Recent Reads: The Art of Asking

[mizkit]

I found THE ART OF ASKING to be a rather strange read.

A lot of it was familiar to me in one way or another: I’ve watched Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk, I followed her Kickstarter and its aftermath, I periodically read her blog, I used to read Neil Gaiman’s blog regularly, etc. I’m not a fan of either Palmer or Gaiman, which is to say their art doesn’t

Comments

[deborahblakehps]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about the blogging/connecting. I'm amazed by how well some folks do it, but I don't know how to become one of those people, or if I would choose to even if I could. I know I would probably be more successful as an author if I was, I don't know, more willing to raw-ly expose my life (although frankly, it is pretty boring, unless you are very fond of cats and living in the country). But I'm a pretty private person and I already find it kind of a stretch to be constantly talking about me, me, me (and my books and my cats). And then, of course, there is the amount of time it takes. Let me know if you magically figure out the answer, will you?

[mizkit]

I'd do it in a heartbeat if I knew how, but yeah. It's a pretty strange old world right now. :)

[deborahblakehps]

Well, so would I. I'm just too boring :-)

[gows]

I think, quite honestly, that one has to have a schtick, a hook of some sort. Cherie Priest talks about her dog and cat, fercrissakes, and people LOVE it.

[haikujaguar]

I think in much the same way that video killed the radio star, the internet has created a new generation of people primed to succeed using its technology while the people who ordinarily would have succeeded are relegated to the chorus line, if they even end up on stage at all. Crowdfunding in particular requires its benefactors to be internet-ready, unless you already have a fanbase built back from before the internet erupted. I'm sure a big name from the Before Times, like a Lois McMaster Bujold, could bring a million fans to a potential Kickstarter did she decide she wanted to do one.

Building that fanbase from scratch in this era is a lot more challenging, and a lot more like a career in politics, than I think a lot of writers want.

[mizkit]

One of the very frustrating aspects of it for me is that I'm an Early Adopter. I've been online for a very, very long time. It seems like I *should* have defaulted into one of those "prime material" spots/personalities by dint of having been here first. This is clearly not the case, but I genuinely do find it frustrating.

[haikujaguar]

I hear you. I've had a website since 1998...! And was active on BBSes! But some styles of personal revelation are more interesting to people than others, and overwhelmingly people seem to prefer women to be... much more outspoken on topics I'm not interested in discussing. (Have you noticed a gender disparity between how successful online personalities operate? I have, and am hoping it's not just me.) I also hate the whole snarky/ranty/outrage style and this is also supremely popular.

To be popular while also being kind is... a lot harder.

[mizkit]

(Have you noticed a gender disparity between how successful online personalities operate? I have, and am hoping it's not just me.)

*sigh* I have. It's not just you. And what I've observed is that the women who seem to have the rabid followings tend to be the ones who are living train wrecks. Their popularity seems to be based at least partly in the "OMG let us rescue you, you poor darling!" mindset, which is as tiresome to me as the shock jock thing. Possibly more so, even.

To be popular while also being kind is... a lot harder.

Apparently so. Someone once said to me that based on a picture in a programme somewhere I was presenting that they thought I was going to be some kind of broody dangerous cyberchick, only, they said, "You're actually really nice and wholesome, aren't you?!"

:} It's not that I mind being nice and wholesome, which, frankly, is a pretty good description of me--in fact, I really don't like being an asshole--but I can recognise how much more mileage I'd get out of being a broody dangerous cyberchick. :}

[ellenmillion]

This is something I find myself thinking about a lot, too. I would probably be more popular/sell more art/be higher profile if I were less day-to-day and more shock-and-opinion than I am.

But I always decide that I wouldn't really want to be famous or controversial. I'm not even sure I want to be just famous. Guppy plays some role in that, but even without her, you know, I'm kind of happy being non-threatening and obscure. Some days I feel like I'm letting my artists down by choosing the quieter route, but then I'll watch some dramafest explode in someone's face and decide I'm doing exactly the right thing.

And I'd never, ever, ever be able to pull off dangergothchic. Not even when I dyed my hair black.

[merlinofchaos]

I feel like the trick is this:

You have to always have Something to say, you have to Say your Somethings a lot, and enough people have to find that Something interesting enough to share it.

The "a lot" is important because the internet forgets (which is weird because the internet never forgets. Except it only never forgets bad things, it constantly forgets good things).

It takes a lot of effort and/or passion to get to that point where you talk about your Somethings a lot and people share it. You don't necessarily have to expose your family life, except the problem is that Something and A Lot tend to be "What I know" and once you've got a family, "What I know" is has a lot of that in it.

My problem is how rarely I have Something to say that I think should be shared, and when I do, how much effort is required to do that.

[martianmooncrab]

you are fine, they are your words and your standards, and if you arent comfy sharing something, then done.

I dont use family members names in my LJ, they have descriptive monikers, which sometimes goes wonky when I have two cousins whose names begin with J, and two whose begin with R.

you arent a Kardashian.. thanks the Ghods~