LJ Idol Presents:

Another week, another close set of results, and once again we have the job of saying goodbye to both long time Idol friends and supporters as well as a talented newbie.

Before we get the results though, there is the matter of the Power of Veto. This was the final week where it could be used. It was not used… and becomes a paperweight.

There is also the matter of the Immunity that is being handed out by those participating in the Home Game/Killing Floor - if there wasn’t already enough incentive to get involved with that - having the power to keep someone safe in the game, hopefully that will tip more people over the edge to participate!

This week it was (as seems to be the case all over) a close vote, but ultimately they awarded immunity to tsuki_no_bara. It wasn’t needed. But I’m sure it was still appreciated.

Which means neither of those two things ended up impacting the results, and we say goodbye to

meridian_rose
kehlen_crow
emo_snal
adoptedwriter

Thank you to all of you for coming out this season, and I hope we continue to see you in the Home Game (and hanging out in the Green Room!)

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!

The next time someone tells you that something is impossible - remind them that Charles Manson is engaged.

If that can happen, there is hope for the rest of us to accomplish anything.

Either that, or it's proof that the world is beyond redemption and we are all doomed!

It's one of those.

***

While you are pondering which one, keep in mind that the DEADLINE to get your entries in is TONIGHT: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805095.html

I repeat that - TONIGHT.

I repeat it because, judging from the last couple times I've said it, there will be someone who will post to this thread saying "When is the deadline?" or "I thought it was tomorrow"... ;)

It's Tonight.

If you have posted, excellent! If you haven't - http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/806189.html (there is also a Work Room to figure out any problems you having: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805341.html)

If you want to Home Game it, or discuss the Home Game entries giving constructive criticism via the Killing Floor, there's a place to do that! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805793.html

***

What are YOUR moments that either give you hope or convince you that we are doomed?

Today's special guests in the Green Room include: Bill Cosby, who will be showing everyone how to properly mix drinks and a fashion show by Dr Matt Taylor, who may give us an update on the current situation with the comet-landing a little later, if he has time!

Welcome guys! Nice of you to make it!

***

Note: For some reason, it appears that both of our special guests have cancelled. It guess it's just us today!

***

Oh well. We have a topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805095.html
and a Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805341.html
and a Home Game/Killing Floor: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805793.html that could end up impacting the results this week!

We also have "What did you do this weekend?"

So, how was it? What did you do?

"By the Numbers" - because I know there are definitely some folks here that enjoy an assortment of facts:


I've tried something a little different the last couple weeks when it comes to voting. I've been trying to raise some awareness of the fantastic writing that is happening here.

The first week I tried advertising through Livejournal itself. Virtually no response and there isn't really a report to measure the numbers.

So the following week(s) I've gone with Facebook, to see what the difference was.

Per Facebook, the voting post reached the "eyes" of 1,244 people. I use quotes because that just means that they scrolled past it while they were on their phone or computer. Of those people, *26* of them clicked through to the link.

Of those, 3 of them are now following LJ Idol on FB.

How many of them actually voted? There were a total of *6* votes from Facebook, and most of those were names that I'd seen before. (Note: none of the "new followers" actually voted)

(Note: There were also 2 votes from Google+ and 2 votes from Twitter - in other words, there were 10 votes cast from non-LJ accounts. Out of 137!)

I know that building up a name is something that happens slowly and through repetition. But when I saw that icon on poll say that it had been shared on FB "69 times", I was expecting a bigger bang than that! (It went from 11 normally, to 47 to 69 in the weeks where there has been advertising, which means that the LJ "FB shares" thing might be adding some numbers to the count based on FB's repostings)

The good news in all of that - there seems to be only 2 people (and the second one is a "maybe") who "double voted" (used more than one account), and it didn't impact anything. That's always a concern, which is why I keep an eye on it. (I'll be talking to them later, I'm sure it was an oversight)

Ultimately, what this means is the best form of promotion is still word of mouth. If you love what you are seeing here: TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT. Get them to show up and get to read, and support, some really talented new writers!

(Sure, they might originally come just to support you, but if they are reading, they are bound to find some other great folks as well!)

***

More numbers, because of the tie, we are now at 51 contestants. So we're hanging on the edge of that Top 50.

Which means this week is *the* last time to use your byes and the last chance for the Power of Veto to be used.

There appear to be 11 people remaining who still have one to use, and one person with two!

***

Just went through and updated the "approximate number of LJ Idol entries" figure. These are entries that were created for LJ Idol: 19,639. Not bad. I wonder who is going to end up writing #20,000???

I'll just go ahead and throw out the definition from Wiki, for the new topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/805095.html or at least the first part of it.

Because having a starting point for your thought process can be helpful:

"In physical cosmology, the Copernican principle, named after Nicolaus Copernicus, states that Earth is not in a central, specially favored position in the universe.[1] More recently, the principle has been generalized to the relativistic concept that humans are not privileged observers of the universe.[2] In this sense, it is equivalent to the mediocrity principle, with important implications for the philosophy of science."


***
"I'll just go ahead and throw out the definition from Wiki..." is a lousy way to grab your attention. My only reason I can get away with it is that I have a bit of a captive audience. ;)

You're not as lucky. You need to grab someone from the first sentence and make them *want* to read more.

What is your favorite "OMG... I need to read more" opening line, and what did you learn from it for crafting your own?

I spent most of yesterday finishing Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart. The last part of the book really got to me and really had me in a melancholy mood most of the day.

It's really good. But stirred up some stuff that needed to be processed.

Oddly enough, the main character is obsessed with books, in a world where they are relics. The fact that I checked this out of the library, due to the resurgence of it in my life, didn't escape me. Maybe I'm longing for that time as well.

After all, I practically grew up in a library! I was fortunate enough to be able to go to work with my Mom during my pre-school years, and even more fortunate that she was a librarian. So, I got to wander around the children's department all day, finding new friends on every shelf.

It's one those periods in your life that sticks with you forever.

I kept that love into adulthood, but - for whatever reason, it faded. I no longer felt a connection to that place.

Maybe it was falling in love with a woman who loves the library as much as I used to - or maybe it was just getting to spend some time there that was enough to rekindle it. Maybe it just the right time to come back into the fold of people who come in for something other than to ask how to turn on the computer! ;)

Whatever it was, I'm glad that it happened, and I hope that it will continue.

The next two books in my stack: I Am an Executioner: Love Stories from Rajesh Parameswaran and Long Way Back:A Novel by Brendan Halpin

(for those following the "books that Gary might be recommending, but check back with him later, after he has read them")

Thank you to all the numerous librarians out there in Idol-land. I know you are many. Thank you for continuing to fight the good fight.

***

For those who want to "fight the good fight" in Idol - the contestant only poll is still open, and still very much anyone's game: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/570851.html so, if you are a current contestant, you should get over there and select your favorites, and send that list to me!

Sometimes life slaps you harder than Will Smith would. But hopefully, this weekend went better than that for you!

You do have the topic due today after all! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/569110.html
The Work Room is still open for people who need extra help: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/569578.html
And the Home Game thread is still open for people who want to push it over the top! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/569864.html

Personally, I had a fantastic weekend. Which means that I will be taking it out on you! Because someone should be miserable! ;D
That's how it works, right?

People have asked for a Home Game thread for “Walking on Egg Shells”.

This is the thread.

If you are no longer in the competition/never were in the first place and want to write on this, go ahead and link your entry back here!

The topic has been posted, http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/569110.html
so now it’s time to get to work again!

I gave you an extra day (well, the end of Survivor did. But I’ll take credit for it) so you have a little extra time to hone your entries into what you want them to be.

I’m still seeing some formatting issues - really small type that makes it difficult to read, formatting that just goes wonky, people forgetting to unlock their posts so people can read them. You know, little things that could end up costing. We are so deep in this now that anything like that could very well end your run.

Which would be a shame because I happen to think you are the strongest Top 40 to date. I’m hoping that you will be the strongest Top 30...20... and so on! :)

There is still a way to go, but the end is within sight for those with a telescope handy! ;)