Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Survey Sunday: Cultural Infusions To Come

Our question this week?  Where is the next big media influence on North America coming from?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7KBB5Q2

- Steven Savage

The Hidden Danger of Remakes and Repeats

Ask anyone over a certain age what the scariest movie ever was, and they will probably tell you “The Exorcist.*”  But if you’re under a certain age, and you see it, you’ll probably raise an eyebrow and wonder if you got the right DVD.

“That’s not so scary,” you think.  At least, that’s what I thought when I saw it.

But then again, if you ask someone over a certain age what the scariest part of “Exorcist” was, they’ll tell you about Linda Blair spinning her head around and spewing pea soup.  Disturbing, I’d imagine, if I wasn’t expecting it.

But I was expecting it, as were you if you’re in my generation.

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

Skyrim, Social Games, and Social Needs

So, yes I'm still playing Skyrim, as is apparently everyone on the planet.  Of course this has me thinking about gaming trends and what they mean for careers because this is me.  I've leveled up my News Speculating to 100 and bought several perks.

Anywy, lame game jokes aside, I wanted to toss out a thought about the geekonomy and gaming trends.

Why Young People Are Cynical

“No amount of hoping, wishing, or begging will make a cutie mark appear before it’s time.” - Cheerliee, “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” episode 12.

When we think of a young person who is wise to the ways of the world, we tend to imagine some belligerent alt-culture punk who sneers at everything with a “yeah, right.”  On the other hand, when we talk about an older adult who is similarly savvy, the notion is more like a kindly grandparent, nodding knowingly as younger people figure things out for themselves.  Why the gap?  How come young people who seem to know it all are considered jaded or aggressive while older people are seen as gentle helpers?

Gimme My Carrot!

“You have to study hard so you can get into a good college so you can get a good job so you can retire and not have to worry about living in a box and being eaten alive by sewer rats.”
-many people’s parents



Something frustrates me when people refer to the carrot-and-stick approach to motivation.  Certainly, the original tale* about the boy who cleverly gets a stubborn donkey to walk was told by geeks.  It applauds coming up with a creative solution to a stubborn problem.  However, the hero and subject of the story are the boy and his idea, not the donkey and the problem it posed.  So why then are we, as students and employees, cast as the donkey in modern carrot-and-stick allegory?

Surely, people learn best when they learn gradually.  Large projects are completed little by little.  I only hope that it’s just the “little by little” part that people are picking up on when they compare those that work under them to the donkey.  Of course, this somewhat misses the mark, as the point wasn’t that the donkey had too far to walk.  It was that it wouldn’t walk at all.

Kill Your Cable And Habit

There's a 50/50 chance I'm going to be moving to another apartment in the next few months.  There are many questions, from "which one" to "how the hell did we get so much tupperware," but another one came to mind that's more serious and Geekonomic:

Do I need cable?

Vocabulary and Professional Geekery

Vocabulary And Professional Geekery

Ah, the age of Geek Chic.  People are talking wireless and LOLCats, all our base does belong to someone, everything is 20% cooler, and bandwidth is something we all complain about.  Our language is hip, people, and we're cutting-edge.

When we go on the job search, we're even armed with the culture, memeage, and vocabulary to impress people with our geeky cred.  We're ready to go and impress clients and employers with the right phrases and references.

The only problem is that, even in an age of Geek Chic, you have to check your vocabulary:

1. Your audience might be behind the curve, and what would impress some may just confuse or annoy them.  You might have to back your geek vocab back a few years in interviews - or drop it or translate it.
2. Your interviewers or clients may be hip and up to date - in a different area of knowledge.  You might find that you're both up to date- and living in different worlds.
3. Your interviewer may actually be ahead of the game.  Think you're up to date?  Think again.

It's easy to think people think like us or use the same language and culture references.  It's easy to miss the many ways we can be wrong about this; or we only see one or two ways we can be in error.

So if you're going to leverage your Geek Chic - and you're going to, I'm sure, consciously or not - ask yourself about your audience and think ahead.  You'll communicate better and avoid embarrassment - and leverage what makes you special: being a fan, geek, otaku, an enthusiast.

- Steven Savage

Hobby As Language

When we have a particular passion, be it for sports figures or media properties or specific foods, we learn a lot.  Our "fandom education" may include statistics or instructions or timelines, but learning those things means that we need to have the proper words, terms, and ideas to express and understand them.  Our geekery, our fandoms, require us, in a way, to learn a new language.

Soon these languages we learn become part of our lives, our friendships, and our activities.  We are probably not aware of it in many cases, just the way a good craftsman's tools feel a part of their body, or a musician finds themselves automatically learning music.  We have this part of us, perhaps a part that was a radical change/addition to who we are, and quickly we loose direct awareness of it.

The fact that our hobbies have a language all their own fascinates me.  It fascinates me partially because of it's obscurity - we become easy to it so quickly, I wonder what we're missing.  I also realize it's a powerful tool we have, and wonder what it means for us as professional geeks, fans, otaku, and more.

We're equipped with concepts, words, ideas that connect us with our passions - and that few others experience, understand, or even know of.  So how do we put them to use professionally?

• It gives us a language to share with people of similar interests.  Many is the time I've found a common enthusiasm, book, or passion let me communicate better with others.
• It gives us the ability to think differently - which can be valuable for solving problems.  RPG players are used to thinking in statistics and numbers and breakdowns.  Cooking enthusiasts know spice and mix and visceral feelings.  You see the world differently- that may mean you see solutions others can't.
• It gives us the opportunity to reuse terms and ideas in "non-fandom situations."  Ever find you lack the right word or term?  Introduce one from your hobbyist experiences that fits - and you have a tool you and at least some others can relate to.
• It gives us the tools to understand parts of the culture and even economy others may not.  Anyone who's an enthusiast for any technology or culture knows what that's like - we have concepts and ideas and terms to communicate and analyze that others do not.

Ask yourself about your fandom/hobby/geekiness languages and what opportunities they give you.  You may be surprised.

- Steven Savage

ADDENDUM: For myself, I'd say video games gave me a huge boost in the "fandom language" format.  From being able to bond over them to understanding the tech industry, or being able to introduce new concepts (I'm fond of "nerfing"), it's been quite helpful.

The Value Of Cultural Engagement

Here's what I learned from Angry Birds, beyond the fact you can weaponize fowl and where the Green Ham part of "Green Eggs and Ham" comes from.

I really learned about creating cultural engagement.

Just look at how Angry Birds is everywhere.  Its in merchandise, its in jokes, it's in the news.  It's on a bunch of platforms.  There's talk of movies and cartoons - which seems weird because, let's face it, we're kinda facing limited characterization and specialized elements.

It's part of our culture when, truth be told, we're not exactly talking a deep concept here.

That's something to learn for those of us working to create new tinges.

Cultural engagement, truly becoming part of the culture, is an important path to success for anyone promoting a professional creation, be it software, a clothing line, or video games.  You don't just want to sell to people - you need to become part of the way they think.  You want to make it cultural.

Just look at Apple.  There, enough said.

A lot of creations do not just fill their specific need - a need for shelter or entertainment or word processing software.  They fill a cultural need as people are creatures of shared identity and references - if you can give them that, then you have vastly increased your chance of success.

Angry Birds.  Apple.  Linux.  Star Wars.  Star Trek.  People bought not just products and watched more than television and films - they went for meaning and shared experience.

So, in your endeavors, you want to provide that.  For those of us into the geeky scene, we're probably working on something like that professionally or on the side anyway - geeks are beings of shared information.  Anyway, shared culture means success.

I also mean this in more than a mercenary way - if you realize that selling meaning is important, you can focus on delivering real value culturally.  If your novel is meant to inspire, go all out to make a classic for the ages that will have true meaning.  Your game can set the stage for new mechanics or social bonding.  Your simple piece of software can introduce useful new terms.

So you want to sell your product, and to do that you need to make sure you become part of people's culture - and if you do that responsibility, you'll do a lot of good, as well as making money.  That's a pretty nice win-win.

- Steven Savage