Michael Lee's Train of Thought

I'm headed to Capricon in a little less than two weeks and I'm on a bunch of panels.  A couple of them are outside of my traditional comfort zone, but I'm excited about that.  

It should be fun!

I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie - Friday, 02-08-2013 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)
Long novels are often reviled, but they give the author a change to build an extremely in depth world for readers to lose themselves in, as well as more time and space to develop realistic characters. Who makes the best use of all those words and pages? Why is longer better?
Michael Lee, Marah Searle-Kovacevic, Joy Ward (M)

Fandom a-GoGo: Fannish Productions - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)
For generations, fans have expressed their love of SF/F by making things like fanzines, fanart, fanfic, and fancasts that celebrate our genres and communities. These fans discuss their productions and others that you might want to check out.
James Bacon, Michael Lee (M), Lynne M. Thomas, Ben Yalow

The Obligatory 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Panel - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming)
After 50 years, 11 Doctors, and 47 companions, what is there left to say about Doctor Who? Believe it or not, quite a lot, as our panelists will demonstrate.
Tonya Foust, Michael Lee (M), Rich Lukes, Jody Lynn Nye, Michael D. Thomas

A Hard Hobbit to Break - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming)
We've all seen a third of the movie: Bilbo! Gandalf!! Hot Singing Dwarves (with beards, not a euphemism)!!! Gollum!!!! Peter Jackson's J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth is back! It's time to speculate about the forthcoming two thirds of the trilogy.
David Abzug, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Lee (M), Susan Stoltze, Tom Trumpinski - 

So Awful, It's Awesome: Guilty Pleasures - Saturday, 02-09-2013 - 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm - Birch A
Do you love mega sharks battling giant octopuses? Was Richard Grieco your favorite Loki? Is Sherlock Holmes better when he battles unbelievable CGI dinosaurs? These panelists talk about their favorite so bad it's awesome things from the past few years.
David Abzug, Tere de la Torre, Michael Lee, Dave McCarty (M), Leane Verhulst 

Labels: capricon, fandom

For the second time, I'm going to Arisia out in Boston at the end of next week (January 18 - 21, 2013). I had a fantastic time last year, and this year I made sure I knew I was going long enough ahead of time to get on panels. I'm on a couple of panels:

Sunday 8:30pm
Doctor Who: The Dissertation of the Daleks — Media, Panel — 1hr 15min — Revere (2)
We continue our celebration of all things Who with a look at the Daleks, one of the Doctor's oldest and most persistent adversaries. Why are they so popular? When will they return? And how can they be stopped now that they don't need to climb stairs?
Samantha Dings, Forest Handford, Victoria Janssen, Michael Lee, Adam Lipkin (m)

Monday 10:00am
How Fans Hurt and Help Public Faces of Fandom — Fan Interest, Panel — 1hr 15min — Burroughs (3E)
Last year, Stephen King said Stephenie Meyer "can't write," and the "Twi-hards" came to defend her. Twilight boards were filled with reasonable discussions of the criticism, while sites like the Entertainment Weekly blog were filled with ill-informed attacks on King. Many fans have said they would never read the Twilight books because of the public image of Meyer's fanbase. How does the public face of fans help or hurt an author? Can fans do anything to change the perception of their fandom?
Randee Dawn, Shana Fuqua, Michael Lee, Paula Lieberman, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert

I'm not throwing a party for CONvergence (or anything else) this year (I'm taking the year off of doing that) -- but I'm sure to be around the convention, volunteering (because you do), and finding ways to keep myself busy.

Labels: arisia, doctorwho, fandom

I'm slowly recovering from my trip to Chicago over the weekend for Chicon 7, the 70th Worldcon. This was one of those conventions where most of the items of programming I got to were ones that I was participating in. All of the panels went well, though a few of them were in smaller rooms than they should have been; I was astonished that the Brit SF TV panel would be SRO at 9:00 AM, and of course a Doctor Who panel will frequently fill the room. The Star Wars panel I was on was quite possibly the best Star Wars panel I've been on, and one of my favorite panels at the con. First of all, I sat next to James Kahn, who wrote the Return of the Jedi novelization. When that novel first came out, I got it for my birthday, and so I read it before the film -- perhaps giving me my first experience with spoilers. My other favorite point on that panel was my realization when we discussed the impact of Star Wars on the world, that I said that without Star Wars, we would have had no ILM. Without ILM, we would not have had Pixar. No Pixar, Steve Jobs doesn't have had a second act after he leaves Apple for the first time, so he doesn't return to Apple. And therefore, without Star Wars, we would have no iPhones. Our other big endeavor of the weekend was the Minnesota Magpie room. We had GREAT help from Joel Philips, Jody Wurl, Eric Heideman, Matt Strait, Joe Pregracke, Matthew Gress and Missy Hayes, George Richard and Andy Murphy, and others as well. The parties went fantastically well in the evening, but I don't think any of our plans during the day were as successful. I'm OK with that, and I think much of that had to do with being on the top floor, but it will be worth considering for the future. It was also exciting to have multiple friends, previous CONvergence guests of honor, and future guests of honor visit our party, including several shortly after they had won the Hugo. We were frequently the last party going every night. One of the other real highlights for me as well was that I was able to talk to conrunners and fans from around the world -- they are becoming better friends and colleagues each time I see them, and I am very excited about the future of fandom. One of the things I like about the Worldcon is that it's been going on for nearly 75 years -- it's really the FIRST convention. I think there are some real challenges -- and I'm probably going to Dragon*Con next year instead of Texas for some of those reasons -- but I'll be in London in 2014, and I'm very excited to see Worldcon go to Kansas City in 2016.

Labels: chicon, fandom, magpie, worldcon

As we're only a couple of weeks away from Chicon 7, my spare time is looking at Chicon 7 and the Minnesota Magpies and going to my second Worldcon.

I've got more planned than I did last year at Reno -- I'm on multiple panels (and I'll mention those once the schedule is final and public), I'm helping keep an eye on social media and tweeting from @chicon_7, and I'm helping to put together the suite representing Minnesota during the convention.

We know what nights the various groups are going to be hosting in the room:

TIME	PARTY HOST	TIMES
Thursday	MNSTF/Minicon/Minneapolis in 2073	9:00 PM - LATE
Friday	The Seamstress Guild	9:00 PM - LATE
Saturday	Geek Partnership Society	After Masquerade - LATE
Sunday	CONvergence	After Hugo Ceremony - LATE

We're also hoping to have some other things in the room, especially for people that are helping us fund the room. (If you're able to help, let me know!)

I'm really excited by this and hope to see you there!

Labels: chicon, fandom, magpie, worldcon

Oh yeah...I should write up about my Arisia experience here.

I had a fantastic time at Arisia.  I'd heard about the convention for years -- it has an origin story is almost identical to CONvergence's, and some friends and acquaintances have attended for years and so when I was able to combine it with a work trip, it was a great opportunity.

One of the things that was especially nice was since I knew people already, I was able to get in and volunteer right away.  It's the reason why the fan-run volunteer conventions are the best -- it's a co-operative activity that everyone does together, and even if you want to make it a "show", it's community based.

Every convention experience is unique for the individual then -- and so perhaps since I was there right away as a volunteer, it wasn't that much different from a CONvergence experience for me -- by the end, when I had five minutes I'd visit my new friends in the Programming Nexus/Operations area, because that's where I ALWAYS go when I have a few extra minutes at a convention.

I took reams of notes -- it was nice to be at a convention that had the same sort of audience as CONvergence, and roughly the same size, and I looked at everything as a student of how you can make good convention experiences.  How can you make it good for all of the various constituents and communities, since we know that the best conventions can have a huge impact on their members lives.

And that's awesome.

Labels: arisia, fandom, scifi

Since you can still pre-register at the last minute, good time to mention that I'm planning a trip to Chicago for the science fiction convention Capricon in a few weeks. I'll be hosting a party for CONvergence over the weekend, and will be partnering with some of the other local MN conventions as well with the party, as we're also planning ahead for Chicon later in the year. I'm going to be on a bunch of panels as well.

Avengers Vs. X-Men - Thursday, 02-09-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming) Marvel is planning a major crossover event. Who will win this fight? A discussion of how Captain America punching Cyclops in the face might affect the Marvel Universe. Javier Grillo-Marxuach Michael Lee (M) Les McClaine Frank Salvatini

So You Want to Throw a Con Party... - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Birch B So you want to throw a con party? Learn how to do it effectively, safely, and with pizzaz. Kim Kofmel Michael Lee Terrence Miltner (M) Marah Searle-Kovacevic

 My First Doctor- The Classic Doctor Who Panel - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - Botanic Garden A (Special Events - Programming) Whether he wore a scarf or a leather jacket, he was still the Doctor. Journey back with us into the vortex to late night PBS in the 1980s or the SciFi channel in the 00s, as we look back at the first time we watched Doctor Who. Javier Grillo-Marxuach Michael Lee (M) Kristine Smith Dr. Michael Unge Joy Ward

We Do It in Groups: Fandom and Social Media - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Elm Fans can now constantly stay in contact with one another online through social media services such as Facebook, LiveJournal, and Twitter. How does this affect the fandom experience? Is it replacing clubs and conventions? Kerri-Ellen Kelly Michael Lee Leah Zeldes Smith (M)

Cons That Are Almost as Cool as Capricon - Friday, 02-10-2012 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Birch B Come and hear about other regional conventions that are nearly as cool as Capricon. (CONvergence, WisCon, Windycon, etc.) Michael Lee (M) Dave McCarty Joseph Stockman Kathryn Sullivan


Conrunning for the Unbalanced - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am - Elm Are you enjoying your convention experience? Do you sometimes wonder if you should volunteer to help run an awesome convention? A bunch of convention committee veterans discuss what it actually takes to plan an SF/F event. Michael Lee Dave McCarty Helen Montgomery (M) Marah Searle-Kovacevic

Podcasters Are My Secret Friends - Saturday, 02-11-2012 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm - Birch B In the last few years, there has been an explosion of SF/F themed podcasts such as the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa, the Nerdist, the SF Squeecast, Galactic Suburbia, Writing Excuses, and Escape Pod. Chicon has even added a Best Fancast category to this year's Hugo Award ballot. We discuss some of our favorites. Michael Lee Lynne M. Thomas Michael D. Thomas (M)

My Sarah Jane - Sunday, 02-12-2012 - 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm - Botanic Garden B (Special Events - Programming) Come squee and reminisce about Elisabeth Sladen. We will discuss her impact on both the old and new series and on Doctor Who Fandom. Alex Bledsoe Dermot Dobson Michael Lee Lynne M. Thomas Michael D. Thomas (M)

Should be fun!

Labels: capricon, fandom, scifi

I decided to run again for the Convergence Events board in the election in January. It's a hard job, especially when you both try to keep your own opinions as well as working collaboratively with others. But it's also especially rewarding, and I think Convergence Events can use my experience within the organization as we go forward. Like every candidate, I wrote up some responses based on some pre-existing questions. One thing that makes this particular election difficult for me is that I'm going to miss the actual election meeting, and I'm missing it because I'm going to Arisia, in part because I feel that part of my role as a director is to be an ambassador for the organization at other conventions around the country, as that's one thing that I've felt CONvergence could do a little better at. Because I'm not going to be able to make the meeting, I'm especially open for people to ask me questions, here as comments on this post, or via twitter, or via facebook, by email, or by any forum. Thanks, Michael

Labels: convergence, fandom

I attended my first Worldcon recently, Renovation in Reno, NV. I've been going to conventions since I was teenager, primarily locally, but I've attended both Dragon*Con and San Diego Comic Con on the national level.  I've been actively involved in CONvergence for over a decade, and while CONvergence last year was bigger than Renovation, there is a tradition, legacy, and reach to Worldcon that is unique in fandom.

The Hugos themselves are awesome, though I was embarrassed by the production values of the Hugo ceremony itself.  The Hugo Award itself has high production values. I came out thinking that they don't really know what they have, and I was a bit bothered by that. This was perhaps an unusual first Hugo experience for me, since I am friends with the editors of Chicks Dig Time Lords and had more than the usual personal investment in seeing them win.  But I think even when people complain about the Hugos, it is because those awards mean something to a wider group of people than just those that attend Worldcon.

I was also highly envious of the main ballroom for Masquerade and Hugos - it fit 2,000+ people,  and the stage was immense.  It was glorious.

The Masquerade itself was very good, but considering I had heard about Worldcon masquerades forever, I was less impressed than I expected to be.  But I suspect I had unreasonable expectations -- as it really was a very solid and enjoyable masquerade.  I knew that Paul Cornell running Just A Minute masquerade half time show would be excellent, and I was not at all surprised to discover the Seanan McGuire was an immediate master of the game. There was very little hall costuming, but I believe the weather and location may have hampered that.

This was a multi-campus convention; and the distance between the two host hotels required regular bus service. And these were full commercially obtained busses.  Overall, I felt the bus service worked well, though there were some people frustrated by long wait times. Oddly enough, I felt better about the buses when I saw professionals like Larry Niven and special guests like Dr Demento take the bus.

I saw some improvements i would make in how they could take take advantage of what they had - the parties were in one building, and the Hugos and Masquerade were in another, and the other building had more of the membership.  That meant I went to parties the first twonights, but then stayed in the Peppermill the other two, where I had my hotel room.  There were limitations because casino hotels are not great social spaces for conventions. However, I think in a multi-campus solution there should be at least a small consuite or other designated social space as much as possible - there wasn't a great 'Barcon' or 'LobbyCon' type social space. They had 'event' panels to keep people in the Peppermill in the evening after Masquerade and Hugos, but I was a little disappointed in my chance to chat and be social on both evenings.

That's all a function of the location though -- and one of the things about Worldcon is that it is a largish convention that travels -- you don't have to go to Atlanta or San Diego every year, but it may end up in areas that don't otherwise see a convention like this.

They had a very intriguing 'Art Night' that I did not attend, and I  heard many very positive things that made me regret not attending.

Programming had plenty to keep me interested.  My favorite item was seeing Other Hand Productions's production of Whatnot, a puppet show that was unique, artistic, and wonderful.  There were a variety of other items I attended, some on convention and non-profit running, some readings, and the usual sorts of discussions.  Of course, one of the strengths of Worldcon is that the concentration of professionals is higher than you'd have at any regional, even a larger one like CONvergence.  That has some benefits, but then you do get circumstances where you pull in a pro to talk about something from a fan context and it's actually not as in depth of a conversation as you might be able to manage elsewhere.

I had a personally very positive volunteer experience in programming ops - I was thanked regularly, had fun, and would absolutely do it again.  They have two levels of volunteering rewards - one that after a certain amount of hours you get  a volunteer t-shirt, and another that will get you some level of reimbursement.  I knew from my years of experience on CONvergence that even volunteering a little bit at a volunteer-run convention enhances your experience of the convention, and thankfully that was true here as well.

Consuite was heavily hampered because the convention was only allowed to serve separately pre-packaged food, due to hotel or legal restrictions.  I think this is something that you can't expect to be the same at every Worldcon, and I certainly expect a more robust consuite in Chicago next year.

Registration was very smooth.  I liked the landscape version of badges, and the thin wide ribbons are turning into something that is democratic and not exclusionary, but silly con fun.  With the ease of ordering ribbons online you have something that lots of people made little ribbons to trade and share.  Instead of pre-printing all of the badges they printed out labels that were attached at registration.

Most of the other facets of the convention were what you expect - dealers was OK and was blessed with plenty of space in a main convention hall along with the art show.  They had a teen lounge as well as children's programming and a separate child care, all of which seemed well received.

I attended parts of the WSFS business meeting. OMFG. This is Roberts Rules of Order taken to extreme. You CAN influence things - there were some elections, and a fair amount of votes about future Hugo categories.  But it is a legislative fight, and things move VERY slowly, as just about everything needs to pass a two separate consecutive Worldcons.  WSFS is very much like the early US underer the Articles of Confederation - it's very weak.  There is no Worldcon, Inc. - each year is put on by a different organization. Nothing happens fast at WSFS, though, and while I see a desire to improve Worldcon and an effort to make it relevant to 21st century fandom, it is not going to be quick -- and may not be quick enough.  There is, oddly for 'fans of science fiction', a definite conservative (not in the political sense) streak.

Minnesota is well represented at this Worldcon - there were about 60 MN registered and I saw about two or three dozen people that I recognized from the area.

Parties were OK, not as many as I've seen at CONvergence and a lot of one night parties.  I don't know how typical this was, as Reno has very little SF convention history, and many of the people the were not local and like me, may not have had the capability to bring in additional supplies.

Over all, I had a really positive experience.  I met a good amount of people and strengthened bonds with some acquaintances.  I'm certainly planning on attending Chicago, and I think every science fiction fan should, at some point, try to make an effort to attending a Worldcon, especially when it is near them.   I'd like to see a MASSIVE turnout from Minnesota next year.

Also, with the rise of electronic distribution of the Hugo voters packet, a Worldcon supporting membership has never been more financially appealing, and instead of complaining about the Hugo results, you can nominate and vote and be a part of the process.

Labels: fandom, worldcon

The content of this video is actually NOT surprising to those of us that work on SF Conventions. After all, in events like CONvergence almost everyone PAID to be there. We couldn't do the convention without everyone *wanting* to do it and volunteering.

Obviously the challenge with something like this is that we do that project in our "free time" -- I use vacation days on the convention, and spend my nights and weekends on the project. And to some extent, the same thing is true with the Free Software movement and things described in books like Free: The Future of a Radical Price. The challenge is how to work out a way that you can make a good, solid, 21st Century living with it -- and not just at places like Google, which come close to this -- but in more environments around the world.



Oh -- and if you're looking for something to do for CONvergence 2010, we're looking for people to help us with our Harmonic CONvergence music/performance stage, and more people to be sub-heads (with a possibility as a future head) of CONvergence Programming for managing our panels and discussion sessions.

Labels: business, convergence, fandom, technology

I'm happy to see that the LASFS Clubhouse interview we asked the LASFS for has shown up on our League of Wonders site. One of the reasons why is it is nice to see how it has been done in other areas!

And video is always nice to add to a site...

Labels: community center, fandom, geek, minnesota

Really, this changes nothing. But at the same time, it changes everything.

Not the official word (that went out to the voting members earlier this week) -- but my official word. At our last board meeting of the Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy we decided 12-0 (and the incoming 2 directors agreed as well) to spin off CONvergence from MISFITS, with the details to be worked out by January 1, 2010. Revenue donation will continue at current levels at least through the 2011 convention cycle. And we expect an active partnership between CONvergence and MISFITS for many years in the future.

I was in favor of this for a variety of reasons -- I've been actively involved with both CONvergence and MISFITS from very early on. (I don't quite get to be called a founder, but I was an early adopter.) I care passionately about both organizations, and am very proud of what we have done together. I've seen both organizations grow, mature, struggle, develop, and work together for many years. And I want them both to continue to do so as partners for many years in as successful a manner as possible.

I expect and will work to see that to continue -- and I am personally committed to an ambitious direction for the future as part of this process. The idea here is to build on our successes, support each other -- but then also get out of each other's way and not micromanage either. And let us all be the fantastic, imaginative, exciting community that I know that we are and will be.

There are a lot of details to work out. Lots of details. We'll have FAQs, meetings, discussions, arguments, decisions and paperwork to do.

But it is going to be exciting.

Labels: convergence, fandom, geek, minnesota, misfits, scifi

One of my fellow CONvergence directors, Jon Olsen made the following post today:

=-=-=-=-

Please consider joining our conversation about the next possibilities for our diverse community. This touches the participants in CONvergence, Anime Detour, MISFITS, Marscon, Minicon, Gaylaxicon, Mn-Stf, Omegacon, and more and more. . .

http://leagueofwonders.wordpress.com

We began talking about big inter-community projects this year. There have been conversations at MN Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy open meetings. There have been conversations at closed meetings too. There was a wonderfully interesting panel at CONvergence last week on the subject of a "geek community center." That panel will likely make an appearance at other conventions.

Well we also want to have a public conversation with the members of the communities in which we are active. About joint efforts, about structure, about autonomy and interdependence, and about where we go from here. About what we could do if we start dreaming out loud.

That conversation lives here for now: http://leagueofwonders.wordpress.com and I invite you to take part. Share this info with others and get in on the action. Today!

=-=-=-=-

This is a conversation that I'm actively engaged in as well, and I encourage everyone interested in what we can do as a community in the future to participate.

Labels: fandom, geek, minnesota

However, since many fans enjoy both literary and media fiction, it seems ridiculous not to pool our resources in protecting one another.

There is a very interesting article about some of the recent national SF convention failures.

As we come across our final pre-registration cut off for CONvergence, something like the above article is very sobering. Not every convention *is* run well. CONvergence, which tries to run things as professionally as possible, is still a fan-run affair that is being run for fun.

One thing that is nice today is that technology makes conventions more open -- you can find out about CONvergence by searching for Minnesota Sci Fi Convention on Google; you don't need to find out about it only by going to the right book store, or knowing the right person.

The thirteen year old kid who had his or her mind blown away by Star Trek last weekend deserves the same rich community and opportunity that the Science Fiction Community has given me.

And another piece of setting up that legacy is the very interesting copy of Argentus dealing with convention runnnig. There are some things that are Worldcon specific (which doesn't really interest me) but different sorts of advice are always good to read and take on.

And don't forget -- preregistration for CONvergence ends tomorrow!

Labels: convergence, cvg2009, fandom, scifi

It's the time of year where attention now really focuses on CONvergence in July. Events are getting scheduled, PR2 will be in the mail soon, and we get everything else going.

One of the exciting things is that we have this year is schedule.convergence-con.org. It'll help you plan your schedule for the event, and let you slice and dice the many events we have planned -- and we're going to be able to list more things than ever before.


We still have panels left unscheduled though, and you can review that list and contact programming@convergence-con.org if you have a panel that you want to sign up for.

Labels: convergence, cvg2009, fandom

One of the more difficult things in fandom, in my experience, is balancing a year around organization (or club) and a single central convention. They are serving somewhat different social needs; they attract different volunteer groups. This isn't something that I discovered in the last five months I've served as a Director on the Minnesota for Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy -- it is something that I've seen in just about every convention and club combination I've seen over the years.

One of the things that has been a challenge for the Society is how to organize things properly. This has been a work in progress that I don't think people really understand how things are today, especially since earlier models hadn't quite worked properly.

There are really two different parallel organizations when it comes to CONvergence and MISFITS -- one isn't really the "parent organization" of the other. In so much as there is a parent organization, it is represented by the combined group of both the CONvergence and MISFITS directors. We've been generally referring to that as "The Society" because the whole name can quickly be unwieldy.

The MISFITS brand isn't really ideal because that's not quite how thing were originally put together. It serves as a club name, but it can get in the way when one is trying to present yourself in the 'real world' and trying to help in the broader community. It is also confusing because while MISFITS and CONvergence build their long-term vision together, they are two different subcommittees of the entire board of directors of the Society, and one is not the "parent" of the other, but parts of the whole.

There are times where people look at our community as something unique -- but the comparison isn't just the other fan organizations around the world; we don't just look at organizations like LASFS or Arisia, Inc. We share some things in common with fraternal, religious, and artistic organizations; after all.

I look at three different parts when I think of what CONvergence, MISFITS, and The Society are about:

1. The Social Center


2. The Inspirational Center


3. The Education Center

The Social Center is just that -- we're providing a place for people to meet other like minded people. Relationships form. Because of the second two are a part of it, we can provide a networking opportunity for people to do new things.

The Inspirational Center motivates all of us. Our guests of honor are a key part of that. But also as part of our in the schools programs. And coming out of the relationships that are built above, we can inspire new creative pieces; both professional and amateur.

The Education Center certainly looks like it starts with the in the schools program, but it is not limited there. We provide venues for people to get better with public speaking; our convention guests are sometimes people that can share their knowledge and experience to others. We teach each other, because we know the more you know, the more jokes you get.

For me those three pillars all interact -- we inspire each other through our social connections; because you are inspired; you desire to learn new things. Sometimes people think that one part is secondary to another -- that the convention is the fun, and MISFITS is all of the non-profit stuff. But the missions are all there for everything -- the MISFITS social agenda is important, and CONvergence is meant to better the community as a whole as well. All parts of the whole.

---

Oh, I suppose I should disclaim this post a little -- this is purely my own thoughts on these subjects, and aren't the official words of CONvergence or the Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy. I've had elements bouncing in my head for a while, and wanted to get them out somewhere...

Labels: convergence, fandom, geek

It's Halloween season, which is certainly a High Holiday for people that like to dress up in costumes, or attend science fiction conventions like CONvergence. So perhaps it's not surprising to see a reference to the convention show up in the St Paul Pioneer Press.

And seeing this sort of thing is exactly why we have this event -- to provide an environment that lets people do things like this, and not just for one weekend in July, but all year around.

And speaking of CONvergence....

It's official. We are going ahead with CONvergence beings a four day event permanently starting next year. We're very appreciative of all of the feedback and comments that we have -- so we can identify ways to make the four day convention as successful as possible, and make CONvergence continue to serve as a gathering point for our community.

We're looking for new concom members and volunteers -- ane one of the goals for our first concom meeting, on November 2nd, at 2:00 PM at the Sheraton Bloomington -- is to get new people engaged and involved. The organization lives and depend on excited and committed volunteers. So if you're interested, please join us.

There's a Facebook Event if you want a reminder and use Facebook.

Labels: convergence, cvg2009, fandom

Following up on an earlier post, we've scheduled a second meeting to discuss moving CONvergence to a 4 day convention on Wednesday October 22 at 6:30pm at the Rockford Road Library, located at 6401 42nd Ave. N., Crystal.

Labels: convergence, fandom, scifi

We just put up a FAQ outlying our plans to move permanently to a four day convention starting in 2009. We're planning a meeting on October 7th at 6:30 PM to discuss our plans. [The website has a typo.]

I certainly apologize for the short notice -- it all came together very quickly, and as you can expect, we're up against a pretty tight timeline for implementing it for 2009 -- and we've decided that it is better to continue with the new model that we started in 2008, and make adjustments to that, rather than wait until 2010 for it.

We've had lots of other meetings already on it with our various departments -- so this has been in the works since after the last convention and when we discovered that for most departments, four days was surprisingly easier than three days, not harder.

Labels: convergence, fandom, scifi

Mojo recently posted an article asking if conventions are doomed -- especially in the fall out of the fiascos of Jumpcon and Fed Con USA over the last couple of months. I paid some attention to Jumpcon -- and I'm sorry, I never believed for a second that they'd be successful. They were unrealistically ambitious, and they seemed to be stuck in a time warp from the 1980s.

I think Mojo has a very good point -- the internet *has* changed the nature of fandom, and how conventions work. For years, I've noticed that new television shows don't tend to generate the "fan clubs" that I remember from my high school days. You don't NEED a local Doctor Who fan club when you can go over to the Doctor Who forum and get your Who geek on.

But there are still organizations that do good work -- even in the very difficult media-specific space. United Fan Con has been doing conventions in Massachusetts for 17 years, and they're trying to make something out of the Jumpcon disaster.

Some people think throwing conventions is easy -- get some guests in, and the fans will come. That's really not at all true. I think people want to get together face-to-face -- perhaps even more now, since you have connections with people that you mainly communicate with online. But it's not just "throw a bunch of guests together, get some merchandise, and go" -- you have to plan for more than that. And that's the problem with the people that think that they can make money on a convention -- you really can't. CONvergence is a great and successful fund raiser for the Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy non-profit -- but it wouldn't be a successful business venture. You couldn't pay people enough to do the things they do for love...

One of the things that I'm very proud about my involvement with CONvergence is that so many people do crazy things purely for the love of it all. It irritates me when some people try to exploit that -- and we've had the occasional person that don't understand the nature of volunteering, or take advantage of the organization and community in some fashion. And that makes one tempted to get cynical at times.

I don't think conventions are dying by any means -- certainly in the Twin Cities, I think we have more conventions in 2008 than any year I can remember. And really, it's not that they're that much smaller either -- both Anime Detour and CONvergence are over 3000 people now. And while there is some overlap in audience --- it's certainly more people attending a fan-run convention in 2008 in the Twin Cities than when Minicon was at it's peak fifteen years ago.

But the challenge for those of us organizing is this -- how do we make them relevant? What is the best way to make a dealer's room?

Labels: convergence, fandom

A bunch of videos shot at CONvergence have now been uploaded to YouTube, and you can find links to them on con-news.com

Labels: convergence, cvg2008, fandom