online communities

News/Updates/Links (5:36 pm EST) Guest Blather from Bryan! See below! Waiting For Frodo updated. LOTR updated. (Wired) 1 out of 4 computers physically attacked by owners. :-D (Wired) E-books still not taking off. Fox has a new comic strip. (Warning: not appropriate for younger viewers!)

Guest Blatherer: Bryan Fullerton

So here goes my first guest Blathering - not really sure what to talk about, I suppose I should start writing more so I can just pick up at the drop of a hat and go on about things. I'm being encoraged to start a blog - we'll see.


Spent the afternoon hanging out with Debbie - lunch at Fune, then some wandering around, then hanging out and watching Elizabeth on DVD (I'd never seen it before) while she worked on some art stuff. As usual, Debbie was the consummate host, providing iced tea and lovely Rolo ice cream and bagels. I'll never starve visiting Deb!


Have to wrap up now - heading out for (more!) sushi with Christine and Sue, then home to play with my new TiBook. Ah, the consulting life is rough. :)


Bryan

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I'm finding it fascinating to watch the feedback boards over on my Lord of the Rings...A Final Attempt site. I started these pages as a fun project to give me incentive to try get through the books before the movie in December. I added the feedback boards on a whim, figuring that a few people might want to post their comments as well.


I had no idea that the response would be so enthusiastic. :-) Yesterday, for example, there were *83* postings on the response page for that one chapter. After posting a chapter report, I generally only have to wait a few minutes before someone posts the first reply. Lots of avid Tolkien fans out there!


My favourite part of this whole experience, however, is that the small community that has formed on those message boards is now pretty much self-sustaining. This pleases me more than you can imagine. A few will post comments on my report, but the conversation usually goes off in multiple directions from there. Community members exchange links, info, anecdotes. Some are already over there planning the next community project! :-)


I'm a sucker for online communities, as some of you already know. I think they are one of the best things the Internet has to offer. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), big business hasn't really found a way to make online communities very profitable, which is why many of them are now abandoning the attempt. I was amazed at how many big companies assumed they could spend a lot of money on sophisticated discussion forum and chatroom software and that a zillion people would immediately rush to use them (hopefully with open wallets in hand).


They don't understand that online communities don't come out of a box, that there must be some organic growth and nurturing involved, as well as a genuine interest in that particular community that goes beyond seeing them as potential marketshare. It's that last factor that most companies don't understand. In my experience, I've found that it's actually a fairly straightforward process to draw traffic to a Web site or online community. The key factor is the people involved. Too many companies invest ridiculous amounts of money in ultra-slick community software when they would be far better off hiring (even part-time) a few people who are passionate about and members of the online community being targeted. Thus far, I've spent a total of $250 on software for The Electric Penguin communities. I know of one company who spent over US$20,000 on their community software (and that didn't even include tech support!) with disappointing results.


I'm currently involved in several online communities (Harp Resource, Dandelion Report, Blatherings/Blatherchat, and Lord of the Rings...A Final Attempt) hosted on The Electric Penguin. I have vowed to keep all as fun hobbies...my main focus is always going to be on my own writing, once I get back into workmode. I've tried to set things up so that each community can eventually be self-sustaining, with only occasional maintenance from me. I find it fascinating to see how each is developing with its own personality and interactive dynamic.


But I've promised myself that I'm not going to start up anymore online communities. Nope, no way, no more. I mean it this time! :-)


Today's Blatherpics:


- My sister-in-law Larkin and niece Brittany.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:

In your opinion, is it possible to be close friends with someone you have never met, but with whom you frequently exchange e-mail?

friendships

News/Updates/Links (10:03 am EST) Waiting For Frodo updated. LOTR updated. (CNN) A scholar defends Tolkien's "Lord Of The Rings" as a modern masterpiece. (BBC) The last works of Douglas Adams will be published later this year. (Wired) Interesting article about computer music programs.

Really enjoyed Andrea's visit, miss her already. :-(


We're hoping to get together again at Contraption in a few weeks, though. She has a concert there, and I'd really like to be able to attend. My other tentative con plans for the next while include OVFF (for sure), GAfilk (maybe), Confusion (maybe). I might end up having to choose the between the latter two, just because they're both in January.


I've been thinking a lot about friendships lately. The word "friend" is an amorphous term, don't you think? Some people use the term very casually, referring to someone they've only met once or twice. Others only use it for those with whom they have close, confiding relationships. And there are so many different types and levels of friendship, even within those terms.


Group friendships as opposed to individual friendships, for example. I feel privileged to have been part of several good group friendships, one in university, and one through filking. I've talked to several others who have experienced something similar, and in each case that person described the group dynamic and special bond to be "magic". It's impossible to maintain this rare chemistry indefinitely...people change, and the texture within the group also changes. I always feel a twinge of regret as I sense one of these group bonds gradually dissolving, but also gratitude that I had the chance to experience it. They wouldn't be so special if they weren't so fragile.


For me, however, one-on-one close friendships have become a much more valuable type of relationship. I know many people I consider friends, but only a very few I consider close friends. I distrust anyone who claims to have many close friends. I believe that a good friendship takes an investment of time and emotional energy. Depends on how you define "good", of course, and going into that would take up quite a few Blatherings. I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on this in Blatherchat. I'd also be interested in hearing your opinions on "convention" friendships, for those who attend conventions.


Filk convention friendships seem to be a different animal, at least for me. I am frequently bewildered by how close I can feel to people I only see a few times a year, and how difficult it is to say good-bye to them at the end of the weekend. I think that part of this is due to the shared musical bond. Non-musician/music types may find this bit somewhat confusing, so feel free to skip the next paragraph. :-)


One of my very favourite moments of a filk convention is during the open filk circle (to those not familiar with filk, this is basically a musical jam session) that usually takes place fairly late in the evening, when everything seems to click. The music's good, the musicians all seem to be reading each other's minds in terms of trading off and collaborating, everyone is supporting and encouraging everyone else, the energy is high, one song flows naturally into the next. It's truly a magical dynamic, and one that can keep me up all night when nothing else will. :-)


Filk circle moments like this are rare, and therefore all the more special when they happen. When they do happen, I find that the people in that circle share a bond that often lasts after the convention has ended. This sort of thing isn't only confined to filk conventions, of course, but I do find that the musical bond a unique one.


But I've rambled on long enough. I suppose I'm feeling nostalgic and somewhat blue after my weekend with Andrea. Hm...maybe it's time to crack open that chocolate CD. :-)


Today's Blatherpics:


- A chocolate CD gift from Andrea. This was only one of several yummy edible gifts from Andrea. I will probably post scanned pics of them this. That is, if I haven't eaten them yet.

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll:

In your opinion, is it possible to be close friends with someone you see in person only 2-3 times a year?

gummi rats and chocolate

News/Updates/Links (12:44 pm EST) Hey, TheOneRing.net has asked if they can include my Waiting For Frodo cartoon as a feature in their monthly humour update. I said yes, of course. :-) Augh! They're thinking of turning 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' into a cartoon. (Salon) Hank Ketcham, creator of 'Dennis the Menace', died on Friday. Tad Williams has launched his Shadowmarch project. Tale of the Radioactive Boy Scout: a 15-year-old boy builds a nuclear reactor in his mother's toolshed.

Guest Blatherer: Andrea Dale


Once again, I am blathering from Debbie Ridpath Ohi's residence in downtown Toronto *wink*.


Yesterday Debbie and I met up with Allison and Jodi for the day. We ate lunch at the SF cafe, enjoying hot dogs, hamburgers and "wraps" (that's the healthy food). I felt like I was in "Ookla The Mok Land," surrounded by large action figures, movie screens and junk food .. .


In the cafe store ("A very dangerous place," I assure you) I found a new edition of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Sword & Sorceress" short story collection and instantly had to have it. Jodi bought a hardcover book with a simulated claw mark scratched through the cover, with a vampire type face shining through (No I don't know what it was, but it certainly looked interesting . . .


We laughed, teased and cracked up our way through lunch and then left for Allison's. At Allison's I played a few of my new songs for them, continued to talk and also enjoyed some of the treats I had brought from Cincinnati. (I am sure that Debbie, Tasty Food Editor Extrodinaire will cover this later).


Of course, we were not full yet, so after a while we trundled off for dinner (do you see a trend here?) and found a really yummy Chinese restaurant where we mowed our way, uh ate, through dinner. Next to our table was a family eating dinner, with an adorable little girl in a pink outfit who constantly turned around and shared grins with us as we ate . . . She blew us kisses when she left (wearing a red jacket with a penguin on it.)





We headed back to the subway station, were Debbie and I parted ways with Allison and Jodi *sad sigh* *big hugs exchanged.* Debbie and I headed back home.


Later that night, after Debbie went to bed, I snuck onto her LOTR messsage board and assured her dedicated readership that I felt absoutely NO GUILT for holding up her Tolkien reading for the weekend. :-) Then I enjoyed about an hour of reading, and passed out for the night.


Today, I am trying convince Debbie & Jeff that they need to move to Cincinnati.


Today's Blatherpics:


- Allison admiring the food gifts from Andrea, especially a Shrek "gummy swamp rat" (or something similar). Andrea just pointed out that this was to be admired, not eaten!


- Andrea, Allison and Jodi at the SF cafe in Richmond Hill.


- Allison's cat Nova. I thought she looked kinda cute in this picture, but I have been informed by Allison that Nova actually looks very ticked off in this photo (ticked off at me, that is, for taking the photo).

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Sherman Dorn)

Do you read a daily newspaper (either paper or on-line)?

andrea visit

News/Updates/Links (10:03 am EST) (Tom Smith Online) Quake movie ceases production. (Salon) FBI ceases investigations of Kaycee hoax. (Canoe.ca) The 'Lord of the Rings' movie has its opening reworked. (CNN.com) Maori groups are claiming that Lego is infringing on their intellectual property rights. JOURNALS: Josh makes burritos.

I was taken aback yesterday when I checked out the Lord of the Rings feedback boards yesterday to find *66* posts in reply to my last chapter report. Snooping around, I discovered that TheOneRing.net has mentioned me again:



"Timekillers 4 5/31/01, 10:05 pm EST - Tehanu More things to enjoy while waiting for the movies to come out. These are both funny: Debbie's Waiting for Frodo comicstrip which accompanies her Blatherings webjournal. I thought I'd mention it again because so many people are enjoying her trip through reading LOTR for the FIRST time."



Many thanks to the folks at TheOneRing.net!


I find it highly amusing that the traffic on my LOTR site is higher now that I'm taking a short break during Andrea's visit. Also find it pretty cool...I love it when an online community reaches a point where it's pretty much self-sustaining. In some ways, the Tolkien fan community is very similar to the Inkspot community. Hope I get to meet some of them in person someday. :-)


Sent in my brief review/blurb of Moira's book about queries and proposals yesterday (which I *highly recommend*, by the way). So this means that, as of today,




I am officially on my sabbatical, woohoo!




I hereby declare that I am not taking on any new work-related projects until the fall (where "work" is defined as any project with a deadline or that's not completely frivolous/fun). If you notice me breaking this vow, feel free to yell at me. I mean it.


I'm having great fun with my Waiting for Frodo comic, and getting lots of suggestions from users about what could happen in the movie line-up.


After forcing Andrea to do a Guest Blathering yesterday, we went to Fune for dinner. Briefly considered going to a movie but ended up just chatting instead, and playing some music. Jeff hung out with us for a bit, then retreated to his home office to do play network Quake (his favourite Friday night activity these days). I'm trying to convince Andrea and Tom to move to Toronto.


Going to hang out with Allison and Jodi this afternoon. :-) Andrea will be posting tomorrow, I think.


Today's Blatherpic:

Andrea, last night. She played her cover of "Homecoming" for me. LOVED her version. :-)

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Andrea)

Have you ever lied about your age?

startup.com

News/Updates/Links (5:59 pm EST) Andrea just got here! :-) See her Guest Blathering below. Jodi is looking for a job. "Does your company need the sort of skills involved in the creation and promotion of a site like The Muse's Muse? If you're looking for a Marketing professional with a special emphasis on the web and six + years experience in that respect, I'm looking for you. And it doesn't matter where you're located around the world. The web is a wonderful thing." If you're interested, please contact her. Waiting For Frodo updated. (Globetechnology.com) Chapters and Indigo plan to combine their bookstore Web sites. Humour: (The Onion) "Dot-commers to receive unemployment benefits in form of stock options". Journals: Paul has a conversation with his 11-week-year-old son. Kate talks kitsch. Luisa loses words.

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Guest Blathering From Andrea

Oh my God, Debbie's office has a window!! (I guess it was hidden behind all of her "stuff" the last time I visited.)


As you may have guessed, I am now sitting in Debbie's revamped office, which is STILL incredibly organized (well, except for all of the books piled up sideways on the top of her bookshelves . . . )


I've been here for a total of five minutes, and Debbie has already asked, uh begged me, to do a "Blathering" :-) We've already planned out part of the weekend, with Debbie and I going out to dinner tonight, and tomorrow I'll spend the day with Debbie, Allison and Jodi, eating, talking, playing music and just messing around . . . Fun!!


I left my husband (Tom) and our four month old son, Nicholas sitting in the living room playing together. This weekend Tom and Nicholas can "Bond" *grin* Hopefully Nicholas doesn't wake Tom up for more than two feedings a night.


I'll sign-off for now . . . I want to go play Gwyneth Paltrow!

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Did the usual Pickle Barrel/mall thing with Allison and Jodi last night; our evenings are tending to end a bit earlier these days.


When I got home, I called Jeff to find out what he was up to. On impulse, I decided to join Jeff and Scott M. for a visit to Sam's/HMV, and then to see Startup.com, where Parki joined us.


LOVED this documentary. I suspect only techies and those with direct experience with the dot-com craze will really appreciate this flick, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I was astounded at how much the documentary paralleled my own experience with a dot-com startup. Some of the dialogue could have been lifted directly from conversations and company meetings I had attended in Philly.

Liked one of the user comments posted on IMDB about the movie, and agree completely:



For all those people who think everyone involved in the internet revolution became an instant millionaire, see this movie and understand the reality of 98% of the internet companies that were started, and eventually, failed.



After the movie, we went to Fran's for shakes and hot chocolate (I had the hot chocolate :)). Somehow the conversation moved from discussion of the movie to an interesting conversation about rude slang terms. I think the topic came up when one of them used a particular phrase, and I asked him what it meant. They all looked at me as if I had just told them I was pregnant. They couldn't believe I had never heard of this slang term, claimed that it was commonly used. Commonly used where? I asked. Was there some guy manual about this sort of thing? No, they said that most women knew of the term, even if they didn't use it themselves.


I'm going to quiz some of my female friends to see if this is true.


Today's Blatherpics:


- Andrea while she was typing her Guest Blathering a few minutes ago.


- Took this photo when Jeff and I visited Chapters the other day because we both thought the concept was hilarious. It takes 24 one-hour lessons to learn how to use ICQ?! I'd say 15 minutes is more accurate. Out of curiosity, I checked Amazon to see what else people could learn in 24 hours. Some of the more amusing/scary titles include: "Sams Teach Yourself the Internet in 24 Hours", "Alpha Teach Yourself Management Skills in 24 Hours", "Macmillan Teach Yourself Latin in 24 Hours", "Macmillan Teach Yourself Investing in 24 Hours", "Sams Teach Yourself COBOL in 24 Hours".

Feel free to suggest a daily poll question.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Chris Conway)

Will you answer no in the following poll?