Omeed Dariani: "I resigned due to philosophical differences"

Sony Online Entertainment's former International Brand Manager has finally written about why he left the company so abruptly a week ago. According to Omeed Dariani, he left as a result of failing to communicate his notion that "community first" is the way to go to build brand recognition for Everquest Next and Landmark.

I want to clarify a little about why I left SOE. I understand that it’s been sudden and cryptic – that was how SOE wanted to handle it and I respect their wishes. Please remember that in working for a company, you agree to keep some things confidential. I care about a great many people there, I wouldn’t want to say anything that might violate their trust or hurt the company.

It was 100% my choice to leave. I was not fired or asked to leave. I was not “given the option to resign or be fired.” It was not about making jokes on livestreams or a few off-color tweets. I didn’t leave due to personal or family issues (though I did laugh at someone on this thread's suggest that I left to go into rehab).

I chose to leave because my direct supervisors didn't support the community-first marketing approach we’ve taken on the EQ Next/Landmark teams. After months of trying every way I could to convince them that we had the right approach, I felt it was better for me (and my sanity) to move along.

That means I’m not leaving because I have another job lined up. I’m resigning because of a philosophical difference with a few people. I love the EverQuest/Landmark teams I worked with – and they have my full support. I only wish I could have helped them more.

Do I have plans? Of course I do. Can I talk about them yet? Of course not. :)

If you have questions, I’m easy to reach on twitter (@omeed) and Twitch.tv/omeed. I’ll be streaming as usual at 4PM PDT on Saturday. I can’t promise to answer everything (again, I don’t want to violate their trust), but I’ll do my best.