You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2007.
So no one can think that I have only been abusing my Press privileges just to have the perks, I posted the first of my Otakon 2007 coverage articles: 20 Questions With Seki Tomokazu. The questions were compiled from two Q&A sessions held by the convention that many con-goers went to and participated in.
More to come, from me, includes:
- Tokyopop licenses
- Convention report (pics will be included)
- Triple A Otakon 2007 Concert reaction (might be a section of my con report)
- Byousoku 5 Centimeter Full Impression PReview [tentative] (pictures would only come from the 1st of 3 parts, unfortunately)
There were ten A-Source staff members, including myself, covering the con in various venues. I was usually on my own for the information I gathered, but we have already begun reporting on a few things already. I have arrived home from our staff gathering about two hours ago, and others are either back home or still traveling. Once we can get ourselves together, hopefully there will be plenty of reports to make anyone feel as though they had a chance to experience Otakon 2007 like we did. And what an experience it was for all of us.
On Saturday morning, with only one minute before the Dealer’s Room opened, my associate and I bypassed the massive line and waltzed right up to the Applegeeks/Megatokyo booth. The result: I’m on the Applegeeks website…! The snazzy-looking Japanese student that was the first to receive the limited edition EVE PVC figure…yeah. That’s me. The guy peeking behind me is actually one of the other guys from A-Source that got a picture with Hawk right after me. I know there are a lot of people who didn’t get one and couldn’t show at the con, so I hope they are able to order more, since they totally sold out.
I don’t know why I’m so shocked, since I anticipated this happening…but I am still ridiculously giddy and privileged to have met Hawk and Ananth finally and to have been the first to get the box in my hands. They’re such cool guys really and got to shake both their hands. Hawk does come off as slightly intimidating, yet extremely friendly. I even had a talk with Ananth on Friday about what happened to him updating his blog and writing in general. Such an awesome experience to meet such talented individuals. I just wish I had a chance to really interview them because I would have.
By the way, I did meet Fred Gallagher and chatted with him while he sketched Piroko in my Megatokyo Vol. 2 book. More on that later. The moral of the story: Being noted as Press (or any kind of VIP) at a convention roxorz…a lot…especially if you are a fan.
It’s been a long time since I have done straight creative writing without breainstorming a direct idea to work from. So, I decided to do some free-writing today of 1000 words max. I did 1016, which took me around two hours. Time taken doesn’t matter though. The goal was word count. I kind of like where my idea went…
P.S. If you want to know the dialogue, then please leave a comment. I did this purposely for practice. I don’t have any intentions of romanizing it any further than it is.
…and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Anyone who reads this blog might not realize how much reading I do in regards to those who are prominent names in the blogosphere. Not to mention that since I am a Windows user (only partly by choice), the amount of Mac-related information I eat up on a semi-daily basis may not strike others as “duh, I knew you did that.” Well I do, and because I do, I have been receiving tons of Facebook pressure that I have generally just been keeping tabs on as the Facebook applications hype spreads like wildfire. I link to those articles in particular because Scobleizer has undeniably played an influential part in really breaking down the physics behind what makes Facebook such an incredible networking tool rather than just a social conglomeration of addicted students, high school and college alike. I’m sorry, but this guy has his head screwed on straight in terms of the tech world and generating profitable responses that ultimately make his quality of living easier. I’m very interested in the steps bloggers are taking to remain conveniently networked, but I don’t generally see myself as an asset to anyone in the Digital Media business.
Why have I been resisting the pressure? Simply because since the beginning of Facebook — when it open for hip college students only — it was rapidly becoming a fad that boded similarly with me to what MySpace had become. Having only joined in the hope to find a means of contact with my girlfriend who I had been forcefully separated from, I had no desire to become a part of that, as I am already a highly distracted individual already. But now, what was just the cool thing to do among college students is now exploding into a fad among the web working adult, which I consider myself to be. Yet, I continued resisting since all these little third-party apps that were being put out by Facebook were not compelling or worthwhile to me to incorporate that website in my daily affairs.
This is not to say that I didn’t find some of the apps a bit curious. Twitter reaches out to thousands of users across the globe at once simply to tell them “what are you doing right now,” which could put me in touch with various persons who might be interested in what I blog about or that I could just practice Japanese with. That could become irritating and bothersome if not put on a leash. Pownce is apparently living up to the hype that’s surrounding it, with its major purpose being a glorified instant messenger…if the person is also a member of course. I stopped using AIM two years ago for a reason — I don’t need another intrusive distraction of an application. Picnik is the one app that I have used (not on FB) and can appreciate for its cut-and-dry method of editing pictures without all the bells and whistles of Photoshop. The site’s UI is gorgeous, and is a testament to the power that Flash can boast when used for the side of creative good. Very useful for when I’m feeling too lazy to transfer an image to my laptop just so I can resize it in Photoshop.
And now…the WordPress application. Something that is not only useful to me in garnering an audience in probably the most efficient and simplest method possible — the only work I do is setting up the app to my account, and FB does the rest — but is advantageous in a way that I would care enough to involve FB in my daily life. Not to mention, my Japanese club buddies would directly benefit from making keeping up with my blog as easy as being a FB addict. Though this and other features has brought about a total turnaround in the usability of the mini-feed feature that made me turn my nose up at Facebook even more, I still see this as an over-saturation of personal information that only a daily FB user could maintain.
Congratulations, Facebook. You have another convert…for now. I just hate the fact how I keep hearing the otaku motto “one of us, one of us” chanting in my head…Speaking of otaku, I leave for Baltimore today for Otakon weekend. I may have more on my conversion when I return…or sooner.
Commentary