Marcus "Esports" Howard

Gold Standard Gaming

Need Customers? Want to reach the 18-34 demographic daily? We can help. 

Gold Standard Gaming an Esports consulting agency at the forefront of a new era of esports and gaming. In an industry where authenticity is everything, we help brands turn their audience into a tangible community. 

Our focus is on helping our clients deliver better, more effective advertising and event programming with more engaging content and clear messaging to Millennials and Gen Z.

Cut directly through the noise by allowing your consumers to get hands-on with your brand. Provide your audience with an experience they can’t forget and they’ll do all the talking for you.

Director of Business Development

OVR Technology

OVR is a company that focuses on advancing the human experience through intersection of our most advanced technology and the art and science of olfaction. Creating new technologies to allow people to experience scent in a digital landscape. 

We're attending GDC later this month, to demo the prototype for our technology.  Let me know if you'll be there, and we'll find time for you to demo digital scents. We've launched a new program, to help innovators get early access to our tech! 10 game developers will get free dev kits, plus our team's implementation support. If your team wants to create more immersion in its games, let's chat.

Business Development Strategist

Self Employed

90% of customers polled on LinkedIn are interested in their favorite product/service brands engaging them with video games. Over 90% of employees polled on LinkedIn are interested in their employers engaging them with video games, too. Sign up for my free training, to help your brand learn how to use video games to level up its brand engagement: https://bit.ly/gamedrivenbrandgrowth

Game-Driven, Sustainable Brand Growth Coach

Gamers Home

Gamers Home empowers people to turn their passion for video games into a career. We host career webinars for gamers and streamers, so they can learn from industry experts. We also provide specialized training, so gamers and streamers can get hands-on practice in a variety of domains including voice acting, narrative design, and game marketing. Soon, we're launching a platform for premium freelancing in the gaming industry, so gamers and streamers around the world can use their vetted skills to work with awesome gaming studios. In the meantime, you can visit our Gamers Home Store for gaming-inspired comfort clothing and home decor for gamers and streamers of all ages.

I lead business development for Gamers Home, creating meaningful value for our game studios and other strategic partners. I also host Gamers Home's career insights webinars, helping our featured guests share priceless career advice.

At Gamers Home, we're on a mission to close the PayScale gap. If you work in the gaming industry, and you'd like to help us close the PayScale gap, please take a couple of minutes to share your perspective in our PayScale gap survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QNBGG96

Founder & COO

Emotional Ideas, Inc.

The future of sports, esports, and family entertainment.

Gaming & Esports Advisor

Vessel Creative Solutions

We're redefining education and workforce development with esports. We offer end-to-end services clients needs to create a truly wow factor esports gaming space or large scale arena. We recently completed the world's largest investment in the high school education esports space. Reach out to us if you have any projects or questions that we could help you with.

www.vesselxr.com

Chief Growth Officer

Johnson C. Smith University - JCSU

I'm leveraging my decade of gaming industry experience to teach the virtual course "Esports Business & Trends". I've designed a unique course that challenges students to learn esports through direct experience and professional development, rather than just memorizing specific names/dates/info for tests. My goal is that my students will have the specific tools and knowledge to successfully start their professional careers in esports when they graduate college.

Esports and Gaming Management Adjunct Instructor

UKnightedXP, Inc.

Senior Strategic Advisor

Blockchain Game Alliance

The Blockchain Game Alliance is an organization committed to promoting blockchain within the game industry. Its goal is to spread awareness about blockchain technologies and encourage adoption by highlighting their potential to foster new ways to create, publish, play, and build strong communities around games.

The BGA also provides an open forum for individuals and companies to share knowledge and collaborate, create common standards, establish best practices, and network.

Member

MetArena

Two thirds of Americans play video games, and gamers make up nearly half of the world's population. It's highly likely that you brand has gamers as employees and customers. MetArena provides your brand with the insights and technology to authentically engage your entire community, so you can use video games to achieve your brand's goals. Some great examples include selling products or services, recruiting incoming freshman to your school, or raising funds for your nonprofit.

I have 15 consecutive years of strategic/tactical experience with building startups in various industries, including gaming, news media and restaurants. I specialize in identifying exponential growth opportunities and converging trends in consumer markets. Also, I excel at creating/executing blue ocean business strategies. Growth Hacker. Innovator. Techie. Leader.

Dylan Liu's not wrong; with the state of esports, how do you justify that degree?

I MAKE ESPORTS SUSTAINABLE • Lifelong Gamer • Published Author • Professor • Featured Speaker • Indie Game Advocate • Blockchain Enthusiast • International Startup Advisor • Growth Hacker

Geri Silver

LinkedIn

I lead programs and large-scale projects to grow news, creators, and community on LinkedIn. My work includes developing product strategies; running A/B tests; leading teamwide experimentation, feedback, and adoption of new tools and products; and go-to-market planning for news and creator experiences.

Senior Program Manager, Editorial Products and Programs

Senior Creator Manager, Product Strategy

Creator Manager, Product Strategy

Quora

Working closely with the Product team and reporting to the Chief Revenue Officer, I led efforts to grow and nurture Quora's creator community. 

In August 2021, Quora released a new slate of monetization tools for writers, expanding the company's footprint into the creator economy. I played a large role in Quora's monetization go-to-market strategy, leading competitive research, outreach programs, writer meetups, and the creation and maintenance of community forums and resources. As a team lead, I managed 4 Program Managers responsible for growing, engaging, and retaining talented creators on the platform. My work intersected heavily with Product as we leveraged creator and member insights to guide the product roadmap, including UX copy, feature prioritization, and go-to-market strategy.

Strategic Program Manager - Creator & Community Growth

TodayTix Group

Led regional partnerships and partner marketing for a growing arts ticketing startup, scaling regional partnerships from 150 to 1,500+ venues during my tenure. 

I was responsible for forging new venue and production partnerships in several major US cities, providing strategic account servicing to top partners including Hamilton, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Center Theatre Group, and BroadwaySF. I oversaw merchandising, growth strategy, and ticket sales in 8+ new geographies, eventually leading a team of regional managers as the company's footprint grew in cities like SF, LA, DC, and Chicago. 

I also managed the launch and continued iterations of citywide "Theatre Week" campaigns in DC, Philadelphia, and the SF Bay Area, conceived in strategic partnerships with local organizations including theatreWashington, Theatre Philadelphia, Theatre Bay Area, DestinationDC, and SF Travel. These campaigns attracted an outsized volume of new patrons to local theaters and generated wide PR and marketing reach via out of home and digital campaigns, in-person activations, and coverage in major publications.

Senior Director of Partnership Strategy

Director of Partnership Strategy

Senior Partnerships Manager

Partnerships and Marketing Manager

We Are The Tigers: A New Musical

Lead producer of world premiere musical at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles, winner of the Ovation Award for Best Score and nominee for Best Musical and Best Music Direction.

Lead Producer

The Paley Center for Media

At the nonprofit Paley Center for Media, I managed various curatorial and logistical aspects of 30+ events for the Paley Media Council, the organization's invitation-only membership community for media industry leaders and executives. My work included member prospecting; event marketing via email, social media, YouTube, web landing pages and onsite collateral; speaker outreach and preparation; sponsor relationship management; and managing onsite logistics with multiple vendors. Events attracted over 5,000 members and featured prominent voices including Angelina Jolie, Norman Lear, and leading executives from Netflix, NBC, BET, NBA, and more.

Associate Program Producer

Alchemation

Assisted a Broadway producer through different phases of development and production for his roster of shows, including new Broadway and off-Broadway shows and a web series.

Assistant

Break A Leg Management

Supported the operations of a boutique talent agency including client submissions, audition scheduling, and booking. I also had the joyful opportunity of assisting the agency's local organization that offered free performing arts classes to children.

Talent Management Intern

creators, community, and products @ LinkedIn

I've been following my love and curiosity for the arts, media and technology for the past 10+ years, wearing the hats of producer, marketer and partnerships director before landing here at LinkedIn. Now as part of LinkedIn's Editorial team, I lead programs to support and grow the community of experts, creators and leaders who share on the platform.

And because we're all more than just our job titles: I'm also a Seattleite (formerly NYC and LA), a dog mom, a big fiction reader, an avid theatergoer, and a craft fair enthusiast. I've also seen every episode of Shark Tank.

Sr. Growth & Product Strategy Manager (Creators + News)

As part of the Editorial Insights & Growth team, I work on products and projects that enable, empower, and amplify the valuable knowledge shared on LinkedIn.

Think social platforms are toxic? You're probably hanging in the wrong corners of the Internet. Take this: a tale of two subreddits.

I'm a Reddit fiend. A few months ago, my homepage started showing posts from a subreddit called r/bald. It's a community of (mostly) men, posting photos of their balding heads and asking "Is it time?" 

I wasn't sure why I was seeing it, then got weirdly drawn in. The comments were all empowering, men and women of all ages encouraging the OP to take the plunge (often using the meme below, which is always a hit). Often, the OP posts an update of their newly shaved head and is hyped up with cheers and celebration. It's adorably wholesome.

Then, Reddit decided I love baldness (?) and showed me a new community called r/amibalding. It's the same concept: people showing their balding heads. But this had a different vibe. They're trolled with mean comments like "take care of your acne first," and overwhelmed with untrustworthy recommendations of  medications and procedures to try. It's like a funhouse mirror of the "/bald" community, but in the dystopian upside down.

Sometimes it's easy to feel like social media is the bad place. But if you're feeling that way, you're probably down the wrong rabbit hole. We have to be curators of our social experience, not passive consumers. That means seeking out spaces with solid moderation, supportive communities, and vibes that make you feel good, not icky.

My question for LinkedIn friends: What online communities have you found with impeccable vibes? Because for faith in humanity's sake, we all need more of those.

Principal Community Manager | Content & Creators at LinkedIn

For the people who rocked Excel ~ BEFORE ~ using AI to create and fix every formula:

How does it feel to be a magical wizard unicorn genius?

At the end of each year I like to re-evaluate my media & consumer habits. 

My takeaway from this year: I've become someone who gets my news from Reddit, TikTok, and LinkedIn. But it's not as bad as it sounds - I'm mostly using those platforms to discover news aggregated from major publishers, like Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Forbes, The New York Times and others. 

But something I've realized: I've become someone who mostly learns the news from headlines and comment sections. I don't go too deep. This feels... not great.

So for 2026, I'm looking for recommendations: what publishers, creators, Substacks, etc. do you follow where you feel genuinely motivated to dive deep? Who motivates you to go beyond headlines for more nuanced, detailed expert perspectives?

Let me know so I can perfect my end-of-year consumption cleanse!

Every year I post about how I love LinkedIn News' "Big Ideas" predictions list, but this year's different: I've got my own Big Idea featured! 

As AI sparks more cultural change, I felt compelled to share a more optimistic idea I've been swirling on this year: that a renewed focus on genuine human connection is on the horizon (read more in Idea #7!). 

I've been inspired this year by the work of US Chamber of Connection, and am super thankful to have CEO and Founder Aaron Hurst featured in the idea's write-up. 

Big shoutout to Ashley (Peterson) Botarelli, Taylor Borden, and Siobhan Morrin who, each year, turn a unwieldy list of "what ifs" into such a thought-provoking, well-researched piece. 

Give it a read and let us know what you think — including your own big ideas for the next year!

https://lnkd.in/euhnPTFn

Open article: 25 Big Ideas that will define 2026 by LinkedIn News • 30 min read

taplio

The Battle

Marcus "Esports" Howard

Geri Silver

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMarcus "Esports" Howard's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreGeri Silver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Marcus "Esports" Howard

Geri Silver

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Marcus "Esports" Howard's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreGeri Silver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMarcus "Esports" Howard's LinkedIn Performance