Mash It Up, Tear It Down, Start Again
Friday November 30th 2007, 4:22 pm
Evel Knievel has died.
To me, Evel Knievel is a twelve-inch-tall plastic figure whose motorcylce is powered by a flywheel. Brian Oberreuter puts the motorcycle into its plastic base, pulls the serrated plastic ripcord, and Evel Knievel zips down the patio where he collides with my giant size Chewbacca.
Later, we play with Legos.
I think way too much about the past these days, which is a dumb thing for a 33-year-old-man living in the early 21st Century to do. Especially when I remember that parts of the past sucked. The bad skin, the asshole kids at school, the fear of being burnt to a nuclear cinder, all of it was crap. Hell, Brian Oberreuter and I probably fought as much as we played together, and my Chewbacca lost most of his bandolier packs.
But there was also that feeling that good stuff was around the corner, and that’s one thing that I can carry as long as I’m alive. I wrote that blog title because that’s the one thing the past is good for: take the best parts, get rid of the crap ones, and give it another go. Carry the positive forward.
I’m probably just tired and cranky ’cause of my reinjured leg. And I’m feeling sloppy about writing. Plus, it’s cold and raining, and, while this morning’s ride was excellent, at the end of the morning I still came home with a wet ass. Optimism + damp shorts != positive outlook.
So, I’m going to get the hell out of the office, curl up on the couch with Anne, read me some Halting State, and get to bed early. Mash it up, tear it down, start again.
The Big Scary Idea: The Big Scary Business Plan
Monday November 26th 2007, 12:27 pm
The quick story: back in late spring of ‘06, Jason sits on my office couch and says, “Think of a way to save science fiction publishing.”
This was the result.
(more…)
The Big Scary Idea
Saturday November 24th 2007, 10:37 pm
Dear SF Short Fiction Publishers-
If you want your publications to survive in the 21st Century, you need to do the following:
1) Put your content online for free.
2) Make it so people can share, comment on, and rate your content.
3) Measure how much traffic each story, picture, video, song, poem, review, whatever gets.
4) Sell ad space, subscriptions and hard goods.
5) Accept donations and tips.
6) Figure out a formula that will allow you to divvy up your income with your writers and artists based on how much traffic they pulled in. Make this formula and the traffic for each thing transparent so there’s no more bitching about being screwed or unsuccessful (note: actual bitching will probably ensure, but at least you’ve got numbers to back you up).
7) Allow people to submit their stuff easily, not only to the professional editors who are choosing premium stuff for revenue sharing, but amateur stuff so people can learn how to take criticism (both constructive and assholive) and grow in their craft.
8) When enough people from the community you’ve created say that a thing is made of Awesome, listen to them and promote the thing to the front page.
9) Did I mention that you put your stuff online for free?
This is the Big Scary Idea: take your magazine/site/blog/whateverthefuck and become the Open Source SciFi Channel. Crib from the way Daily Kos goes about its business. Embrace all media and all genres. Don’t create a separate magazine for your Yaoi Furry Mecha Fantasy stories; just add a new channel. Whatever you do, quit splitting hairs and just do the damn thing already. Contact me or Jason for more information on how to conquer the world.
Love and kisses,
-A.
Quick Housekeeping and A Reminder
Thursday November 22nd 2007, 7:55 am
1) Just installed a plugin to kill comments on posts older than a year. Not that I get a lot of comments, but what the hell.
2) This is a personal site, which means that while you’re free to disagree with what I write and say as much, I’m also free to say that I don’t care and that you should start your own blog. I’m not a journalist, I’m not a reporter, I’m not someone whose voice really matters in the big picture. I’m just this guy who has a need to write, and, while there are responsibilities that come with writing, I find that being entertaining and being honest with myself are the two I care about most.
3) I’m now seriously late for hitting the road. This is related to points one and two.
Reminder…
Thursday November 15th 2007, 10:01 pm
You feel wiped out from standing on your feet and answering questions all day.
You feel wiped out from three weeks of training and this little nine-hour slice of ouch from Sunday.
You feel wiped out from the lack of sleeping in your own bed.
With your wife.
You feel wiped out from the conference food, the burnt Arizona air, the arctic AC and the lack of California produce.
All of these things can get you down, and it’s all right to feel a little bit of that weight. Just make sure to pick it up, put it back on the rack, and get yourself a croissant afterwards.
Dear Microsoft…
Wednesday November 14th 2007, 4:16 pm
Since your minions are no doubt lurking this convention center, I have to hold my tongue. But here, on my site, I am free to say:
Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. You make my job more difficult with your DRM setting bullshit that doesn’t apply to a movie I fucking shot and created myself. Die, die, die.
Love and kisses,
-A.
