Larry Hryb, director of programming of Xbox Live and a Syracuse University alumnus, began his talk on digital storytelling, social media and public relations in the video game industry by beckoning the audience to get involved.

“I would like to make this an interactive session. I can answer questions right off the bat,” he said near the start of his presentation.

The Syracuse Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America hosted Hryb’s talk, titled “Engaging Gaming and Xbox Communities Using Digital Storytelling,” Tuesday night in Newhouse III.

Hryb said he graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1989 with a degree in television, radio and film, adding that he learned most of his storytelling craft at SU.

His talk included a slideshow, with each slide leading the audience to a different aspect of Xbox and his professional life, and what has made him successful from a storytelling, social media and public relations standpoint.

Hryb acknowledged that working in radio and television as a TRF major at Newhouse enabled him to tell stories using technology. He said he then moved to Xbox and told stories on the “digital canvas” he found there.

Hryb alluded to the interplay between gamers and storytelling, and how it has made Xbox successful. The gaming experience is one that eclipses Hollywood films for today’s young people because of the gamer’s desire to play a role in storytelling, he said.

“Gamers want to be at the center of the experience,” he said. “They want to control it.”

He also presented a new picture of the typical gamer’s identity.

“My 72-year-old mother plays cards and gets mad when I say that she’s a gamer,” he said with laughter from the crowd.

The presentation also included information on the expansion of Xbox around the world — there are 48 million Xbox Live members in 41 countries, he said. But it was not always this way.

When Hryb began at Xbox Live, his job was to report on errors in the service, but the only way to do this was by engaging with gamers themselves. This led him in developing an online presence in forums, blogs and eventually social media.

“Wherever my audience was, I had to go there,” Hryb said.

It can be atypical to communicate with experts in the gaming community on a person-to-person basis, so Sierra Shafer, a freshman public relations major, said she appreciated Hryb’s ability to engage the gaming community as a real person.

“It’s good to see someone of that authority talking to people who are just regular people,” she said.

He also talked about public relations and its connection to Xbox’s business model. Xbox is able to continue being successful because of post-purchase rationalization, a concept of public relations that provides solid reasoning for buying expensive items, Hryb said.

“I just spent $500 on something. I don’t want to be told I’m wrong so I’m going to rationalize it to my death,” he said.

A question-and-answer session followed Hryb’s talk. During the session, he revealed that he uses the devices of other companies to be well-rounded within his field.

Blue Bookhard, a freshman economics major, said he enjoyed seeing Hryb’s passion be demonstrated through his talk.

“The thing I notice from him is his passion,” Bookhard said. “He loves what he does. Not just what he does, but his job.”

Published on April 9, 2014 at 12:59 am

Contact Rob: rromano@syr.edu