Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

The Value Of Stupid Stuff

Recently in my viewings of various anime, I came across "Oh! Edo Rocket", a show that borders on the inexplicable, as it's an anime based on a play based on a legend that is loaded with parody elements.  I vaguely described it as "Excel Saga with a continuing plot" but it's hard to explain it.

One theme touched on, especially later in the series, is that sometimes things can be inspiring but aren't necessarily "useful" or "even lasting."  Sometimes big useless, even stupid stuff is indeed a good thing.

Big, giant, useless, crazy stuff can inspire people.

Stupid blatant nutty things can shock people out of complacency.

Huge insane efforts can help you explore your limits and yourself.

It can also be fun, and we usually need more of that.

Burn Your Box

Is your career in a rut?  Is your business in a rut?  Are you in a rut?

If you're in this situation, you've probably been told "think outside the box," which basically means "get outside your current assumptions" to see new opportunities and solutions.

This is wrong.  You should not think outside the box career-wise.

You should get out of the box, set it on fire, and jump up and down on the ashes before sweeping them into the river to be washed out to sea forever.  You then need electroshock therapy to forget your box.  By the time "the box" has imprisoned you it's not something to get out of a little bit - it is something to DESTROY.

In fact, here's a guilty secrets for us geeky, neo-literati, otaku fan-types.  We are just as capable as anyone of being able to straightjacket our minds.  In fact, we're probably very good at it since we're use to using our imaginations, and we can dream up an amazing amount of ways to shackle ourselves.

News from the North - Dec 12

China Still an iRisk to US Companies, Government
Geeks interested in security may find jobs with the news that at least 12 different Chinese hacking groups are responsible for cyberbreak-ins, stealing billions of dollars worth of data. In a related issue, there is the possibility that hacking could upset the supply of oil.  Security geeks should see the demand for their services continue to grow.

Tech Industry Wants Canadian Goverment to Migrate to Cloud
Dave McDonald, CEO of Softchoice Corp. and the chair of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) board of governors, feels that the Canadian Government should migrate to cloud computing or risk being "technologically incapacitated". Nice thought, but given the above and the nature of the data used by the government, the big question becomes, "How secure is it?"  

Bell Runs Afoul of CRTC Regs
Related to the discussion of Tamara's news about the sale of MLSE, Bell has been found in breech of CRTC rules by limiting the streaming of NHL and NFL games to just Bell wireless subscribers. "Canadians shouldn't be forced to subscribe to a wireless service from a specific company to access their favourite content," said Konrad von Finckenstein, chair of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission.

English to English Translation App
Tricolour Software of Newfoundland has developed a Newfoundland to English translatation app for the iPhone. The Whaddaya App allows users to enter the Newfoundland phrase to get a plain English explanation, with proceeds from the 99 cent app going towards a no-kill shelter. While this app has a humourous bent, it could be the forerunner of apps allowing visitors to understand local idioms, even if both the visitor and the local allegedly speak the same language.

Reading for Pleasure in Decline
Recent studies are showing that Ontario schoolchildren aren't reading for pleasure as much as in prior years. Normally, I would have passed on this for a news round up; however, an article in the November/December 2011 Scientific American Mind ("The Death of Preschool" by Paul Tullis, behind a paywall) shows a disturbing trend. The push for standardized testing may be working against getting an education.

--Scott D

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

In Which I Get the Cartoon/Toy Remake Thing

Adaptions of Transformers?  A source of jokes.  GI Joe?  A film stunning in its mediocrity.  If it's not equine and friendly and little, it seems most re-adaptions of cartoons aren't too good, and of course I snootily turn my nose up at them.  Hell, we have one blogger here whose entire goal is to dissect adaptions, leaving me more time to be self-righteous if charming and personable.

Today I heard about J.J. Abrams and a Micronaut movies and I suddenly felt a visceral "yes!" echo in me head, and I understood just why people would be interested in these seemingly majority-terrible adaptions.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 15 - Con-Tro-Ver-Sy! (Cue the Prince Music!)

Today we're going to talk about controversy in comics and webcomics, why it can be good and why it can turn around and bite you.  Hard.

Warning: this topic really will likely offend, so if you're the sensitive type, I'm not going to be offended if you skip it.  But if you're willing to chug on, then let's get started.

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 18 - Originality is SO Original, Part 1: Been There, Done That, Got the Franchise

Okay, today we're going to spend the next couple of days talking about originality...and why it doesn't count.  Yup, you heard me.

What, you thought you always had to be original?  That anyone going for something that isn't original is dull and just copying?  I'm sure that you've heard the old maxim that there are only five/seven/twelve different stories (or if you haven't, read Tamara's outstanding article from earlier in the week) or that Joseph Campbell only thinks there's just one - albeit with a thousand variations.  And of course, the old saying that "there's nothing new under the sun."

So there you have it: originality doesn't count.  Still don't believe me?  Well, I guess the words - or rather the images - speak for themselves.

 

Launch or Be Lunch, Day 29 - Building a Better Yin-Feng, Part 1

Building a character is always a proud endeavor of any creator.  You breathe life into the creation, give it wings, give them a place in the greater universe of your works.  Sometimes it makes for happy campers.  Sometimes it makes for thrilling engagement with your fans.  Sometimes...well, let's not get into those ones, those are creepy enough. ^_^;;;

But there's one thing that you can often count on: you'll have to, sooner or later, modify your character.  Such as it is with two of our characters.  Today, I'll detail the headaches we've had working the fun for Yim-Fong Yim-Feng Yin-Feng.

Cause and Effect - The Power of Hobbies

As you may have guessed if you've . . . well read most anything I've written or published in the last few years . . . is that I'm big on how people's hobbies can lead to and enhance careers.  I'm always exploring the power of hobbies and how we can leverage them as part of the big picture of our life - and our careers.

Usually I focus on things like skills or networking, or occasionally the psychology of things like confidence-building.  But there's something I've noticed recently as I've talked to fans and profans, as I've explored people using their hobbies in their careers.

Our hobbies teach us about repercussions and connections, of cause and effect.

The Teachability of Silly

At KinToki-Con I ran an event called "Crossover Mania."  It was simple - over time people picked an anime (though any media was allowed - this was an anime con), and figured out how to tie it to another anime.  As we went on we wrote down the media properties on paper and diagrammed how they connected - a lot of tape and arrows was involved.  Eventually we had an incredibly silly, yet strangely coherent crossover.

How crazy?  Well it mixed Space Pirate Harlock accidentally creating the time/space warp Bermuda Triangle while under mind control of the villain in Code Geas.  And THAT wasn't even the core plot, that just got the initial crossover to happen (mostly involving One Piece).

Now this was a deliberately silly exercise, but the creativity that started flowing was amazing.  Best of all no alchohol was invovled, at least on my part.  It was insane, it was crazy - but it was also imaginative and it made people's minds work.