Green Room - Week 21- Day 2

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was looking at the Top 10, trying to figure out if I had anything to say to them individually. I was asked to do so by a contestant, and I like to try to follow up on these types of requests.

So I took a look - and I realized something. Of the Top 10, 7 of them are on my "They are going to win" mental list. Which isn't to say that the other 3 are dead in the water. Quite the contrary, I think they actually have pretty strong chances to make it to the end and could pull off an upset. What I'm saying, or attempting to say, at the very least is that I can easily come up with scenarios where it's any one of 7 of the remaining 10 contestants that ends up in the winner's circle, and people being really happy about it.

I even, briefly, considered a "Why you won't win" list with the same sort of anonymous listing of factors of why I thought all 10 might end up going out. But I'm not sure that's entirely constructive, even if I'm probably right. ;) (Obviously I will be wrong about one of them!)

***

In other news: May the 4th Be With You!

I also saw that the new Ghostbusters trailer had the worst reviews of all time. My first thought was "F- the MRAs" because they have been trashing this movie since it was first revealed there would be an all-female cast. I've actually been pretty excited about the movie.

Then I watched the trailer. It's definitely not *the worst* trailer of all time. But my excitement for the film has definitely taken a hit. Really hoping that it's better than it seems, because I really don't want to give the MRAs an "We told you so!" moment. (which would have *nothing* to do with having an all-female cast", but that would certainly give them ammunition in the "See, we're not being sexist, we just knew it was going to be bad" argument)

***

The new topics are waiting for you: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927053.html

as well as a new Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/927346.html

Comments

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, the Star Trek trailer comes off kind of bad too. Just mention that to the MRAs and ask if it's Uhura's fault. ;-)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that yet! Now I need to... and yes, I'm sure it would be all her fault, for multiple reasons!

We need more movies with white guys.

Speaking of - Really excited about Captain America: Civil War! (and I *hated* the comic series on which it was based)

F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Reasons why the Top 10 might not win:

One of those things is not like the others (2 people, in different ways)
Precedent/inside baseball reasons (2 people or 2 1/2)
Not actually playing to win (1 person or 1/2)
Danger of self-destruct (3 people)
Playing too safe/under the radar (2 people)

RE: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[prog-schlock.livejournal.com]

Certain lyrics from "Yesterday" by The Beatles spring to mind. :D

I too can be cryptic, just not as well as you.

Re: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

None of these have anything to do with the writing. Because honestly, writing wise, I think any of the 10 could end up taking this. It's a *strong* group.

Re: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[orockthro.livejournal.com]

Well this is *fascinating*
8D

Re: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[whipchick.livejournal.com]

Reasons why the Top Ten will win:


Confidence in own writing (7/10)

Huge outside-LJ voting block (5/10)

Vast LJ friends list (4/10)

Knows how to "play the game"... (9/10)

...and is willing to do it (7/10)

Panders to voters with style/material (4/10)

Doesn't care about winning, just wants to write (at least 3, possibly as many as 9/10)

Respected Idol elder (6/10)

Completely un-secret alliance (5/10)

Too busy writing to be baited (10/10)

Support from fellow Top Ten writers (10/10)

Re: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

I think there's more than one person not playing to win, although I bet I know who you were thinking of!

Re: F- It... might as well stir something up while I have the thought. :)

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

People who are now mind-fucked because they think at least three of those are probably about them? (1)

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

By the way, folks, when Gary dropped oh so casually that "there's something interesting happening on Facebook" he meant it.

The choice of next week's topics is going on over there, so paying attention to this here (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1095649113791621&id=120173881339154) is a good idea, and will potentially help out a lot with next week's writing, giving a heads up to at least some of what's coming. If you have a FB account and are comfortable or able to do so, chiming in with topic suggestions and/or 'likes' to pick the topics could potentially have an even bigger impact on things.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Emphasis on "and feel comfortable/able to do so". Because a lot of people aren't.

Honestly - my hope is to catch the interest of people who *aren't already checking out this mini season*. Former Idolers/Friends of friends... I want to grow the base.

So, absolutely - feel free to submit your ideas. But if you ARE in a position to let other people know, that would help a great deal! :)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

The Facebook thing is actually kind of dismaying to me, since I keep my RL and Idol/journal identities completely separate. I can't incorporate any Facebook influence at all, in fact, and it's looking as if that is more and more part of the game. :(

The top of this post is depressing all on its own!

No opinion about Ghostbusters other than not really liking remakes of movie that don't need to be remade. Write your own stuff! Even if it's an extension of the franchise, for the love of all that is holy, do your own work!

If someone can create a story like Ex Machina, you can do it too! (Geez-- I went looking for movies in the 2015 Top 100 that I had seen and were not derivative/remakes/sequels, and the only other thing I could vouch for was "Inside Out." Two out of a hundred! Yikes.)

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

*nods* You're not the only one. I'm not super committed to keeping my FB and LJ separate, but I know other folks are (including one contestant who effectively doesn't even HAVE a FB). This seems like a pretty significant advantage - being able to effectively choose yet another topic, for which one may be super-prepared. I dunno. I feel weird about it. Feeling weird about FB is one of the things I'm really, really good at doing, though.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The only way it's "a part of the game" is that people are going to be suggesting topics.

Social media isn't going away, if anything things are becoming more and more interconnected. I've tried to keep that to the minimum (as much as Livejournal will let me) - and will continue to do so. But I've also seen the numbers. It used to be that the contestants spread the word of mouth and got more readers and the next generation of contestants. That's still happening - but because of Livejournal's decline, it's a lot smaller than it used to be.

It's not something that I'm particular good at - and have my own discomfort in trying to figure out the correct balance to make everything work. (One of the reasons I brought in an assistant). So hopefully we can figure out where that line needs to be together.

If we want Idol to continue, as anything other than a private club for a handful of people that will probably ebb and flow over the next year or so, I'm going to have to be willing to try to engage potential readers/contestants in other places so that we can drag them back here!!

***

A friend of mine worked on "Inside Out.", and I loved it, so I'm fine with that! :) Of course, now it makes me wonder how many of the 2015 Topic 100 I managed to see!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I've deleted the promotion.

Which I'm sure is going to piss off another group of people. But I just read gratefuladdict's comment and made the call.

[gratefuladdict.livejournal.com]

I really, really appreciate it.

And I hope you know that while I respect all the work you put in here, the thing I respect about you most in this game is the way you listen to feedback and care about our feelings, rather than just digging in because you can.

Send the pissed off people to me. I'm pretty sure I'm the only old school Idol villain left this time around. :)

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I've gone from feeling vaguely uncomfortable, to specifically uncomfortable (once I worked out what all was bugging me about it), to being very happy that it's no longer a thing. <3

My follow up statement on Facebook

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

"
LJ Idol
1 min ·
Thank you to everyone who participated in the "pick a topic" promotion. But I want to respect the current contestants wishes, and privacy and made the decision to pull the plug.
There will be more ways of getting involved with Idol in the near future though, so I hope you come along for the ride!"


(way of getting involved = signing up for the 10th anniversary celebrations. Not picking topics)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

If my goal was to stir up Green Room conversations - I'd say I won today! ;)

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

:P Congratulations?

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

YAY!

(I could say "without my help" but that'd be patting my own back a bit too much, LOL)

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The mystery is solved once and for all: http://comicbook.com/starwars/2016/05/04/even-greedo-thinks-han-shot-first-in-star-wars/

[prog-schlock.livejournal.com]

Han was not throwing way his shot.

From my upcoming musical "HANilton."

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

A special thanks to the people who have been sending me emails. The overwhelming amount of them have been *quite* different than what is here in the Green Room. I appreciate the support, and reminding me that there are indeed a *lot* of different opinions and voices in the Idolverse, even if people can't always hear them.

You've given me a lot to think about going forward.

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Gary, I noticed that Idol doesn't seem to have a presence on Dreamwidth. A lot of LJ folks (who still like to write and ponder) jumped over there at one time. Would it hurt to put a link over there? My pimping posts get cross-posted over there, though I think I've only ever enticed LJ locals to sign up.

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

Well..er..I guess I am way too late to join in the conversation..but being there as a contestant and right now trying to help Gary with his work of promotion makes me think from both the sides.

So what lrig_rorrim Suggested "I really do think that in this specific instance this specific promotion just... didn't quite work, on a few different levels. I think there are lots of ways to promote LJI, and I encourage you to experiment and find them! Also, brainstorming here with us might be a fun thing to do, too, and then you can get the contestant perspective on things, too. (and possibly avoid uncomfortable stuff in the future. Possibly.)"
Makes a lot more sense and we are open to suggestions..we sure are in the experimental stage wherein we want people from different social media to take notice and peep in..better still get hooked and vote. (Right now we have the best of writers churning out great stuff which can serve that purpose, according to Gary..I agree as well..:))
Major hurdle being many of us (including me) don't want RL to mix up with LJ profile.We need to figure out a way to work around that.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

LOL, I noticed I missed a lot, too, when I went offline last night!

Major hurdle being many of us (including me) don't want RL to mix up with LJ profile.We need to figure out a way to work around that.

Exactly. It's the reason why I've never pimped Idol outside of LJ nor promoted myself as Real-Name-Me anywhere online.

I mentioned what happened with my husband re FB upthread and how he's stopped writing for sites he'd be writing for the past decade or so because FB so graciously (I'm saying that sarcastically) linked his username to him. He had a huge following with that username and is known in certain circles by only that username. Very similar to here, actually. He's a great writer. He knows about Idol because of me. He could've mentioned Idol in any of the places where he writes, but he won't now, not since all this happened.

...which gives me a thought: Who do "we" know who has a presence in a writerly-type place that would be willing to sponsor an advert or something for Idol? It's a thought...? Because I'm thinking it's places like that where I think we'd be more successful in pulling in people.