Social Media, Online Personas and Criss Angel’s BeLIEve

Last night, a friend and I went to see Criss Angel‘s BeLIEve, which was under the umbrella of Cirque du Soleil. (Side note: his site opens with pop-ups and auto-play. Erg. You’ve been warned.) Since I had received a press release through horror webzine FlamesRising.com, I thought I could review it for the site, but I can’t.

Until the show started, everything related to Criss Angel’s BeLIEve came across as dark, moody and Victorian. Steampunk rabbits adorned the stage. Strange smoke filled the air. The program book has costumes of crows, dolls and odd bunny rabbits. Criss, who normally has more of a casual persona, is dressed up more as a goth than a Californian in the press kits and on the website. So, I was expecting to attend a surreal performance that took my breath away. Instead, we were regaled with slapstick comedy and an extension of Criss’s online and television presence through video clips, audience interaction, personal stories and memorabilia. There was no mystery, other than the illusions, which forced me to focus on the beats of the show. I could “see” how the show was constructed and I felt as if I was staring backstage. Something that–as many of my fellow authors, musicians, artists and actors know–can be a death knell for any stage performance if not handled carefully.

Reviews online reflected the audience’s disappointment as well. (Note to self: always read reviews.) Words like “self-indulgent” were used and other various unpleasantries. I walked out of the theatre feeling bad for Criss, because on the surface it seemed as if his original show was too dark and too edgy. “Quite possibly,” I thought, “the stage audience might not understand something that unusual. With the economy being the way it is, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the show had to be “dumbed down” for public consumption.”

Afterward, I found myself thinking about how this show is an excellent example of what happens when an artist is constrained by his persona. Criss is very active with all the right tools; YouTube!, Facebook, etc. He’s has MINDFREAK, which is his own (for lack of a better description) syndicated magic reality TV show. All of these things add up to create a contemporary (magic) success story–especially online where it’s easy to “ooo” and “aaah” at someone walking on water or transferring scorpions into someone else’s mouth.

Take those same elements and allow people to seem them offline, and they don’t translate the same way. Those same anecdotes and videos come across as arrogant or selfish, regardless of how many platitudes we’re given. Why? Because the dynamic is different. The television and the internet are such unique, individual experiences that it’s difficult to recreate that extremely personalized touch in a room filled with hundreds of people.

Anyone who has performed on stage for an audience, speaking/singing/playing or otherwise, understands that the dynamic in a theater is no longer about the “I.” It’s about the “we.” The crowd mentality. It’s about fostering the crowd’s emotions in a natural way than holding back performances unless we cheer. It’s about drawing the audience into an experience rather than sharing the experiences of the performer.

What I just said is counter-intuitive to what many of us are taught about our online personas and writing platforms. We share online to get viewers and readers. We get personal by offering anecdotes to be able to relate to people. This doesn’t always work offline, which is why I wanted to talk about this particular show. Criss is obviously very talented and popular online, but right now I’m not sure he’ll be around for the long haul. I felt that BeLIEve was a chance for Criss to prove his versatility and recreate that Victorian-era feel with the help of Cirque du Soleil. The online thing Criss couldn’t escape, was his online persona.

The next time you’re thinking about your online persona or your writer’s platform, I hope that you consider how your online presence translates to your offline (analog) persona as well. At the end of the day, it’s a lot like dating. Give everything away, and you’ll have nothing left to give.

November 5, 2010
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Reading a Novel on the iPad


Last weekend we headed down to Chicago for a road trip and I had the chance to sit back and read a full-length novel on the iPad. The experience was pretty interesting, because this was a case where I was simply reading for pleasure.

What I Liked

I enjoyed being able to make the font larger and smaller and change the typeface. For whatever reason, I felt that the larger the text was, the easier the book was to read. I also liked that the book automatically re-calculated the number of pages depending upon whether I held it landscape or portrait, too. I could easily see where I was in the book and how far I had to go. When I needed to pause because I was doing something else, the book automatically opened to where I left off.

The battery life was great, though. I had the iPad on for about 3 hours and I never had an interruption in the actual reading experience.

What I didn’t Like

Just like most vampires, direct sunlight really killed the experience for me. Also, the iPad screen had a nice consistent page-turning smudge from where I was flipping through pages. Yes, I could have “double-tapped” to turn the page, but I preferred actual page turning to that. The screen really made an impact, because it smudged so easily any time the light hit it the wrong way I started to feel like I need to keep cleaning the screen.

The Verdict?

I would use the iPad to view digital comics, because I feel that they actually render better on the device than in print. (You can download free comics and check them out for yourself through DriveThruComics.com.) For trade paperbacks and other books, I would probably use the iPad in a pinch or plan on using it on a trip if I needed to bring several books with me.

April 23, 2010
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Writing Reviews Can Help You, Too!

Writing a review of someone else’s work is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to learn how to do. Teleporting out of my creative mindset to critique a book or a movie was pretty challenging, because it forced me to deconstruct how someone else put together a particular body of work. So instead of creating something from scratch, I needed to get down to the bare bones of books, comics, and movies to look at their structure and target market. As a result, I’ve found my own writing had improved. Even though it was a bit awkward at first, I really enjoy writing reviews and it helps that I love to read, watch movies and play games.

When I was writing the submission guidelines for Flamesrising.com, we had decided to break out guidelines by format for a few mediums. How to Write Short Fiction and Book Reviews talks about elements you can critique as a reviewer:

Enter the reviewer. The job of the fiction reviewer has never been more challenging. Deciding whether or not a work is deserving of a reader’s attention is, arguably, a matter of opinion. So when writing a fiction review, maintaining a level of objectivity is essential. Reviewing fiction is, in essence, two jobs. The first is to judge the literary work, the second is to write about that judgment. There are lots of tools in a reviewer’s arsenal that can help lead to that second step.–SOURCE: How to Review Fiction

There are a number of different websites besides www.flamesrising.com that seek out reviews. If writing reviews sounds like it might appeal to you, I recommend not repeating the back cover blurb as the main part of your review. Just like with any other writing that you do, reviews can help you establish a presence for your “brand” or in the area that you want to write — and they can be a lot of fun.

Here are a few reviews that I’ve written recently:

Those are just a few examples of some of the ones I’ve written. As you’ve probably guessed, everyone has their own style of writing reviews, too. Either way, it’s been a really fun writing exercise for me and I get to talk about books and other things I’ve explored.

:)

August 20, 2009
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My Philosophy on Writers, Readers and Critics

old-booksAfter a very, busy week following my appearance at WisCon 2009, I felt it was time to sit down and share my philosophy toward other writers, readers and critics. In the past, two weeks I’ve met more new people on-and-offline than I have in the past year. Since many people are unfamiliar with me and my work, I thought it best to put into words that which I feel so passionately about…

I believe that both readers and critics, regardless of education or background, have a right to their informed opinion. By “informed,” I mean I would hope they’d read a book before providing an in-depth dissertation about it. Sometimes, I am amazed how deep that rabbit hole of criticism goes. Sure, I have opinions about the books I read (and admittedly a few popular ones I haven’t) but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize how valuable all books are. Even though I might not like a particular story, it might appeal to someone else. In my mind, that’s a win-win scenario for literacy because it means that there’s a story for everyone.

When it comes to my own work, I know that what I write may not appeal to everyone. No one likes crappy reviews or readers trashing their work, because even though writing is a “job” (e.g. you often get paid) it is also an extension of yourself. Immutable and defined, a writer’s published work becomes a testimony not only to the voices we hear in our heads, but the whispers we hear through the trees, in rush-hour traffic, or on the beach.

Writing often gets depicted romantically, as if being an author means that you have finally reached a utopia in which the entire world bows at your feet for your brilliance, your personality and your creativity. Nothing — and I mean nothing — could be further from the truth. Creativity, in any form, comes with a price because creative people think differently from non-creative people. Different for me meant “not like everyone else,” which led to a lot of confusion, personal angst and career building frustration until I started meeting other writers.

Although I have a college degree in writing, it wasn’t until I fell into the gaming industry that I truly felt welcomed. Professional authors and game designers welcomed me as a “new” writer, even though they had no real reason to do so. Their kindness shocked me, because in my past almost everyone I knew viewed other writers as “competition.” This harsh attitude had affected me deeply: for a number of years I was very bitter and negative about anyone else’s success, yet arrogant about my own. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I was not only showed compassion and understanding by perfect strangers, but leads and writing assignments as well.

I’ve been a part of the gaming industry now for six or seven years, and I have not forgotten what a difference positivity makes. A single conversation over beer was the catalyst that helped me transform bitterness into positive energy. It is my hope that I can bring that same kindness that was shown to me by having a supportive presence on-and-offline for other like-minded writers as my time permits.

Part of my long-term goal is to be a novelist (either part-time or full-time), and admittedly I don’t know if that will ever happen. Regardless, it is my belief that celebrating someone else’s successes is just as important as cheering for your own. Only through a sense of togetherness will we build a creative community that supports and helps one another.

May 29, 2009
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Review of www:wake by Robert Sawyer

www-wake-cover When I first started reading science fiction, I didn’t really like it at first. It wasn’t until I started reading Frank Herbert’s Dune that I enjoyed its possibilities. To me, science fiction is at its utmost best when it extrapolates and experiments, taking the “what could be’s” and turning them into “what if’s.”

www:wake by Robert Sawyer is that kind of a book. It takes a slice of our modern, everyday life and the topic on everyone’s mind — the internet. The first in a trilogy, this book is about a young, blind girl named Caitlin who wishes to see. Internet savvy, Caitlin travels from her Canadian homeland across an ocean to find her elusive sight.

Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math—and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. But Caitlin’s brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes. While exploring this amazing realm, she discovers something—some other—lurking in the background. And it’s getting more and more intelligent with each passing day… –SOURCE: www:wake on Amazon.com

What’s interesting about this book, is not the mechanics of the plot or the story. It’s the character of the internet looming ominously in the background. It’s the social commentary on how we interact with the world wide web and how our world is connected. (That connectivity reminded me of the Otherland virtual reality series by Tad Williams which is now being made into an MMORPG.) As the first book in the series, www: wake lays the foundation for what is to come.

If you are remotely involved with the internet or a self-proclaimed math geek, I think you’d really enjoy this book. The development of an internet consciousness is fascinating (and a bit scary) to read, and Caitlin’s mathematical prowess acts as a benchmark of the internet’s character evolution. In a way, I regarded the character as a modern-day version of Ghost in the Shell, but more gritty and realistic. I also enjoyed the fact that Caitlin — although blind — was not a helpless character, but is depicted as a normal teenager who has her ups and downs just like everyone else does. Her blindness is not a crutch, in this instance, but an integral part of the story. It’s the way we “see” the internet’s true nature and watch as he twists and shapes into a higher consciousness. To what end? Well, that’s what book two is about.

In www:wake, Robert Sawyer asks the question, “What if the internet was a living consciousness?” I don’t know about you, but the thought that it could even remotely be possible scares the living snot out of me. Which is probably why this first book was so interesting to me, because after all — that’s what science fiction is (in my mind) supposed to be about.

April 16, 2009
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