Conventions

What’s Next For Cons

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

When I spoke at Kraken Con last week, it was a bittersweet experience because the convention is shutting down for the time being.  Cons come and go, but this smaller con had a special place in my heart for its positive attitude, precise organization, and fan focus.

The Bay Area has seen many cons change lately, from cancellation to hiatus to restructuring.  It’s not surprising – we’ve got several dominant big cons, and some areas are damned hard and expensive to host in (like San Francisco).  Smaller cons face unique challenges.

I began thinking about how smaller cons have some problems in the Bay Area, and also considered their social role – smaller, more relaxed, more intimate experiences.  This led me to another question – what if we re-think cons, especially smaller ones.  What are “con-like” activities we could have that fulfill the social needs of smaller cons?

So first, let’s ask what these smaller cons provide:

  • The provide a more relaxed setting.
  • They provide a more social setting.
  • They may be specialized in ways larger cons couldn’t be.
  • They can fit into various niches as they’re smaller.
  • For some vendors and artists they may be cheaper to be at.
  • They can experiment.

With that out of the way, allow me to brainstorm some ideas of “con-like” activities that give us the benefits of smaller cons.  These also have an eye towards being easy to do.

Back To Relaxacons – This is something I dearly miss, small one-day cons at hotels where people just hung out.  Some people get hotel rooms, a big convention room is rented for videos, and you hang out.

One-Days – Some cons I’ve seen just do one day now.  Maybe having more micro-cons may provide the needs for the above.  In fact, imagine a con held once a month or so?

Dealer/Artist Get Togethers – Imagine a con (probably one day) that is ONLY local dealers and artists.  Give people a chance to get exposure in an easier way.  I’ve seen various flea markets and events here that operate out of cars in a parking lot (legaly, of course)

Wandering Cons – This is a weird idea that I’ve thought of on and off, but what if you had a small con (say one day) that wandered about every few months, each run by a different team.  There’s still logistic challenges.

Hang At A Hotel – This is something I’ve done before.  Just have people get together at a hotel and hang out.

House Party – Imagine a wandering con that’s basically a small house party.  Sure space would be limited, but people may also come in and out.  A few dealers could attend as well (not sure what the legal issues are here).  Hell, done right in a big area, say the Bay Area, it could be weekly.

Online – There have been attempts at online cons, and this could work well with proper coordination (and no hotel fees!).  Mix webcasts and video feeds and other services, and you can do cosplay and panels at the very least!  Also imagine if you did it right it might be a con that’s going on constantly.

There’s my ideas.  I’d like to hear other ones!

– Steve

The Silly And The Serious: An Elder Geek Contemplates Conventions

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image idol sunset arms hands playI attended Fanime recently to do what I do – meet people, speak on careers, and feel increasingly older. By the way, the latter isn’t intentional, it’s a side effect caused by age and the occasional cosplayer who reminds me I need to work out more*.

As I walked among the conferences and cosplayers, artists and dealers, this Elder Geek had a rather disjointed series of reactions. Enthusiastic snatching up of rare items in the dealer’s room would seem frivolous to me – but then I’d recall when I was glad to find that rare item in my youth (and I purchased a few things this convention, rare for me). Some goings-on would seem ridiculous, then the realization struck me that the point was to be crazy and bizarre and have fun – I just occasionally forget that as my focus is professional geekery. Panels on professional geekery would seem serious, but often get silly or sentimental as sure people cared about your careers, but we didn’t want to be too serious in a friendly atmosphere.

The convention was play. The convention was serious. At the same time.

Then I realized the two elements of frivolity and professional focus went hand in hand. I remember specifically when this insight happened; I was in the artists alley, looking at a vendor who had some art from the suddenly-omnipresent show Steven Universe up, and I saw how fun and serious come together at conventions. It was a powerful enough flash of wisdom it felt like a lightning bolt, which is why I remember it so well.

You are of course right – I’m going to write about it. As an Elder Geek, it’s my job to analyze these kind of things.

As an Elder geek, it’s also fun for me. Fun and seriousness are the things I want to explore.

The Modern Convention: Fun And Serious In The Same Package

Over the years I’ve noticed conventions taking on more and more focus on professional development – creation, skill-building, software, and more. We geeks have always had a hands-on element to our passions, which is why I refer to us as “Applied Intellectuals.” As time has gone on, conventions seem to focus on that practical (and paycheck-delivering) element of our geekery – which I’m all for.

But if you step back, the choice to do professional panels and workshops at a convention may seem a bit odd. Conventions are wild, crazy, silly, and let’s face it fun. It’s a chance to dress up as Sailor Lannister, or see an AMV about Adventure Time set to music from Gwar. It’s where you blow money on frivolous and fun crap, or a TF2 bathing suit calendar**. Conventions are geek unbound.

Conventions are crazy and careerist. Putting on costumes and discussing how to be a writer while dressed as Rorschach from the Watchmen. Sure some people are there for more one side or the other, but a lot of people seem to go to conventions for both.

That’s because the two sides of silly and serious are really inseparatble.

The fun of conventions is awesome. It is liberating. It is social. It is even an experience that can teach you a lot about yourself as you cut loose. That disinhibition is often needed, usually relaxing, and at times insightful. There is nothing, nothing like being at a 20,000 person event and watching the joy on people’s faces – and then realizing just why it’s important.

People who know that joy, who’ve had those insights, often want to develop themselves. They also need the professional experiences, the career advice, the voice acting classes so they can create or expand a career. Part of their joy, their fun, there interest is to be part of the “scene” of the convention and geekery as a creator or a coder or a writer. One insight at a panel can make your career, one event can give you the tool or inspiration you need to truly be something new.

We need the fun of conventions as we need humans really do need fun. But also conventions are a place that are ideal for people to get serious and learn. The fun opens us up and relaxes us, teaches us and lets us be us. The career elements, the serious elements, focus those of us looking to channel that geekery (wether realized at the convention or elsewhere) into productive form. Often we need the fun to realize what we need to focus on – as many of us doubtlessly experienced in our own careers, where a momentary insight of “something” set the path for us.

When I realized this, there in the artist’s alley, decades of convention attendance suddenly made a little more sense to me. The convention scene’s dichotomy isn’t a dichotomy at all – it’s self-reinforcing, fun and focus. At it’s very best a good convention lets you cut loose – and then shows you where to go when you are loose. A good convention reinforces all of you – and all of the geekdom in attendance, whatever there needs.

After that insight I didn’t even feel that old. I was just a guy who saw his place in the big scheme of things. The Elder geek doing career panels and insightful events, and helping run things so the crazy and the serious could continue.

I enjoyed the convention even more after that – and Fanime is a blast as it is.

The Importance Of Play

An aside to my realization about conventions existing in that dichotomous space, I want to focus on the importance of play in human beings. It’s something I could probably do more of as an Elder Geek as I’m usually pretty serious.

Humans need to play. Not just children, but all humans. We need moments to cut loose, get crazy, experiment, pretend, get away so we can get into something else. Play is exercise of mind and emotions, and a situation where we let our guard down to be more ourselves and less what we think we are (and others think we are).

Conventions are fantastic to fill this need. Conventions are great opportunities for play, for fun, with people of like interests and focus. Conventions, in short, fulfill a very human need – the need for play doesn’t end with childhood, no matter what people may think when they pretend to be serious. There’s no difference between a child playing war and an adult playing Fantasy Football except we credit the latter with somehow being mature.

So as much as I do serious things, as much as I’m Mr. Career and Mr. Civic Geek that’s what I do. That’s what I’m good at. That’s my contribution to the play/work fusion of geekdom. Not everyone should be like me, do what I do – a convention of nothing but me would be boring***.

I sincerely hope conventions never get too serious, too professional, too practical. They’re a great chance for fun in geekdom.

That fun of course leads to new opportunities to be serious, professional, and practical – but we’d never have these opportunities if, for a moment, we weren’t playing around.

Respectfully,

– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

* I’m looking at you, every guy playing Gray Fullbuster or a guy from Kill La Kill
** If you think I’m joking, I’ve seen several pieces of “beefcake TF2” art at conventions. The Scout is in the lead, followed by the Medic. I don’t need to think about this.
*** But handsome.

Geek Networking At AODSF: Con Report And More

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Discussion Communication

(I wanted to post more on franchises, but I’ve got something worth interrupting my Soul Train of thought for.)

A few years ago I started doing Geek Career Networking events at conventions. It was a mixture of discussing networking and connecting people in the audience. It wasn’t a true networking event if you want to be technical; it was a panel on networking with real networking bolted on.

I’ve always wanted to try a “real” connection-focused Networking even in the convention scenes. The kind where you mix around and meet people based on your professional interests. I figured one would be useful at a convention, and perhaps in a time where ConSuites aren’t always a guarantee, necessary.

Fortunately, the crew at AODSF let me try out a full Geek Networking event.    The results were “pretty good” but let’s get into the details and the lessons learned – because I’d like to not just share, but hear other ideas.

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