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Irrelevance to the new fen
This post is taken from a bunch of replies on a friend's journal, that it was decided we should stop hijacking and move the discussion somewhere else.
The problem is that a lot of fans want to get along, and many longer term fans don't like change, so the old fans don't change and the new fans try to fit in. The newer folks aren't encouraged to exptress their ideas, and fans have always been good at shouting down those they see as wrong.
I tend to think that when one is well-known and respected in the scene, they have a responsibilty to the newer folks to keep an open mind and to give them the chance to express themselves.
For instance, I have the newer people in Melbourne saying they don't see the point of having fan guests. I disagree with their opinion, but respect and understand that if they feel that way, then many more new folks will as well. So I either need to justify why we do it well enough that they can see my point-of-view, or rethink having fan guests in order to be relevant to the newer folks.
Though that said, I think the fan guest issue is a tiny one compared to how magnificently irrelevant our style of cons currently are to the new crop of fans.
New fans aren't coming to cons. They see them as over-priced, they don't see that they will get any value for money, and when they do come along, they have a hard time making friends because they're shy and because many of us are shy, we're more comfy talking to people we already know.
And then they hear us slagging off 'mundanes' and similarly showing fandom's intolerance for those not like themselves. So to new folks we come across as more exclusive than inclusive.
So discuss... and especially if you're one of the newer fans, please, please, please speak up and tell us what you'd like to see at cons, and what you think needs to be changed.
The problem is that a lot of fans want to get along, and many longer term fans don't like change, so the old fans don't change and the new fans try to fit in. The newer folks aren't encouraged to exptress their ideas, and fans have always been good at shouting down those they see as wrong.
I tend to think that when one is well-known and respected in the scene, they have a responsibilty to the newer folks to keep an open mind and to give them the chance to express themselves.
For instance, I have the newer people in Melbourne saying they don't see the point of having fan guests. I disagree with their opinion, but respect and understand that if they feel that way, then many more new folks will as well. So I either need to justify why we do it well enough that they can see my point-of-view, or rethink having fan guests in order to be relevant to the newer folks.
Though that said, I think the fan guest issue is a tiny one compared to how magnificently irrelevant our style of cons currently are to the new crop of fans.
New fans aren't coming to cons. They see them as over-priced, they don't see that they will get any value for money, and when they do come along, they have a hard time making friends because they're shy and because many of us are shy, we're more comfy talking to people we already know.
And then they hear us slagging off 'mundanes' and similarly showing fandom's intolerance for those not like themselves. So to new folks we come across as more exclusive than inclusive.
So discuss... and especially if you're one of the newer fans, please, please, please speak up and tell us what you'd like to see at cons, and what you think needs to be changed.
no subject
RE: Advertising - The first port of call for most conventions these days is their website. The flyers that go out are just a way to get people to the site.
And when they get to the website, that's when we (Continuum) give them a detailed idea of what they will be getting for their money, what the guests have done, the events to be expected, panel highlights, etc.
On top of that, they get as much detail as possible on each guest. The Fan Guest is included right there with the other guests, so it's understood why they are also a guest. So we never hide our Fan Guest on what we consider to be our core advertising.
The website is our core advertising because, from the feedback we got, something like 90-95% of people discovered the cons via the web, or visited the site for more info. Only a tiny percentage of members came out of the thousands of flyers we produced.
Our early flyers were A3 sheets folded down to A4 or A5, with all the info you could ever want about all the guests, venue, main events, etc. And what we found from our feedback was that all this work was a waste of time and money. People looked for a website address, and went to that.
Continuum learned from experience that the simpler the flyer, the clearer the message, the more likely people were to want to find out more. Flyers were gradually redesigned to be as simple as possible, and even then there was a lot of basic info. Dates and location of the convention, theme, guest names, website and postal addresses for getting more info or joining up (we had membership forms and prices on the back) - all on a simple, clean A5 flyer.
I don't believe in relying completely on the net, hence a postal address that also clearly states that people can ask for more info from it. I hate it when cons that don't have clear snail-mail addresses, and the invite to write to them using it.
To be blunt, if you get someone to the point of looking at your website, or writing for more info, then you're halfway there.
I still believe the Fan Guest is an important part of cons, and should be on the flyers, but I can understand the arguments for maximising the advertising space.
So long as the Fan Guest isn't short-changed on the website or the con-book, and is treated with the same respect as the other guests (hotel room, walking around money, travel costs covered, proper introduction at the opening, etc.) then I'm prepared to accept it.
no subject
*blush* I appreciate the compliment although I feel duty-bound to say that the other committee members deserve liking, trust, and respect too (especially the one I'm married to :-> )
Thanks for the lengthy explanation of Continuum's experiences and rationales.
I still believe the Fan Guest is an important part of cons, and should be on the flyers, but I can understand the arguments for maximising the advertising space.
I would have had a less seriously negative reaction if the explanation had been "We can only fit so much on a flyer" rather than "We don't include the Fan Guest of Honor on our flyers because it will just confuse and alienate some people who see it."