TED Outline Format

Topic: E-Sports reaching mainstream levels of popularity

Purpose: Convince viewers of normality in viewing E-Sports and reasons for someone to pursue E-Sports

Thesis Statement:  E-Sports is an industry worth investing time into understanding because it is continuing to increase in popularity (even overtaking traditional sports), is increasing relevant financially and culturally.

Introduction

Attention Strategy:

Orienting Material: How will you begin this presentation in a way that appropriately garners audience attention?

The introduction will show a brief clip of a highlight from the Overwatch League Season 1 finals, and then I will explain the significance of it, and reveal to the audience that the play essentially got the winning team $1 million. Then, I will define E-Sports and transition to talk about E-Sports as a whole and approach the thesis statement.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1023236836116848640?lang=en

Clip that will be used ^

Body

1.                 Main Idea – E-Sports is growing in popularity
2.             A personal example of me attending Overwatch Season 2 Finals w/ picture showing sheer number of people there, and describing the experience
3.               E-Sports viewing is growing and projected to grow higher than most sports (graphs will be shown)

 Visual here is a chart of upward trending E-Sports viewership with projected viewership in future

1.               Main Idea – Reasons people should pursue E-Sports through involvement or viewership
2.               Lots of money can be made in the field as a participant

High salaries for professional players, coaches, casters, jobs in team infrastructure (social media relations), broadcasting, scholarships

1.               Cultural relevance of viewing

As E-Sports continues to gain more traction, it will be more commonly discussed and shown. It is already broadcasted in some bars, and watching will allow people to discuss team strategies and such with others, similarly to how people do with traditional sports.

Visual here is graph of salaries and available jobs in field

III.             Main Idea – Comparison of traditional sports to E-Sports.

A  Comparison in the viewing of traditional sports and E-Sports

1.         A common argument against watching E-Sports is “why would you watch someone else play video games.” Most viewers of traditional sports do not regularly play the sport (ex: football), and to be able to watch more skilled players perform at a higher level than you are capable of (the same reason people watch competitive sports)
2.           League of Legends Championship 2019 had more unique viewers (100 million) than Super Bowl this year (98 million). Tickets to the event sold out in 4 hours. (CNBC).

Visual here is chart showing E-Sports projected to have more viewers than most other sports

1. Comparison in competitivity

1. Physical ability: For traditional sports, this corresponds to athletic ability and strength of individual players. For E-Sports, this corresponds to mechanical skill in game, resulting from the physical mouse and keyboard input by the player.
2. Strategy: Both have strategical components ranging from practiced plays by teams, positioning of players in the sports field/in game, and generally a player knowing what they should do in a given situation.

Conclusion

Concluding Remark – Summarize main argument, and then talk about the increasing cultural relevance, such as through the potential for E-Sports as an Olympic event.

1. The most helpful feedback I got was to focus more on my own thoughts. Sometimes I would just list research or statistics that support my point, but wouldn’t fully explain it in my own words which left the reader in a position where they had to piece the ideas together themselves. The reader is not an expert in the topic I am writing about, however, so I have to articulate the ideas in a simpler way that is easily comprehensible for those without extensive background knowledge.
2. The biggest discovery I made while researching is how close the potential is for E-Sports in the Olympics. I knew from before that the idea was considered for the Olympics, but I thought it would be decades until it was a tangible event. However, with E-Sports becoming more organized and structured, it is possible to be an event in the Paris 2024 Olympics. If E-Sports continues to grow and does reach the Olympic level, it will be incredible how mainstream it becomes.
3. The biggest takeaway from my paradigm shift is for readers to recognize that E-Sports is a valid, culturally significant sport. Players still have to work extremely hard to reach that level of competition, and the industry as a whole has many similarities to sports. The cultural significance is important to recognize so that people become more open to the idea of watching video game competitions and view it internally as the same concept of watching standard sports.
4. The project helped me better understand how to research and extensively develop and support a point. Through finding many research points, I better understand how to use my resources to find reputable, scholarly sources to support my argument. I also had never written a paper this long before, so this helped me understand how to develop and support my argument through less common angles, which helps the paper be more unique.

E-Sports

Introduction

• Imagine sitting in a huge stadium, everyone around you screaming in excitement, bright spotlights everywhere, and on stage is… video games? Although the Wells Fargo Center is typically used for hockey games or concerts, on September 29 of this year it was sold out for the Overwatch League Grand Finals.
• E-Sports has massively increased in popularity since it originated, and is still rapidly growing. In the 1980s, esports featured games such as Quake, StarCraft, and Street Fighter. Nintendo World Championship (1990), Blockbuster World Game Championship (1990), Quake Red Annihilation (1997)
  • Prize pools: Recognition, car: quake, $10k bond + gold painted car + mario statue + 40” tv (Nintendo)
• In 2016, the League of Legends Championship had 43 million streams, twitch.tv over 100 million
• Causes of eSports growth: Organization (ex: in Korea government regulation), business investment, technology advancement, increased media coverage, collegiate/high school growth, human strive for improvement/competition, became a viable job
  • Essentially e-Sports pushing to resemble traditional sports besides tech advancement
• Relevance today: Growing popularity for entertainment, push for Olympic legitimization, stadium in Philly, business

Definition:

E-Sports – Electronic video games played competitively

Talk about similarities to standard sports as well

Timeframe:

Early E-Sports: StarCraft, Quake, CS1.6… (1990s-2010)

Evolving E-Sports: League of Legends, CS, Starcraft II, Dota (2011-Present)

Would it be useful to also dispel misconceptions about e-sports/gaming here too, or save it for the point of contention later on?

The main point for growth of e-sports:

Technology:  Advancements in technology decrease cost for systems, improvements in peripherals decrease the impact of random factors to increase competitiveness, increase in accessibility

Organization: Ex: Korean E-Sports Association provides infrastructure and standardization of rules which allow successful tournaments. The most successful esports have had strong infrastructure (Overwatch League, CS, League), e-Sports orgs (FNATIC, NRG, ENVY, FAZE, MLG)

Business Investment: Many businesses invest in esports as a growing industry, which helps to fund tournaments and stuff etc.  companies also sponsor individual players to both help their own public image and boost the publicity of the individual

Media Coverage: Korea: TV channels since the early 2000s, twitch.tv streaming platform, amazon signed rights for overwatch streaming rights, Disney broadcasts esports, journalism of esports

Collegiate/high school growth: Scholarships for prospective esports athletes by various colleges, TESPA, allows players to compete while still getting an education

Strive for improvement: the natural human tendency to want to improve/be the best at what they enjoy. 

(this is how esports and most sports started!)

Viable job/lifestyle: Players make high salaries plus winnings, oftentimes live in team houses w/ chef, trainers, therapists,

Reasons for relevance:

Growing viewership for entertainment: predicted 300m viewers and 2 billion pound net worth by 22 (British e-sports association)

Push for Olympic legalization – potential 2024 Olympic esports, held committee meeting previously and was open to the idea

Business – lots of potential money to be made from the marketing of teams/players, merchandising, broadcasting, journalism, competition

Example of relevance: Comcast building first dedicated eSports arena in Wells Fargo Complex

Point of contention: some do not recognize esports as a sport, media depicts esports as a cause for violence such as shootings in US, despite other countries with larger esports scenes having extremely few violent acts (Korea, Japan)

Conclusion:

eSports is a rapidly growing, newer form of entertainment that is likely to increase in popularity and relevance

Could eventually morph into a much more standardized organization like standard sports

Sources:

https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1957210294/fulltext/6FA4DF7B9B354199PQ/1?accountid=13158 – Newtex Global Business Blog

https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1848145835?accountid=13158 – Newstex Global Business Blog

https://journals-sagepub-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/10.1177/1555412019840892 – Sage Journals (esports lit published per year chart)

http://thenespage.com/2017/04/1990-nintendo-world-championships/ – nintendo WC prize

https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/17919126/2016-league-legends-worlds-prize-pool-507m-fan-contributions – league 2016 prize pool

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=5e450365-8a68-43cf-9cd1-912f8a5d5bb4%40sdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=124181296&db=s3h – student athlete

https://academic-oup-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/itnow/article/61/3/28/5552608 – predicted viewership & industry worth

https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/science/article/pii/S0148296315003306 

https://www.olympic.org/news/olympic-movement-esports-and-gaming-communities-meet-at-the-esports-forum -olympic

1. My chosen topic for the Ted Talk is the evolution of competitive video game sports (E-Sports). It intends to focus on how the E-Sports scene originated, has changed since that, and how it is currently becoming much more mainstream. It tells the story of how E-Sports has consistently been growing on popularity, with a recent jump in viewership as a result of more recent factors. It will also explain the market projections for E-Sports, with it being predicted to overtake standard sports. The time period it will cover is from the early 1970s, when the first “E-Sport” tournament occurred, to the present day.

1. The specific change I plan to analyze is how the public’s view of video games and E-Sports transformed from a “waste of time” into a booming multimillion-dollar industry with feasible career paths. This distinction occurred more recently, with E-Sports players starting to gain recognition as traditional athletes, and the industry is becoming much more mainstream. For example, Comcast is building a stadium in the Wells Fargo Comcast for their Overwatch League team, the Philadelphia Fusion, and this is the first dedicated E-Sports arena in the US. It is important to explore and understand this shift in E-Sports because as it continues to grow in popularity, it will also gain greater civic relevance. Because there is a lot of potential money to be made in the industry, it will become a focus for many businesses and companies to invest in, which further increases the significance it holds in society. Furthermore, by informing the public about E-Sports, it could help to smoothen its transition into society and allow it to encompass a greater viewer base.

1. Overall, I think my points and use of statistics was strong to deliver my message. Many of the statements about phone usage were relatable to most of the room, which also helped. I also think I presented the speech, with the exception of the part explained in #2, with a fairly continuous flow, and did not use many filler words. The concluding questions also gave the audience something to think about after the speech, which I think was good.
2. I think that the third main point of my speech, that being the corporate influence, had too many pauses/stutters while I was presenting, and I also noticed I used some filler words like “um” in that section. Sometimes I think I was also talking a little too fast and could have slowed my pace a little to make the speech more understandable. 
3. One thing I didn’t realize that I was distracted from watching the video was that my head was tilted slightly to the left for the entire time I was presenting. I also didn’t realize how much I was moving my hands while talking, but I don’t think this was a big deal. A third thing I didn’t notice was the ending “thank you” felt kind of abrupt. While listening, it felt like I should’ve continued a bit more about the topic of ethics in phone data usage, and transitioned more cleanly into the ending.

Intro:

• Do you wake up to phone alarm?
• Do you navigate with your phone directions?
• Do you plan your schedule with your phone’s calendar?
• Do you entertain yourself in your free time with your phone?
• Phones are a focal point in the lives of many people as we rely on it for daily tasks
• Original phone not capable of this
  • Size of brick
  • Only could call
• Modern tech = more compact, powerful (more so than NASA apollo 11!) features = civic artifact
  • kairos  = our time period
• Greater accessibility = commonplace form of communication
• Amount of time + common tasks = embedded in civil habits
• The ideology of regular phone usage = cell phone part of civic routine and life

Greater accessibility

• 95% of the USA has a phone (https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world)
• The default form of communication (commonplace)
  • Email, text, call, social media, etc
  • Reference mass text messages for security
• Common to exchange numbers when meeting new people

Time

• Rely on phones for daily tasks
  • Research, communication, directions
• Free time
  • Games, social media, browse the web
• Routinely check phones for updates

Corporate significance

• Companies are willing to spend money on browsing habits from phones
• Use data to target ads
  • Targetted ads = more sales
• Habits (ideologies) of cell phones = predictable behavior
  • Civic because it describes the behavior of society & businesses

Conclusion

• Despite the small size, cell phones have big impact
• Define communication in society, how we spend our time and can be used to influence behavior (ex buy certain products)
• Significance: try to use technology in productive ways
  • In what ways will you try to use your cell phone to make an impact on your society?
  • Is it okay for companies to manipulate consumer base/use our data? 
• Thank you

Work Cited

“1 Billion More Phones Than People In The World! BankMyCell.” BankMyCell, 3 Sept. 2019, www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world.

What is the major proposition (argument/thesis) of the speech? How is the artifact civic?

• Cell phones are civic because they are the commonplace form of communication, civilians spend immense amounts of time on them, and people’s habits with them can be used to influence their behavior.

How is this artifact a response to a particular exigence? Does it take advantage of a kairotic moment?

• Responded to the exigence of needing mobile, fast communication. It takes advantage of the kairotic moment of modern technology, as it allows phones to have more features and be far more efficient.

What ideologies are at the artifact’s core? Are there any commonplaces used that help to reveal this ideology?

• Ideologies:
  • Cell phones are a mobile, extremely fast form of communication
  • All standard forms of communication are available on a cellphone
  • The vast majority of the population in developed countries owns a cell phone
  • Cell phones make daily tasks easier/simpler
• Commonplaces that reveal this:
  • We all spend lots of time/rely on phones (revealed through initial questions)
  • Cell phones are the most common communication device (revealed through the common practice of exchanging numbers)

How are extrinsic proofs (evidence related to context, history, documentation) or intrinsic proofs (1. evidence from the speaker’s character, 2.  relating to the audience’s understanding, 3. a construct within the speech itself) used in the speech? In other words, what evidence will you use to prove your thesis about the artifact? 

• Speaker’s character
  • Explaining facts about history and technology of phones to show I have an understanding of them
• Audience Understanding
  • Mostly relying on the commonplaces of the audience’s previous experiences with using cell phones in their daily lives
• Evidence
  • Stat of phone usage
  • Explaining how companies use cell phone data

Technology had greatly advanced from the time where cell phones were brick-like devices only capable of calling other phones. The sheer power of the microprocessors in modern smartphones is millions of times more powerful than the computers NASA used in the Apollo missions, from 1969. Now, in addition to calling, the small devices we carry in our pockets are capable of web browsing, photography, texting, and much more. What’s even more impressive is how accessible these devices are; 95% of the US population has a cellphone, and I am sure that if we specifically examined our local college campus it would be an even larger percentage. Due to the fact that cell phones are so prevalent, they can be examined as a feature of civic life.

One way cell phones frame the civic life is through being the standard form of communication between members of our society. It is extremely common for two people who meet each other to exchange phone numbers or a social media app like SnapChat to talk to each other at a later date. Even in the professional field, like within business, cell phones are still used to send information, whether it be through calling or emails. Through framing the methods in which we communicate with each other, cell phones are an integral part of civic life.

In addition, cell phones also take up a large portion of our time. Throughout the day, people routinely check their phones for updates or to assist with a task. When working, we rely on our phones for navigation, researching on the web, and of course communication. Even in terms of free time, we spend hours each day using social media, browsing videos, listening to music, or any of the other features available on our devices. This emphasizes how phones are civic because people use them to help complete their tasks, as well as to help entertain themselves in their free time, which increases the normalcy of cell phones in daily life.

By looking at cell phones from the angle of companies, we can further see how it emphasizes civic ideology. There is often lots of data collected on the habits of individuals on their phones, such as browsing history and commonly used applications. Large companies invest their resources to use this data to target advertisements to specific individuals who are most likely to purchase products based on their habits. Companies willing to invest in potential greater sales based off of cell phone data accurate enough to predict future habits of individuals further supports the civic extent of cell phones, as they induce an accurate model for repeated behavior in our lives.

Despite their small size, cell phones have a large impact on many aspects of our lives. They define our communication, habits, and predicted behavior, making them a key part of daily life. Through the knowledge of the cell phone as a civic artifact, we can take advantage of the technology by using it in even more productive ways. For example, we can use the device to try and communicate with more people, to learn about ways to be more active in society or to spread civic ideas to a greater platform. In what ways will you try to use your cell phone to make an impact on your society? Thank you.

The first cell phone was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper, of Motorola, while the first smartphone was created by IBM in 1992, but the term wasn’t coined until 1995. Much of the public benefits from cell phones, as the device allows for much easier communication over long distances. Furthermore, the companies manufacturing the phones and providing networks for communication benefit due to the immense amount of customers they serve, and the reliance many developed countries have on these communication networks functioning properly.

Mobile phones were initially developed as a portable phone for communication. Having one during their initial release was more of a sign of wealth than a necessary tool for the majority of people. However, the advancements in the technology of smartphones have allowed it to include many more features and let phones as a whole become much more accessible; within the US, 95% of the population has a cellphone now. Modern phones are commonly used for entertainment, fitness monitoring, education, photography, and much more, in addition to their primary purpose of communication. The increase in accessibility of phones has changed their need from being a luxury item to a necessity in the modern economy. Within the US, many jobs require a cell phone as a form of contact between employee and employer, making them a staple in the country.

Cell phones do have different meanings for different groups of people. Some groups, primarily the youth, primarily use smartphones for entertainment: they watch videos on the web, use social media, play games, etc. Older groups tend to have more of a focus on the initial communication aspect than the younger population of phone users. Also, there is a prominent divide in the cell phone by brand. This primarily applies to smartphones, as people view Apple phones differently from Android. Each has a community of users that are dedicated to their brand, and refuse to use the opposing type of phone, and even go as far as to argue with each other online.

One of the commonplaces of cell phones is how it is one of the default forms of communication people expect each other to have. For example, when meeting someone new it is extremely common to exchange cell phone numbers to communicate at a later time. This makes a primary feature of civic life as nearly everyone has one; if we primarily examine US civic culture, 95% of the population has a cell phone, as previously stated. Cell phones frame the civic because it is the standard, most common form of communication used throughout the country, in both professional career fields and social communication.

One of the ideologies represented in the podcast was the connection between drinking and the football season that unites many Penn State fans. Yesterday was my first experience with physically seeing all of the tailgates outside the stadium, and I was shocked at how open all of the people hosting tailgates were; even if you didn’t know who was there, through the Penn State family you would be offered all kinds of food, games, and of course drinks. Alcohol was the other major commonality I saw at the tailgate, as no matter where you looked there were always people drinking. The podcast described how some people view the drinking on campus as either a safety hazard or the inconsequential behavior of college students; in this case, I would describe the tailgates as the latter, as there did not seem to be any tangible problems that arose due to the behavior.

Later at night, however, the ideology of the students seems to shift towards more unsafe drinking habits. If you walk around downtown later at night, you see lots of students going to/from parties, large crowds around bars, and sometimes the occasional person with an open beverage on the streets. Through alcohol education, knowledge of safety while drinking has joined the common sense of nearly all the students on campus, but rather than changing the ideology to want to drink more responsibly, it seems to confirm their current behaviors as the drinking habits don’t change. To best describe the situation, I would use the oxymoron that students drink “irresponsibly safely,” They know their drinking habits are not fully safe due to their education and prior knowledge but don’t believe it is unsafe enough to warrant changing their behavior, so they simply continue the same practices.

This ideology primarily encapsulates the downtown area, as that is where most of the parties seem to be, but why is that? I believe that this is because college dorm rooms cannot accommodate as many people as a fraternity house or off campus apartment can, so people naturally flock to the parties that can hold more people. Furthermore, it is also more difficult to throw a loud party within a dorm, and more punishing consequences for getting caught there. This also contributes to the ideology of going downtown to party for students, and a large number of students following the same behavior helps to bring a feeling of safety, making up for the safety lost from their alcohol intake. Wrapping all of this up, the natural campus dorm size and policies push the ideology of students to party downtown, and despite the education of alcohol safety, students continue to follow some unsafe drinking practices due to the sheer number of students doing the same that can contribute toward a feeling of safety for the students.