Green Room - Week 28 - Day 6

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

One of the things that I love so much about LJ IDOL is that there are so many layers to it, so many moving parts. There are cogs within cogs - all moving toward a single goal of making for the best experience possible for everyone.

Some of those cogs are things specifically for the contestants - the people actively engaged in writing the entries.

Some are for the readers - encouraging people to read and support their favorites.

Some are for the viewers - which might seem like the same as above, but from a "production standpoint", there are people who follow the community, who enjoy seeing things play out, but may not always have the time to read.

Some are just for me, to keep *me* engaged and interested!

Some are for the community itself - which is a hodgepodge of all those other elements, but often has an agenda all of its own! ;)

And of course, some of it is combination of all of these things, all boiled down in the great melting pot that is Idol.

Which, of course, is really no different than anything else. Rarely is anything "just a thing".... there's usually a lot more to it.

When I say "LJ IDOL IS NOT JUST A WRITING COMPETITION", the emphasis is on the "Just". It's more. Depending on what you want to get out of it, the track record is pretty clear - it can be a *whole lot* more.

Of course, other people put the emphasis on the "NOT". Some look at "writing" and "Journal" in the word "Livejournal" and make their distinction there.

Or "Idol" and see nothing more than "American Idol".

Or "competition".

I haven't heard anyone just concentrate on the word "a". But I'm sure they are out there. ;)

Ultimately, the system ends up working out, combining all of those elements (and more) and creating an experience unique and compelling enough to bring people back for years on end... with folks more or less getting what they wanted from it!

I have every confidence that things will continue in that way for this season as well.

That said - there are always those who get caught up in the "competition" angle. I won't lie, there are benefits to having them around - because it's rare when at least a few of the people they bring in don't end up becoming as addicted, and addicted (in the case of Idol) is a good thing. :)

But they also have to be careful. Because there has never been a time when someone didn't get caught up with "getting the vote out" and missed that there is a social element as well (because there is a social element to *pretty much everything* in life), one that can catch up to you sooner or later.

Encouraging voting is good. Nothing wrong with that at all. Discouraging people from coming out is really not in anyone's best interests.

Just make sure that you are balancing it with reminding people to read and comment on other people's entries as well. Responsible voting - and not just voting down the ballot "party line" style.

I know, you can't control what other people are going to do - there is no way to make them listen to you... if there was, I would be using it all the time! :)

But beating it into their heads is a useful option, when needed.

I say this quite often, and I always mean it - you get what you put into Idol. If it's negative energy, that never ends well. For anyone.

***
Speaking of writing and supporting people - there is a poll going on *right now*! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/806700.html

So get on out there and spread the word, for people to (responsibly) support their favorites!

Comments

[mac-arthur-park.livejournal.com]

Frist?

Dang it, you beat me.

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

You're also dead to me.

EMPHASIS ON "A"

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

LJ IDOL IS NOT JUST *A* WRITING COMPETITION!!!

IT IS *THE* WRITING COMPETITION!!!

SO THERE. :P

Re: EMPHASIS ON "A"

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

Ha! Well played.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was trying to think of a good example of the differences between the different cogs - and Season 4 came to mind.

It was *extremely* stressful on the contestants.
The readers enjoyed it because there was a lot of talent.
The viewers may have been the most engaged of any season - because there were just so many "trainwreck" elements happening, that kept them glued to their seats.

Since then, the balance has shifted to more and more of a "calmer" experience for the contestants. Still stressful in it's own way, but not "OMG, I'm completely melting down!!"

Which, IMO, has been a good thing. (this season early stages was actually an example of that change, anyone who tried to stir anything up, got voted out!)

But a little tension isn't completely a bad thing either. :)

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

They only two examples of stirring I remember were don't_be_first and don't_be_second, were there more? :O

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid drama... Or at least, Drama with a capital-D - as much as possible. This has been a very pleasant season (except for Nathalie's death) for which I am very thankful!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Then other wholly-engaged season I remember was Season 6 where people came in from the Harry Potter community. Great writing and, like Season 4, people practically lived here in the GR. It was the first season I remember where people started playing with different structures, be it screenplays or comics or what-have-you.

As I've said before, I think community engagement, in part, reflects the greater LJ community. Before Facebook, it was very easy to "gather your tribe", so to speak, and have everything play out here. Now that people are scattered, it's more difficult to do so unless "your tribe" is one of the few still around. If people are, as lrig_rorrim explains downthread, more introverted compared to the past, then yeah, everything is much more circumspect for the viewer. Circumspection leads to the infamous LJ Idol Conspiracy Theory Lab :D

I'll come right out and say it: THIS is what I miss about the Idol heyday. It was MUCH MORE than "just a writing competition". There was enough stuff going on to engage people whether you were still playing or not. I realize that 1) those days are gone, and 2) I'm a lot more extroverted online than I am in person ;)

[reckless-blues.livejournal.com]

Eesh. What happened season 4?

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Speaking of the parts.

You have just said that the last two persons who left were in place 50 and 51. Does it mean there will be a list of the top 50? If so, I think it's better to have everyone eliminated in a given week (or byeing out) share the same place, because the fact that someone got the least amount of votes on that particular poll is inconsequential.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I mentioned it because people seem to like numbers. :)

(as well as pointing out there is no one coming back into the game at this point - so where you finish is where you finish)

I highly doubt that I will be listing everyone's finishing place. I'm sure other people will though. (knowing them :D)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I keep coming back to this comment. You've got me curious...

some would say the *only* thing that matters (numbers-wise) is where you finish on your final week.

Why do you feel it shouldn't matter?

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

I agree that Idol is a lot more than just a writing contest! For one thing, it's a fabulously weird community! We're all thrown into this pressure cooker together, and we both support each other and compete against each other. We're reading and thinking and commenting (sometimes more than others - heh) and writing and voting and wanting to stay in, but also finding other people to cheer for, to help, to lift up. We end up sharing odd bits of ourselves we didn't intend to - either through our writing, or here in the GR, or behind the scenes when we make friends. It's pretty damned neat.

It's also kind of exhausting. Heh. Not just the writing, of course - that part I'm keeping up with fairly well, I think, but the interaction and reaction part of Idol. The part where you read all the things and comment on as many of the things as you're inclined, and respond to the comments on your things, and interact here in the GR and and and... those things are fabulous, and the way we make connections. But we're a bunch of mostly introverted writers (I'd bet good money we're mostly introverts, anyway), with busy lives and a host of other social obligations we also commit to, and 'round about now with the holidays coming up and the weather turning chillier and all that, it's harder and harder to maintain that community spirit.

So! I propose some fun and quirky things! I ran an unofficial gift exchange earlier in the year, and that went pretty well. How about we do something like that again, but easier - this time it'll be a used book exchange.

We all like stories, right? I'd bet good money again that we all have rather a lot of books in our respective places of residence. If there's interest, I'll post a sign-up sheet in my journal, and organize the thing.

We can also do a mixed CD exchange, because music is neat. We can wait until, say, mid-December for that one, so folks will (hopefully) be getting music in the mail around the turn of the new year.

Little things like this help us have something small and concrete to connect to the dots and lines on the screen, to the entries we see each week. It's revitalizing and fun to make a new discovery in your mailbox. Let's do this thing. :)

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I like both those ideas. Even something simple like a holiday card exchange would be fun!

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Books, cards... Either way, I'm in! AW

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

I would totally be up for a used book or card exchange. The mixed CD has me a little nervous because my taste in music is oh so mainstream with lots of musicals thrown in, or about as definitively uncool as it's possible to be, but I'd still try it.

[reckless-blues.livejournal.com]

BOOK EXCHANGE!!!!!!

I don't really like music - I only listen to it when I'm in a very specific mood, and then it's usually traditional music like throat singing - but if there's also a CD thing I will culture the shit out of whoever gets stuck with me.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

but... but... i don't want to get rid of any of my books! i love the idea of a cd exchange, tho.

[jexia]

This sounds SO FUN, even if overseas postage in NZ would be prohibitive for me :)

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Hey All!
I'm watchin' the cuteness.
This is my kind of drama. Here, see for yourself: http://adoptedwriter.livejournal.com/309671.html

[medleymisty.livejournal.com]

I've found this season that the best way for me to deal with Idol Angst is to never look at the polls after I vote, and to not take the votes at all personally, and to accept that at some point I will be voted out no matter what I do or how well I write, and that when it happens it won't be the end of the world and I will have more time for Sims and WoW.

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

"...to accept that at some point I will be voted out no matter what I do or how well I write, and that when it happens it won't be the end of the world and I will have more time for Sims and WoW."

I think this is a super healthy attitude. I mean, there's only going to be one of us for whom that isn't true (I don't think pulling off a tie like in Exhibit B will happen again... heh), and keeping that in mind helps keep everything in perspective. And in the meantime, hey neat, you've made more awesome things and put them into the world! :D

I solemnly swear I will comment more...

[favoritebean.livejournal.com]

Hi....

Today is my birthday, and I am almost recovered from last week.

I hope to comment more on entries this week. Last week, I tried and morphine laced gibberish came out. This week it will just be gibberish.

[rattsu.livejournal.com]

I came in during season 6, and yeah, there was a lot of greenrooming then. And a LoT of drama. Was that the season of the boobgate? Or was that 7? I can't remember.

What I do remember was the HUGE debate/battle of whether it was a WRITING competition or a JOURNALING competition. I mean 6 was the season where people were just straight up saying, they wouldn't vote for fiction because it wasn't as real as real life stories... Of course that was also the season I had a lot of time to comment because I hadn't gotten started writing yet, so I still had some spare time. And well, not many people I know still have their LJ up and running, I'm mostly on tumblr these days.

Also, am I the only one that got the vibe from Gary's latest posts that there are some low level possible voting shenanigans going on? Obviously they haven't affected the results yet or we'd hear more about them, but... this is usually the time when they pops out.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

It feels like it was Season 6. I could go back and check, but that's my gut instinct. :)

Yeah. I definitely remember that. It came on the heels of Season 5, when one of "the first REAL fiction writers" came close to winning. (quotes and capital letters used because that's how she was seen at the time. Other people had done fiction, but not exclusively - and she did the best out of all of them)
It was definitely an "Idol cultural war" - and I came down on the "It's a Livejournal competition" being that (1) it was on livejournal and (2) that included EVERYTHING people posted on livejournal. So when people started complaining about Tea's cartoons - that was as much a part of livejournal as someone's piece of fiction or their real life experience.
All of those involve writing. But that's not how some people's heads work, or how they process things, so that message continues (to this day) to be somewhat muddled.

The extent of the "shenanigans" is that there are some people who receive single votes, either early on or toward the end. Meaning that people are coming and only voting for them. Usually in a burst - which means that someone posted a "Go Vote" reminder.

There are some people who really don't like that and they have been telling me so, I decided to address it in public. :)