Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

News from the North - Jan 29

Erotica? On My E-Reader?
With e-readers like the Kindle and Kobo lines, sales of erotic literature has soared. Canadian e-publisher eXtasy had sales take off in 2010 and double in 2011. Part of the advantage of the e-erotica (e-rotica?) is that no one can tell what is being read. There's no lurid cover to have to hide. And, it looks like my NaNoWriMo project from last year may have a potential publisher.

Dial Up Internet For Cheap
The National Capital Freenet is still around and still going, providing cheap dial up serivce and inexpensive DSL. The NCF was one of the first providers in Ottawa and still has over 4000 subscribers and is a good example of a community-based ISP.

--Scott D

Why You Shouldn’t Keep Your Projects A Secret

As someone who works with intellectual properties, and someone who knows a lot of people who also work with intellectual properties, I can safely say that a lot of us like to keep our ideas to ourselves.  There is a fear that if your idea is leaked, then there’s a team of coordinated and efficient coding enthusiasts that will take your idea and do it faster than you.  Probably better than you too.  And they all wear sunglasses and matching black leather uniforms with lightning bolts...

Where was I?  Oh, right, the fear of being copied.  This fear has a less-paranoid-but-still-paralyzing twin: the fear of someone coincidentally doing the same thing as you, making you look like the copycat nonetheless.

My advice to you is to fight that fear and show off (or at least talk about) your works in progress.  There are several reasons why this will help you rather than hurt you.

Making Stuff That People Will Want To Share

If you’re promoting your video/comic/whatever online, you’re probably hoping it will go viral.  Here are some things to keep in mind that will help it along.

1. It’s About The User
Think of the last few links you forwarded to your friends.  Were they cute kitten pictures that showed you have a softer side?  Was there a funny video that implies you have a great sense of humour for appreciating it?  Maybe it was an article about something complicated yet important, thus showing you’re on the ball about current events.

Make your video say something good about those who like it.  That is, make it funny or clever, so people will want to affiliate those characteristics with themselves.  Forwarding a kitten picture doesn’t just say, “here’s a kitten.”  It says “my name is _____ and I like cute kittens.”

2. It’s About Being Useful
We forward things for a reason.  We want to entertain, inform, or cheer up our friends.  If your video does not do any of those things, it is less likely to be forwarded.  This is why simple things like, “I have an owl, so your argument is invalid” will come up often enough in chats but indie film trailers do not. 

Your video can’t just be good in and of itself.  It has to relate to other things that people will do.  That’s the only way the link will be repeated.

3. It’s About Association
Does your video have a signature image or catchphrase that will be repeated later?  It couldn’t hurt.  I’m not saying you have to force a silly word into your video for its own sake, but it helps if people have something to remember your video by.  If you can incorporate a phrase that people would want to repeat, then you have a better chance of making it go viral.

4. It’s About People
If one person tries to start a meme all by themselves, it will probably fizzle out.  If several people pick it up right at the start, it stands a much better chance.  Therefore, you can ask your friends to pass it along. 

-Tamara Hecht

In Praise of Older Geeks

“Know your roots.”
-a T-shirt featuring a NES controller.

Geekery is often presumed to belong to the young.  However, this is probably due to the stereotype that the average comic book reader is a ten-year-old boy.  Even high tech gadgets, thought to be the domain of those raised on a steady diet of Internet and cell phone use, aren’t really procured by kids unless their parents spring for it.  It’s a misconception that just because our technology is hip and new that the strongest example of geeks are fresh on the scene as well.

It's Time To Speak Out With your Geek Out!

It's time to Speak Out With Your Geek Out.  http://speakoutwithyourgeekout.tumblr.com/

Game  designer  and author Monica Valentinelli (http://www.mlvwrites.com/) got fed up with negative geek stereotypes, about people hiding their geekery or being made to feel ashamed about it.  Out of this evolved Speak Out With Your Geek Out.

Here's what you do:

Sometime on the week of September 12th, from Monday to Friday (the 16th) post about what geeky hobby you love - and why someone should try it.  No rants, or edition wars, or negativity - be POSITIVE.

It's time to show people the power and positivity of our interests.

That's it.  And you can guess I'm bang alongside this.

You can bet I'm participating as this is exactly what Fan To Pro is about - positive geekery (in our case, careers).  I strongly, emphatically encourage you to participate this and to spread the word.

- Steven Savage

Facebook Fandom

Social media is often heralded as the ideal way for progeeks to promote their creative projects.  However, last week I discussed Twitter, and how it is so busy that a topic can only carry attention if said topic already has quite a bit of attention elsewhere in the world.  So, for self-promotion, it looks like Twitter is not our best bet.  Let’s have a look at Facebook.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 3 - Oh My Stars and Garters: Networking

Okay, for those of you who are currently dodging hurricanes (and for those of you who aren't), you might want to spend a little time pressing the flesh.  That's right - it's time to network.

Tweetquake

Last Tuesday, there was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in... where?  Virginia?  Do they have earthquakes there?

An earthquake in Virginia, which was felt all along the US’s eastern seaboard and up into Ontario, is quite an unlikely event.  Therefore, it got quite a bit of attention on Twitter.  What is remarkable here is how much faster Twitter was at reporting the earthquake than a reputable news source was.

Interview with Smultron of Hawaii Kawaii

Smultron Rydstedt, the creator of Hawaii Kawaii , talks about how to make and market an image-based blog.

Beyond The Loading Screen: May

May?  What is May?  The fifth month on my calendar is called “Anime North.”  That said, it’s not like this month wasn’t beneficial to my career.

The YA Project
This one has been at a standstill due to certain parties being preoccupied with other commitments.  Seeing as one of those parties was Yours Truly, I cannot complain.

The TV Show
No one is watching the YouTube clips anymore.   I will keep an eye on it for another month, and then consider taking a different approach to getting fans.  I have an idea or two in the works, one of which involves a colab with someone I met at Anime North.  The other involves a skill I developed while making a game show for, you guessed it, Anime North.

The Company
Okay, here’s the big one.  I need to promote and sell my show, and during the con, I met some contacts who might help me do that.  Ironically, not one of them was encountered during my planned Networking Time.  It just goes to show you the value of always being prepared to take advantage of an opportunity as it presents itself.

Actually, this whole month was proof of the value of removing the boundary between work and fun.  When you are doing something progeeky, your work IS fun, and so even in your offtime, you are bound to discover things that can help you on your way.

Goals for June: follow up with the new contacts and get cracking on those new ideas for promoting my show.

-Tamara Hecht