Samad Raza

Tell us a bit about yourself, where you come from and your interest in CMNS?  

My name Samad Raza and I am from Pakistan. Currently, I am working as the student senator at SFU and also founder and director of Emerge SFU. I enjoy studying communications, as it intrigues my interest in learning and understanding media and culture. It’s also aligned with my career goals, as I want to work in creative jobs such as marketing and advertising and I believe communications can help me understand how to better connect with the public through the use of different mediums.

Why are you interested in this subject (your presentation)?

My presentation: Video Gaming Culture and Technolgoy. Esports has grown many folds in the last few years and we have seen it have a huge impact on our society. I was interested to find out more about how our society has reacted to gaming culture and how this culture has modified the technology to promote itself into a distinguished culture.

Can you give us a sneak peek about your presentations?

My presentation will talk about game streaming services, such as twitch and its contribution to the video game streaming culture. We will be working on understanding how a niche genre of video game streaming gave birth to a whole new technology of game streaming services and then how those services and technologies altered the streaming culture.

What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?

I find this subject of video game streaming culture to be extremely vast and I wanted to share as much knowledge as I can with the audience. Which I why I found it difficult to put everything in a few minutes’ presentations. I had to break my presentation down into a few parts and simplify the structure so that it is easy for the audience to follow and relate to the topic. I hope everyone enjoys my presentation and I can’t wait to share my research with them.

What is your experience in CMNS and SFU so far?

I love studying communications at SFU. It has not only helped me get closer to my career goals, but I have found it to be extremely helpful in understanding different culture and role of media ad technologies. I was able to build my understanding of the world around me.

What would you tell students who might be interested in CMNS or to get more involved in presenting research?

Studying communications has given me a new and better perspective of looking at things. I was able to gain new knowledge and build upon them, I recommend communications to all who are interested in learning new things and adding into it. Also, Presenting at FCAT conference is a great way of gaining confidence in yourself and your work. I highly recommend people to participate in FCAT conference and share their research and ideas.