maybes

[davemerrill]

I wrote a thing on the FB earlier today, the gist of which was astonishment that we can put on these conventions with hundreds of hours of unique events and panels, guests, workshops, gaming of all kinds, video rooms, dealers, and one of a kind experiences, and yet we still get people asking if they need to buy a badge, because all they want to do is wander around the halls and look at the costumers.

And there's a whole slew of entitlement behind that attitude of "if I'm not interested in it, then why does anybody bother?" kind of thinking. Insert 'those kids today' rant here.

But it strikes me to ask, sure, there's a bunch of stuff going on at the show besides wandering around looking at cosplayers. Do they know about it? Are we doing our job in making the average con-goer aware of the gigantic amount of things that happen at fan conventions? Are we counter-acting the years of inaccurate reporting in which the media portrays fan conventions as being nothing more than costumers and overpriced celebrity autographs? We may not be.

These people may look at the ticket price for a fan convention without having any idea what that ticket price pays for. They may feel perfectly justified in trying to get around it, because they don't know what "it" is, really - which means we're doing a poor job in managing their expectations.

Some of us have been in this game a long time. It's tough to put ourselves in the shoes of the first-or-second-time congoer, to think about what they find important or necessary. It's tough to even know what they know, and dangerous to assume they have any background in what we're doing at all. Every show is somebody's first show, and first impressions are hard to break, once they're made. If we're assuming everybody has our experience and our background, then we're making an ass out of U and of ME, as the tired cliche goes.

Comments

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

Interesting topic.

I think, in the end, it's just completely generational and the gulf just cannot be, on the macro scale, bridged.

You and I know people of the 'current gen' who are NOT of this mindset, and again I am loath to quote pop culture but it really is true, "People are dumb. Persons are smart". See also any con's blocked hallway.

I don't want to speak for you or presume, so: My gut feeling is that education is the answer, but saying that, knowing, seeing the current culture, the one thing education will do is not be listened to, considered or obeyed. Because that's the way things are.

Have you encountered the phrase 'Perfect Freedom'? It's something I started to hear in the late '90s. Basically, "Don't tell me what to do, what I can or can not do, ANYTHING that keeps me from doing whatever I want is a CRIME and I just won't accept it. I want no rules whatsoever"

So, basically, good ol' anarchy, I suppose.

Recently in my area some kids (under 21) decided to throw a rave in a farmer's field. A place for that 'Perfect Freedom'. Fallout? many people hurt, at LEAST one rape reported (unknown number not), drugs, booze. Comment from one of the organizers? "Well, we didn't expect these things to happen, I thought we could keep control"

And they publicly stated they plan to have another one.

Police were called- Staties, Sheriff, nearby local Police, Fire Rescue. So many people (over 2,000 IIRC), law enforcement was totally outnumbered. It was decided to 'let it burn out' rather than risk a riot.

No mention about the condition of the farmer's field but I expect it was completely trashed. I'm pretty sure they didn't get permission nor paid for the use of the land. No idea how they got power for the music and such but likely stolen. MAYBE they brought generators, I don't know.

"I thought we could keep control". Drunken, doped up teens and older, each seeking that Perfect Freedom? sha, right.

I suspect we have to help those we can help and otherwise just sit on our porches and shake our fists.

[footyfoot.livejournal.com]

As I recall, Woodstock (that supposed pinnacle of peace and love so many in 'my generation' had to endure sermons about) was a planned, orderly festival event which went terribly wrong from the start- the promoters pretty much lied lied lied to the town council to get the thing to happen. Then mobs of entitled brats decided THEY didn't need no tickets, MAN and cut the fences, swarming the place and trashing Yasgur's Farm pretty good. And then there was Altamont... 'Perfect freedom' has always been around :P

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

I can't help what goes on inside their minds, but I CAN help what goes inside their minds to begin with, in terms of "hey, there's this great stuff happening that you might not know about."

It's like they're going to the all you can eat buffet and sticking to the mashed potatoes, and there's all this other food available that they don't know about, and they're like "this is a helluva lot to pay for mashed potatoes."

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

But, but, sometimes the only barely eatable thing at the buffet is the Mashed Potatoes. Maybe.

(mind, I've NEVER seen a good buffet. Golden Corral, Fire Mountain, Old Country Buffet, they can all go to hell and die!)

So, you have similar thoughts. Education should be the answer.

What's the twisted up homily? You can lead a fan to water but you can't make him read?

[jasonrmerrill.livejournal.com]

I think Dave's point is being lost. We need to explicitly market what we have planned so the fans know it's not just a lobby full of costumes. I've been fighting to have our marketing/promotions be better and it's slowly getting there. My biggest issue in the past has been that we were spending all the time signing up the panelists, which left little time to do the actual promoting. It did not help that the people who should have been shouting our planned events from the rooftops had other things they thought were more important.

I'm trying to do a better job, but there are only so many hours in a day.

Back to the main point, if you can't find something on this list (http://www.awa-con.com/index.php?page=Panels) worth paying for... why even bother coming? If you have to see your friends so bad they can meet you at the Steak and Shake up the street.

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

I would disagree that Dave's point was getting lost. What I'm saying is the 'current norm' of fandom isn't going to read it.

Because if you make it super pithy, even hashtag-worthy, if it's something they have no clue about they're not going to try and educate themselves.

Because if they were doing that they wouldn't be bitching and moaning, check?

I KNOW I don't have a handle on how much it costs to run AWA. Being used to putting on a con that cost maybe $2000 all up to run I strongly suspect the pizza bill alone is larger than that. :)

But I DO know that the con doesn't just happen. That's the experience that somehow needs to be communicated, that there is objective value in the cost of the badge even if all one intends is to wander the halls.

But getting them to read, absorb that info, I just don't see how to break thru.

[s-girl (from livejournal.com)]

Forgive me for my ignorance (since I don't follow AWA that actively on social media) but could your director and their staff do some posts on stuff for you? I recall you guys have a tumblr and may have some website architecture to allow blogging. I think even a "director's log" would be fantastic and fun. You guys could all take turns writing up blurbs ...

But more or less, this coudl be a function of other staff to help you guys do.

[jasonrmerrill.livejournal.com]

We are trying (and getting better) but at the moment the people who want to do it are all busy with other stuff. And finding the right people is getting harder all the time.

cost is abstract concept sadly (paulownia@LJ)

[s-girl (from livejournal.com)]

I think it's important for con-runners to have a dialogue with the community. Maybe it's like the open version of the ACML or other groups you have where you discuss inner workings and how the "wandering people" are not helping your bottom line.

It won't move everyone off the "I'm just looking" attitude but it will at least appeal to those who have some understanding that "free means long term death to organizational sustainability."

On another note - no artist alley for me this year so I'm going to try to make sure I actually go to all your events this year! I'm excited not to have to drag crap around for once. It's pretty nice to just go to have fun.

Re: cost is abstract concept sadly (paulownia@LJ)

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree with this, communication is very very important.

Problem is, how MUCH communication? And where?

We (as in the world) really don't need the usual "hey, bought some foam cups today!" twitter nonsense, that's not COMMUNICATION, that's just noise.

If it were me, I would have a single 'social media' czar that gets (and can request) regular communication and updates from all levels of staff, filters for proactive, useful content, and posting same to EVERY medium. BUT replies blocked except for one site, likely the blog. Focus, funnel, digest.

No random posts on Twitter from one person, Facebook by another, Instagram by a third...

Of course here's the thing. A con cannot, MUST not be hostage to democracy. A con must, by its nature, be...well, not run by the masses.

Re: cost is abstract concept sadly (paulownia@LJ)

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

there have been a few attempts on the part of the con to codify their publicity - there's an AWA email newsletter that was at one point going out monthly that was supposed to have blurbs on the exciting AWA events, but it never reached very far and didn't get updated that often and I don't know who was running it or if it's still going.

The show does need a social media czar to post regular AWA news to all the social media outlets - Facebook, LJ (yes, there's still an AWA LJ), twitter, tumblr, the AWA message board forums, and the front page of the website. Right now people are getting their AWA news in bits and pieces from a wide variety of sources.

In the past we'd have somebody in charge of the website or whatever, and things wouldn't get updated regularly because nobody would give him information, and he wasn't going out there and getting it. We need somebody in that slot who will go out there and get that information, who will drag it out of directors and staffers and panellists, and if he can't get information, he will make something up. We need a Hearst in that position, a Barnum, an advertising crazy ballyhoo-genius. Unfortunately, fandom attracts nebbishy introverts.

Re: cost is abstract concept sadly (paulownia@LJ)

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

Seems to me that's part of fandom, that "can't get people to talk" thing. Information Control is a key part of a fan's pyche, you've dealt with it from others for years. "I know something and that makes ME important!"

Based on discussions we've had over the years I know for sure there are people in charge of things at AWA that believe if they gave any kind of progress report it would somehow lessen their power. It might even be called into question, their worth and ability to oversee the post they have.

And some things, there IS no 'progress' because their function doesn't become 'hot' until the con itself. What could Gordon talk about A/V except "all the equipment is ready to set up" over and over until con weekend?

It's funny. It just struck me a con is like a hotel, or casino or restaurant. There's a distinct 'front of house' (Security, Gofers, Reg, A/V) and 'back of house' (advertising, guest relations, dealers, pre-reg admin) and there's a hand-off that happens.

Now from all this talk it probably sounds like I'm gunning for a job. Can't do it. I would need to live in the ATL so I could go bother people if they weren't responding to requests. Plus I'd have to sign up for all those reprehensible mayfly 'hot thing of the moment' services and blurgh. Sorry.

[davemerrill.livejournal.com]

The jealously-guarded fiefdoms of AWA have largely been... I won't say "demolished". Some of those people are gone. Others have had their areas of responsibility changed. Even in the short time since you've last been to the con, there have been warpings and mutations and paradigm shifts.

The metaphor that works for me is, like in "Skylark Of Valeron" when Seaton and Girl #2 went into the hyper-dimension, and there was difficulty in finding substances that would affect both 3rd dimensional humans and hyper-dimensional ultra-beings? It's like that. The different areas of AWA all have their own communications media and their own networks, and somebody has to interface with all of 'em. What's best for the AA doesn't work for the guests, or the events, which wouldn't work for registration/badges, but one supremely adaptable human being can, by dint of superhuman effort, work with them all.

I mean, you could say, "Okay, we're all using Google Product #XZ9 from now on, everybody!" but it's hard to make that stick, particularly with volunteers who have worked up their own best practices over the years.

The thing with PR is that you don't have to have "progress reports" from everybody, just the newsworthy items. AV equipment isn't a PR sell, but that premiere title we're getting from Funimation to show on our AV equipment is. Which we're getting, but nobody's hyping it.

I'd do it myself, but I don't live in the ATL either, and I don't know if they trust me to not repeat some of AWA's past public-relations triumphs, like the fake religious flyers we did. Some people just don't have a sense of humor.

But yeah, I have heard "front of house - back of house" used in fan convention context before. It's a useful description.

[tochiro998.livejournal.com]

I get it. My thought is, ultimately, all important information be clearly pointed to right on the front page of the main con website, which should be platform neutral. And updated constantly.


So, you know, like it is now only more so. :)

But I would go proactive on some things. I saw Otakon had a trainwreck with reg because all the needed data and programs were 'on the cloud' and I guess the con center wifi died a screaming death. This is a "well, duh!" thing to me. So, depending on how Reg handles this stuff I would actively promote that either all needed stuff is on site to minimize issues, or the con center internet tubes are robustly tested.

I guess Jason has already had headache inducing crap regarding weapons policy. maybe that needs to be front and center, that sort of thing.

Ah, what do I know. Sitting here with a blown up ankle and crazy knee, completely helpless like a damn turtle on its back, I'm probably just projecting like mad pretending I have a voice or some crap. :)