure, sure. So tell us what your, what kind of things are you're working on? I mean, I know now you're, you have an image of yourself. Now you're, you have an involvement with the Texas Scholastic Federation. Tell us about that. Yeah. So what we do is we provide competitions, e-sport competitions for schools within Texas right now. We also provide professional development for teachers within the state of Texas. And yeah, just make giving kids a chance to play, compete and, you know, get that experience, learn, grow, get soft skills and teaching adults what e-sport is and why kids should do it. And you're heading off to an, a tournament shortly, right? Yes. So, all right. Well, always busy. Yeah, Michaela, thank you so much for being a guest today. No, thank you so much for having me. It's been fun. All right. So thank you to our viewers for joining us today in two weeks. My guest will be Tom Sick to discuss improving health and performance in e-sports. See you then.