tagged 
marketing, lesbians, social media, writing
marketing, lesbians, social media, writing Sunday, September 28, 2008
9:05PM
9:05 PM Everything I need to know about social media I learned from lesbians.
No, really. I went out this Friday night with my beloved friend and sister-in-arms Megan, and I discovered, yet again, that there opportunities for learning about this stuff in unexpected places. We went to Women and Children First up in Andersonville (Chicago) for a book reading of a writer I’d never heard of before. But I trust Megan’s taste, and all she told me was that Michelle Tea was a lesbian, former sex worker, and talented. So I assumed angry lesbian poetry.
A) I was wrong. And B) there was a cool display of social media that took me by surprise. First of all, both of the writers who read that night were talented, gregarious women with a very loyal following, not only in Chicago. The second writer, Christy C. Road, was also immensely funny and talented. But again, I had heard of neither of them, despite being fully invested in the indy writing scene, particularly where it overlaps the GLBTQ community (excluding the jerks I met in Sautgatuck, Michigan last weekend on the boat with my cousin, her fiance, and the boyfriend of awesomeness) but I didn't even know that the event was happening. So, without Megan, I would not have known about it at all.
So now, how did Megan find out about Tea and Road (that needs to be a band name, methinks)? She heard of Tea from a former-ish friend of hers (oh complicated social lives of girls) years ago, when been going to Women and Children First with her mother, as she has been since she was a wee little lassie. (Sorry Megan for the inaccuracy...thanks for the heads up!) And clearly, given the responses and familiarity with both writers and their work that the rest of the crowd had, Megan wasn't the only one that had heard of them. They had gathered around for the Decibelle-sponsored event, a group that appears to have a pre-existing relationship with WaCF, and with a non-for-profit group that was allowed to make an announcement at the beginning of the show about meetings they were having and a petition they wanted us to sign. That stuff doesn't matter.
What does is that I had never heard of any of these groups, or even this store before, regardless of the fact that I've spent entire weekends at the Swedish-American Museum and Center just down Clark Street. It boggled my mind a little, and while I am aware of the fact that I cannot possibly know about everything going on everywhere, in Chicago and out, it bugs me that I didn't know about this sooner. So I figured I'd try to figure out why. Of all of the social spaces I occupy, both virtually and literally, there are several where I should have found out about this show and didn't. No Twitter, no Facebook, no Blogger/spot, Google, or event emails (I get several). Nothing in the Tribune, Red Eye, or either of their respective websites, even their gay and lesbian writers/"bloggers" (they don't seem to recognize the distinction, and I'm too tired to type it out right now). Nothing from friends that live in Andersonville, gay or straight, nothing from local writers. It was a complete dearth of information.
So, what could Decibelle, WaCF, Tea, or Road have done to make sure that I, the non-lesbian, potential reader and consumer knew about this event? Well, everything that I listed above would work. And potentially work very well. Especially Facebook, with announcing new events and being able to send out invitations. Upon investigation, neither the bookstore nor Decibelle have an organized Facebook group...free solution. And it wouldn't need to be overly complicated. Just updated as often as their website could be. Simple.
Next question: why haven't they done it? I know that some people are genuinely lo-tech, even against social media. But when the purpose of your organization is to unite a community that is at least partially online with ANY of these outlets, there is a responsibility to serve them there...and to thus expand your organization in the process. And if you are a business providing a physical community with a service that helps to bind it and make it more cohesive, inclusive, and more relevant to that community's needs.
My brain, and my ego, are tired of arguing with people about this stuff. At least for the moment. But it would be a weekend's work for anyone on any one of their staffs to sort all this out. And while I love Road's website, I'm not really sure it's publicizing her book the way it could...even though it is pretty and engaging. Michelle Tea, who has published several books, needs more than a MySpace page, with or without her publisher's help.
My brain has given up officially, and I'm going to bed. Hopefully I will dream of social media and pretty lesbians.
_________________________________________
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
8:21PM
8:21 PM Apologies and groveling
Sorry for the broadcast silence of late. Besides being busy and fighting off various sicknesses, I think I genuinely got overwhelmed by what has been going on in the world of late. I keep meaning to ask my parents about how they survived 1968, at which point my father would have been 18 and my mother 17, or even the years that followed. But I get the feeling I would get laughter and/or something about "Do you know how much I smoked back then?"
So, briefly, this is how I feel about things: Palin is scarier than McCain, who is scarier than Bush (who knew that was possible?).
Spore looks like a crapton of fun, but I will not know for a while, because despite the "this is a game for the people" sell, it won't run on most non-gaming machines, and barely any laptops without a several hundred dollar update to the videocard. Which is lame. On top of all of the delays, and the not really making the game they said they were making (even if it is still a cool game) it doesn't even play on most machines...and they haven't released it for anything except PCs and portable gaming. Does that make any sense at all? What's even more frustrating is that most of the reviews that I've read or seen/heard in podcasts don't even mention this fact. I understand that a lot of gamers have gaming PCs, and that they are some of the people that were waiting for this for the longest time, but seriously...this is not a better, more fun version of the Sims...this is not an expanded, awesome version of four different game types that simple enough and user-friendly enough for everyone to play. That blows. Big hairy chunks.
I am astounded by all that the government is doing right now. I know just enough about it to be dangerous (thank you over-education) and it really does just scare the crap out of me in some serious ways. There's parts of it that make me want to plug my fingers in my ears and go running "lalalalalalaIcan'thearyou" into the night. It makes me regret knowing anything about economics, and regret not being a teacher anymore. I can tell there is going to be a generation of kids growing up right now that don't know what the hell "normal" is (I'm still not positive myself, but I have a better idea than they do). It reminds me of a radio broadcast I heard, probably on NPR, talking about how people that were born between around 1960 had no idea that famous people, especially politicians, could die of natural causes. It was far more common to hear about assassinations than someone dying of old age or disease...and I get the feeling that this is a new generation of kids that won't know what it's like to have the rest of the world at least respect us, if not look to us for leadership. To have the economy be stable and their wellbeing, in terms of health and education, still matter to the various and sundry governments that hold sway over their lives.
Also, I am both proud and a little sad with all of the stuff that's going on in the world of GLBTQ at the moment. More celebrities coming out of the closet than ever before, the number of gay men, lesbians, and bisexual characters in both scripted and reality TV have continued to rise, we now have transgender and transsexual people on TV for pretty much the first time...ever. That's great. But why are we so obsessed with it? It should be pretty standard by now. I know that it isn't, and I know the reasons that it isn't, but it strikes me as the same thing of Race (yes, with a capital R) in the presidential race. It's the sort of issue that, if I ruled the world (as I totally should be doing), would be a non-issue, for the sheer fact that it shouldn't be one. Anyone who is in our population should be reflected as such in our public life.
That's my major rant for the day. I'm sorry that it took so long for me get down, but I didn't really have it sorted out in my head until fairly recently. As a result, I might add, of two days off nursing a fever. More soon, and I really mean it this time.
Because I'm sorry I'm an ass...but not as sorry as this ass is.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
7:48PM
7:48 PM Monorail Kit is back in service...sort of.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
7:37PM
7:37 PM Another Test
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
3:40PM
3:40 PM Accountability for free products (or, pray for the little black bird)
My computer, my beloved Magpie, is off to the Apple Service Center to be repaired. Light a little candle for me, so that Magpie comes back without a wiped HD, please. PLEASE.
What this means: posts will be sporadic at best for the next week, week and a half. Email will be pretty nil. Also, I will lose touch with EVERYTHING. Except when I'm at work. And I can't work on my MA paper, which isn't the end of the world, but it certainly is annoying.
This weekend in Minnesota was wonderful, and it got me thinking, as I poked around on ShareThis.com, FeedBurner, and Google Analytics, only the first of which was working to my satisfaction when interacting with Blogger. And here's the question:
How do you hold a company that provides you with a free service accountable for the quality of that service?
Something to consider: when a roommate, significant other, friend, family member, or other person that one may feel relatively close to treats you in a manner you don't appreciate, does something to hurt your feelings, continually "forgets" or skips out on seeing you, doesn't pay you back, etc, etc, what do you do? Well, if you're not passive aggressive, aggressive, or otherwise inclined, the first time (maybe the first two or three times), you may ignore it, justify it, or otherwise sweep it under the rug of your relationship. The next few times may lead to confrontation of some kind, either calm or not, but most people will make their feelings on the situation known. In the imaginary world of everything going right, the situation is resolve quickly, if it comes up at all. In reality, you lose friends, break up with significant others, avoid family members and move away from roommates.
But what happens when a company that provides a free service patronizes you, marginalizes you, craps out on you, and takes away services without warning? What recourse do consumers of free products and services have? Mostly, at least since Google has begun to take over the world, they can go to a message board and complain. That rarely gets the attention of a help desk or company employee, let alone gets the problem solved. And while I love seeing the Twitter Fail Whale and going to check that handy Twitter blog to see what's up, being told that the service is down and "it's being worked on" does little for my frustration.
The case of Google is even more interesting. Despite service outages, randomly malfunctioning services, and a rather lackluster performance on less central offerings like FeedBurner, Analytics, and in particular AdSense, Google is still dominating in customer service surveys. How does that happen? Well, it's easy to say that most of the time, Google's service is pretty good (and it is) BUT, that's only true for the more central services like G-mail and Google Documents. How well do we really think the Android is going to do, if Google doesn't throw all of its support and celebrity behind it? And, despite the problems that Apple has had recently, with their stock prices, Jobs illness, iPhone/MobileMe debacle, and the Nano announcement, does Google have the following that Apple and Crackberry have? I don't think so.
But back to the original point. How do you get a free service to respect you and continue to give you the service that you so richly deserve desire? Working for a company that has something similar to many other offerings, I know that the point of providing the service (even for free, despite Twitter) is to make money. And if you don't give people the services they want, they will take their business, and the advertisers, elsewhere (More on this later, when I have more time). There's too much competition out there, even for services as awesome and overall good as GMail, FaceBook, and Blogger. Look at the exodus from MySpace...(But ignore this.) So besides flaming companies, besides trying to get prominent bloggers to bash them so they'll shape up, besides trusting them to do the right thing, and besides switching services...are there any other options? A Consumerist.com for free stuff?
There's always the option of turning of the computer. (Ha.)
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
3:13PM
3:13 PM Marketing Wet Dream
Look at this.
I put up my FaceYourManga.com avatar...on Wednesday. By Saturday, it's everywhere. I can't claim to have started the trend, I got the link from...somewhere. I can't tell you where, I genuinely don't remember who's blog I saw it on. That's horrible of me, but it's the truth. So I like the fact that I kind of...beat the bell curve. It makes me feel as though the internet and I have just taken our relationship to the next, more intimate level.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
10:17PM
10:17 PM Construction is...destructive
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
tagged josh, mn, under construction
josh, mn, under construction Monday, August 11, 2008
9:45PM
9:45 PM I say the darnedest things...
Quotes of the day:
Did I mention that I am on my period and clearly A GIRL right now? Jesus. I may have to put this conversation on my blog.
We're so hated and ignored, we're the albino, crippled, half-retarded, mixed race kid who has a French accent in the black neighborhood.
___________________________________________________________________Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
6:35PM
6:35 PM Making your feelings known
This is my new favorite thing ever.
I love creative graffiti. I don't think there's anything more thought-provoking and revealing about the city/neighborhood that you're in than what people do for art in the area. Gang tags are interesting, but I'm talking about the art for the sake of the stunning visuals. There's a great set of boobs when you're facing south on the Red Line in Chicago, on that straight stretch from Addison to Fullerton somewhere. A little on the gratuitous side, but still. Attention-getting, effective, and it always puts a little smile on my face in the morning, so I remember it. And when facing north, just at the Sheridan stop, there's an entire building wall that is adds for the business inside of it, and you can get a discount for mentioning the spray-painted art. This is all really cool marketing...or something close enough to marketing that we can call it that.
Then I start thinking about my roommate's stuff around the city. It's innovative, pretty, and just downright cool looking...but she's not trying to sell anything. At least, not anything but herself and her positive outlook on our chances of making our city a good-looking place. What's even cooler is that she's usually attracting attention to interesting sites, too. Loopy Yarns in downtown Chicago is a great example of a cool place that she's put stuff up outside of. And some places are just random, But they're still interesting and cool, and her non-destructive, interesting pieces help to accent how awesome community can become when enough people put their minds to it. (Despite the fact that some people chose to set her work on fire.)
But back to my original point: what is the point of building something that doesn't...gain you anything? I get art for art's sake, I do, but Kristin (roommate) would love to do the crocheting thing full time (or baking, or any other craft piece). She also makes jewelry, but, unlike me and my creations, does not tag them in the slightest (I add a little silver feather onto everything I knit). So how does she get people to pay attention to her (besides her on-hiatus podcast, her website, or other internet resources)? Word of mouth is the only thing that could possibly work for her outside of the internet. Right? At the heart of things, she is producing three products: crocheted street art, jewelry, and baked goods. Now, how do I know about her street art? I was there when she put one piece up, and she tells me when she puts up new stuff. (I also look at her website and see her Flickr feed, but that's besides the point.) Her jewelry, when I wear it, draws a lot of attention, and sometimes I wish I would just carry around her business cards with me so I can hand them out when people gush over it. Seriously, it's cool like that. Same thing with her cupcakes. I want to get chocolate business cards and just stick them in all of her cupcakes so people stop asking me how she did it, what she uses, etc, etc.
No, the point is not that she's so good at these things that I'm jealous. The point is...with just word of mouth, she would not be able to get the attention she has. She's in two books now, real published ones that you have to buy at stores. And people know her stuff, other graffiti artists know her work online. This, as I like to say, is the magic of the internet. Fifteen, twenty years ago, she would have had to travel all over the country selling her work, get all sorts of licenses and stuff to sell her cupcakes in the city of Chicago, and cover the entire metropolitan area with yarn to get the kind of recognition she so rightly deserves.
I guess my ultimate point is that if one person, with some dedication and a good outlook, can do it, anyone can. This includes companies and organizations alike. But the biggest challenge appears to be keeping your finger on the pulse of your intended users. If you don't know what they want or how they're using it, then you can't anticipate their needs, or even listen to their suggestions properly. It's one of the issues I faced a lot as a teacher (with a 45 year old man teaching a group of 14 to 16 year old kids, there's bound to be some problems) and when I was working on visitor studies. Everyone has a different approach for dealing with this issue: observation, focus groups, surveys, all sorts of expensive studies and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, you may, I repeat may get a return on your investment. Which is scary. And you know what the most effective way to figure out what users want is (at least as far as I can tell)? There are two: imitate people that are doing well, or ask them. ASK your users what they want. If you were to give them a freebie at a convention or a fair, what do you think they would want? You can only tell if you're right if you ask the demographic you're trying to appeal to.
And that is why I am annoyed right now with some businesses that seem to cling to the old way of advertising and marketing themselves. I'm certainly not the first to talk about this, nor the most creative. But perhaps going from teaching (where I lost my job in a heartbeat if I didn't show results and was essentially selling myself and my lessons every day to disinterested teens) to anthropology (where studying people actually matters) has left me with a sour taste in my mouth when I see companies not doing what they can do to maximize their exposure and their profit. (Edit: these links are far from an exhaustive list. It's just a few great ones I like a lot.)
Like I said before, if Kristin can do it in her spare time and running on passion and goodwill alone...imagine what all that money and drive could do, if properly focused.
Tomorrow: cupcakes, duckies, piano sales, and maybe some comic book stuff. Because I have decided I'm going to be done with being cranky for the time being. Because there are cupcakes. And duckies. And LOLcats.
___________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
___________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
tagged Kristin, annoyed, anthropology, knitting, marketing, microfiber militia
Kristin, annoyed, anthropology, knitting, marketing, microfiber militia Monday, August 4, 2008
2:29PM
2:29 PM I never liked Hawkeye, but I may have to reconsider...
I have reached a conclusion...or rather, a conclusion has reached out and socked me viciously in the face. I am aware, and have been for some time, that I am a geek. Or a nerd, a dork, whatever you want to call it. I play video games, I like some (SOME) anime, I help my friends write fanfiction, I have played board games about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings sober, and I love comic books. LOVE comic books. I came to it late, but I love them.
And I have a problem with self-professed "dorks", the people who are supposed to be my fellows, who don't. I don't like it when people say they hated Watchmen, or that Hugh Jackman giving respect to the man that basically gave him a career is gay, or saying that people who get excited about all of the massively cool and startlingly concerning things that are happening in and adjacent to the industry are silly/stupid. It bothers me. We as a collective little culture get enough flack from the people on the outside, that we don't need to have "insiders" ragging on us.
I want to be able to dork out, and talk about how much I would HATE Keanu Reeves as Spike in the a live-action BeBop movie. Or argue about the various skills and value of Green Lantern versus Green Arrow (Arrow wins hands down). I want to get into proverbial pissing contests with random guys in shops about if Batman would beat Superman in various circumstances of battles, and get MORE respect, not less.
I suppose, on some level, it gets all back to the whole "I'm a girl in a boy's game" issue that I've talked about before, to the point where I'm rather sick of it. But it NEVER ENDS. And while that is no single person's fault, not by any stretch of the imagination, it's still frustrating. And I'm not sure how to fix it. As a business woman, you can dress smart and walk in with your briefcase and you totally can (in most places at least) earn the respect of the people around you, even if it is still a man's world. And look at the success of mom-blogs, places like BlogHer...there are great places for women to support one another and figure out how to win in their own fields.
But not with the stuff that I like. Video games and comic books are still for boys, even in the minds of readers. Even with the proof that the demographics are not as skewed as one may think, girl gamers, girl techies, and girl comic book readers especially are anomalies worth mentioning. And if she's cute, or doesn't look like she lives in her mom's basement, good lord get out of the way. She will either be a GOD within moments, or she will be called a poser, and people will try to knock her down with esoteric questions that no one with a life could answer without the internet.
Listening to iFanboy's podcast, they commented on the fact that the Huntress miniseries is written by a women...and then went on to talk about how "overwritten" the book has been. Only Coner pointed out that this is an issue faced by almost every first-time comic author. It's frustrating. Even the fact that Wonder Woman's author is (for the first time, at least in an ongoing role) a woman made national mainstream media news.
Tonight I'll write about something that matters to people other than me, I think. Unless you all see a larger trend here? Am I just crazy for being irked, or have we not made as much progress as we were supposed to?
Also, Narutards piss me off.
___________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Friday, August 1, 2008
9:58AM
9:58 AM DHS (Not my high school, but the gobernment)
Oh man. Might be time to move to Canada. Oh wait, that wouldn't solve the problem. I would still have to come back for my cousin's wedding.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
8:12PM
8:12 PM Booo Blogger
YRMC is currently having issues. It appears to be a mind coding problem that will hopefully get fixed quickly, but until then many of the links and other paraphenalia that was all over the sides has been disabled. Fear not, it will return shortly.
And if my boyfriend actually manages to fix this...I will do naughty things.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
7:33PM
7:33 PM Cuil and the not-so-cuil
For those of you that managed to miss it, a new search engine got launched recently, with much promises of surpassing Google in capacity, accuracy, and precision.
I have determined, with one simple action, that all of these claims are utterly false. I Googled myself (it's turned into a verb for a reason, let's admit it) on Cuil yesterday morning at the prompting of a coworker of mine, the more than infamous CheapSuits, to do so. There were three results, two of which appeared to be in Ukrainian and had nothing to do with me. The first result, however, was a blast from my readily forgotten past. It was an introduction post on a gamer's forum/site that I had joined and ultimately started to help out at (minor moderating duties, helped to organize efforts, etc) in 2005 at the behest of my then boyfriend. The site has been down for some time now, and Google no longer lists it as one of the top search results when you type in my name.
Cuil, however, does. And it provides, in it's scintillating and visually robust (but less useful) interface the details of the first couple lines of my post. Who you are: Caitlin Rosberg. Where you are: Chicago. Why you're here: I gave some answer about being really excited about the project (I actually was, once I got involved) then admitted that my boyfriend of the time had drug me into it initially.
As CheapSuits said: it used to be that you moved for a guy. Now you join a forum for him.
My response: I wish I could erase half of the things I did (or more) between the ages of 11 and 21. Since 21 there have been a few things, but far fewer than between 11 and 21. He suggested I blog on it. And so here we are, considering all that has changed in the almost four years since I posted that.
Allow me to digress for a moment away from the personal torment that is teenagedom. The point is: Cuil is really actually pretty crappy, at least for searching some things. You only get that result when you search my name in quotes, and even then it's not the first result. When you search without quotes, you get one of the results that Google offers every time, but none of the other answers, yet again, has anything to do with me.
So why is it that Cuil felt the need to plug themselves so vigorously in opposition to Google? Why did they hype themselves up to the point where some people (the ones who dislike Google because it reminds them of evil Microsoft, but with Segways and better medical benefits and better customer service....) actually really believed it was possible to overthrow the juggernaut, only to be largely disappointed?
Press. Publicity. Branding. Cuil is certainly pretty, it definitely has that going for it. It's one of the reasons that Google attracted so many people at first, is that it was so clean and simple. Now, it appeals with all of the customization options, the ease of use, and the fact that...let's face it. Everyone uses Google. It's the industry standard in the way AOL and Microsoft once were (I will argue that Microsoft isn't anymore...but I can see how people would argue against me on that one). Now Cuil is trying to get in on the action where Google originally launched itself. Here's where it went wrong:
1. Bad name. Bad bad bad bad bad. I said soo-ill for days until someone told me it was pronounced coo-el (cool). Bad name. To quote Steve Krug, or at least loosely paraphrase, anything that makes a question mark pop up over my head is a bad idea for any website.
2. Google does a lot more now than just search. With Google Desktop now getting distributed like crazy, GMail, Google Maps just revamped their look, an image search that actually works pretty well, services like Analytics, AdSense, and a whole cavalry of other solid, working offers that are (usually) free, why the hell would we want something else...especially if it doesn't work as well?
3. Google is not Microsoft. While some people don't like Google, and some conspiracy theorists feel that they are taking over the net too much (admit it, many of us have thought it), Google treats its employees and users pretty damned well. I've never heard from the cubicle or study room or apartment next to mine "GOD DAMN IT. Google crashed AGAIN and I just lost FOUR HOURS of work on my
4. Were they not paying attention to all those great Ask.com ads that aired two, maybe three years ago on TV? The ads were awesome, the services were well thought out and user friendly, and the searches worked...but Ask.com still has just over one sixth the visits that Google has. I said it before, I'll say it again: it's a verb for a reason...kind of like Kleenex and Band-aid became common nouns instead of trademarked brands, UPS and FedEx became verbs, and LOLcats became luhl-cats.
Later, I will discuss Batman. Because I am a massive dork and I feel the need. But I need to go indulge in the best summer dessert ever: blackberry icecream in ginger ale. It's like a root beer float, only better.
I was just informed that we are out of blackberry ice cream. Because I love him, I will not kill my boyfriend. I may, however, demand that he go get more tomorrow. Since he didn't tell me that we were out while we were at the grocery store a few hours ago.
Either that, or I will post more pictures of him on the internet. He hates that.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
tagged work, cheapsuits, josh, tech
work, cheapsuits, josh, tech Monday, July 28, 2008
10:50AM
10:50 AM 15 minutes, here I come
I will be doing a more extensive post this afternoon/evening, mostly because I don't have time right now, as I am at work. But, here's a quick shot:
Look where I got linked!
Many thanks to Liz Strauss!
I feel like I may be starting to accomplish something. That's exciting, and it's getting my knees shaking in a first date sort of way.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
9:54AM
9:54 AM Further proof that my boyfriend and I are immense dorks.
Josh: I think if I found out I had a clone the same age as me, I'd have to fight him.
Me: What if he was an evil clone. Or an evil twin?
Josh: I'd really have to fight him.
Me: But he could be an expert in Jeet Kun Do. You don't know.
Josh: I'd still have to try. He's evil.
Me: Then we need a safe word. In case the two of you start fighting and I have a gun.
Josh: I'll just tell you something only the two of us know.
Me: Yeah, but I'm a talker. I mean, if someone asked "How many orgasms did you have the first time you and Josh had sex?" I'd tell them. I mean, four or five people already know that, besides the two of us. But if someone asked "Hey, what's the safe word in case Josh has an evil twin" I'd say who the hell are you and why do you want to know?
Josh: Alright, the secret password is "He's the evil one."
And then I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. At least we're cute.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
7:59PM
7:59 PM I did two things today that I'm moderately proud of. One involved a phone call, and the other an email.
Now, I should probably preface both of these stories with something important: I am not a hardass. I do have expectations, I want them to be fulfilled. But, generally, I just get confused and a little frustrated when people do not meet them. I don't get annoyed until they do something truly stupid, and I don't even get mad unless people prove themselves to just be a waste of air and food (this is really only an occurrence when someone is more than useless, they actually impede my ability to function or prove themselves to be just...painful).
But today I called a local radio station and told them that I and everyone I know would no longer be listening to their station because they broadcast Michael Savage's show. I never liked Savage to begin with (he is this odd bundle of contradictions that I neither understand nor care for), but his recent actions
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
7:59PM
7:59 PM Acting (up) out
I did two things today that I'm moderately proud of. One involved a phone call, and the other an email.
Now, I should probably preface both of these stories with something important: I am not a hardass. I do have expectations, I want them to be fulfilled. But, generally, I just get confused and a little frustrated when people do not meet them. I don't get annoyed until they do something truly stupid, and I don't even get mad unless people prove themselves to just be a waste of air and food (this is really only an occurrence when someone is more than useless, they actually impede my ability to function or prove themselves to be just...painful).
But today I called a local radio station and told them that I and everyone I know would no longer be listening to their station because they broadcast Michael Savage's show. I never liked Savage to begin with (he is this odd bundle of contradictions that I neither understand nor care for), but his recent actions have led me to just ignore the man, but to also hope that he continues to lose support. Aflac already abandoned him, and his website is now dominated by three things: calling Media Matters and similar organizations faggots (seriously?) that hate marriage and America and the parents of autistic kids, ads for get rich quick scams, and demands for donations to the MIchael Savage Defense Fund (which are not tax deductible...never a good sign). I hope the man just stops talking, or at least that people stop listening. Like Anne Coulter.
I also emailed both eBay (third time for this problem) and the Chicago Tribune's Problem Solver (I. Want. His. Job.) about an issue I'm having with eBay and PayPal. Short version: they saved an address I deleted, and because of the way that eBay now handles PayPal purchases, I was not aware of this until after six LPs (yes vinyl), several boxes of yarn, and a belt buckle were shipped to the WRONG ADDRESS. The operator I called at PayPal the other morning was rude, unapologetic, and less than helpful. I don't expect a refund...this is really more of an inconvenience and a worry (that the LPs may break, that USPS up here is so crappy to begin with, that everything may get sent back to the sellers, one of which is in Hong Kong). But I want an apology, an explanation, and hopefully a change in policy. Maybe even a coupon or something.
Now, my theory on this situation is that I'm a customer. I've worked retail jobs, academic jobs, service jobs, office jobs, theatre jobs...I know that if one thing remains true across the board, it's this (thanks Dad for teaching me): you are the one bringing in the money, and if you're not happy, demand what you want or take your money elsewhere. I have rights as a consumer (as does everyone else) that I feel like some companies just ignore...particularly the ones that can pass the buck or don't have major competition to fight with.
Now, if I'd had this problem with Amazon, there'd be a gift certificate and a speedy apology coming my way...but eBay? Who knows. Hopefully getting a major newspaper on their ass will help.
Ta for now, kiddies. But let me leave you with something that will make me squee with joy every time I see it.
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
tagged customer service, geek, neocon, star trek
customer service, geek, neocon, star trek 7:58PM
7:58 PM Acting (up) out
I did two things today that I'm moderately proud of. One involved a phone call, and the other an email.
Now, I should probably preface both of these stories with something important: I am not a hardass. I do have expectations, I want them to be fulfilled. But, generally, I just get confused and a little frustrated when people do not meet them. I don't get annoyed until they do something truly stupid, and I don't even get mad unless people prove themselves to just be a waste of air and food (this is really only an occurrence when someone is more than useless, they actually impede my ability to function or prove themselves to be just...painful).
But today I called a local radio station and told them that I and everyone I know would no longer be listening to their station because they broadcast Michael Savage's show. I never liked Savage to begin with (he is this odd bundle of contradictions that I neither understand nor care for), but his recent actions
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
10:02AM
10:02 AM Boing!
This is the most awesome thing ever. If I didn't have to work all day, I would spend all of my times reenacting my favorite web comics and comic book scenes...like that one where Batman beats Superman up.
Anyone know where I can get a Kryptonite suit?
Thank you for reading YouRuinedMyChildhood.com. It really means a lot to us here at YRMC that you would take the time out of your busy schedule to think about the fact that somewhere on the internet, your favorite childhood memory is being violated by fanfiction.
9:02PM
9:02 PM New beginnings and old thoughts
So I had a thought today: what if my coworkers were heroes. Not just the everyday kind that helped the tourists on the corner of Michigan and Wacker find Giordano's (they at least had good taste in restaurants, and it's still sort of local, but I digress). Not the kind that helps old ladies across the street and doesn't laugh (out loud) when they see someone trip, maybe even helps them back up or gather their belongings. I mean full fledged, outright heroes, with capes and spandex and homoerotic references and everything. The IT guy a little way off that uses Purell every three minutes and appears to get very (very) frustrated for little reason when things are stupid and/or parts are missing. What if he could freeze time, or throw things with his mind, or was actually superstrong?
Would I notice if my coworkers were Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker? (I leave out Clark Kent mostly because the man doesn't even wear a mask...he just puts glasses on and curls his hair and no one recognizes him, which I will never understand.) Would anyone, for that matter? If one person appears to take longer than normal in the bathroom, or was sick for a few days last week, what is to say that they weren't the ones helping clean up the crash on the expressway that was caused by a police chase, or saving kittens and orphans from fires and long falls?
It made me wonder just how much I really know about the people that I work with. Sure, I know where some of them went (go) to school, and the names of some significant others, but not all. I can't even be trusted to consistently remember last names sometimes. Granted, I have only been working there for a month, and we were long a quiet bunch, but it raises some serious questions.
I live with two other people, my fabulous roommates who I am sure to reference more than once. Both are artist types, though one seems to focus a lot more on art therapy and the catartic nature of creating something, while the other is Jasper Johns style full on commissioned artist--they're both very talented. I know both their birthdays, middle names, and (if I'm remembering correctly) the names of all of their siblings (five between the two of them) and the guys they are courting/being courted by/annoyed with. I also have a boyfriend who I would mention every five seconds if it was allowable, just because he's that great. I swear. I know the birthdays of his mother, father, stepmother, and three siblings, as well as all of their names and middle names.
I work with the same people let's say eight hours a day. That leaves sixteen hours. I sleep another eight, and waking up, eating two meals a day, and transit too and from work take another ten to eleven. So I am left with five or six hours that my roommates and boyfriend may or may not be in the apartment, I may or may not be there too, and we may or may not be spending time together. Even at the very most, during the week I probably spend twice as much time with the people I work with than with the people I live with and the man that I date.
And I know nothing about them.
Isn't that sad? I know that, when you work for the same company and with the same people for years (she's been with the same firm the last ten years, and most of the people she works with now she's known for the past twenty-ish), you get to know them a lot better. Your families interact sometimes, if you live near enough. Your kids may go to the same school, you may see one another at the PTA, or in the grocery store. But I don't have any of that.
I'm not really complaining, not really. There are certainly people that I work with that I have no idea what to do with. All of them are nice, hardworking people that probably have lives way more interesting than my comic books and internet heavy existence, but I wouldn't know. And why not? Is there a random taboo about talking to people you know you're not going to be working with for long (we have four college interns that are leaving in two to four weeks)? In my mind, that's just silly. I'm making them cupcakes when they leave. But I still don't know why one of them lives in Chicago on the weekends and up in the 'burbs with his parents during the week...or what frat he's the VP of. And on some odd level, that bothers me.
Maybe it's just my personable nature, hm?
Ha.