Conventions

Make It So: Honey I Shrunk The Con (and Kraken Con review)

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Last weekend I went to Kraken Con in the Bay Area, doing one of my creative gameshows. Kraken Con (this year’s motto “New Squids on The Block”) is an attempt to do a small, one-day convention done twice a year.

They succeeded in my book. Massively.

It was a tight, focused, event. No wasted room, no wasted time – and no hurried pacing or inability to choose what to do. There was one (shockingly huge) dealer’s room, organized events, a nice relaxation spot/cafe, and a tightly run ship. No fluff, no mess, and no overload.

In turn, everyone I talked to was pleased and having fun. From artists telling me how it was even bigger than they expected to attendees mentioning how they enjoyed it, people seemed to really like this. Frankly it felt like a second or third year convention – and this was the first time it had run.

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Elder Geeks Speak: Listening to Us Old People

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Last week I looked into how we Elder Geeks could discuss careers, provide advice, and otherwise help the younger geek crowd career-wise. There’s a challenging series of gaps there, so I wanted to give the advice necessary to bridge those gaps.

Of course the flip side is that, no matter what we do, the other half of the equation are the younger people looking to us for wisdom. Yes, that’s a terrifying thought, but that’s the kind of situation we’re in – guess what old geeks, we are the experts.

But for the younger geeks, I also wanted to provide some advice – how to get the maximum amount of information from us. So here’s my advice for talking – and listening – to us when we get up and blather at conventions and such.

(It may also give ideas about how to arrange events and such).

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