LJ event at Arisia 2006?

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Everyone seems to agree that there should be some sort of LJ event at Arisia next year. "Mixer" and "social" are the words I've heard most often. But what form should the event take?

I guess part of the answer depends on what people here would like to achieve. To meet LJ friends face-to-face? Increase their friend lists? What else?

Please share your ideas.

Comments

[darxus.livejournal.com]

Were you at the LJ panel on sunday ?

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Yup. In fact, that's where the idea of a mixer was first brought up.

The only thing is, I'm not 100% sure what a mixer is. It sounds like a prom dance, or something, and I'm firmly opposed to that.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

A mixer is kind of like the smoothie of dances. Throw a bunch of people into a room, add good converstation and blend until smooth.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Uh-oh. At that sort of thing I'm always the chunk that fails to get blended, and ends up sitting by itself in the bottom of the cup.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

I guess part of the answer depends on what people here would like to achieve.

"Feed my ravenous ego, and meet hot bi chixxors." Obviously.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Somehow I don't think my wife would approve of the hot bi chixxors.

She's used to the ego, though.

[bryttan.livejournal.com]

Heh, & here I thought you already had enough 'hot bi chixxors' in your life. :)

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

-Well, what I don't have enough of, is hours in the day, really.

[cheshyre]

Something like the old @ parties at SF cons. Social space to meet other LJ users face-to-face. At Worldcon, somebody made stickers people could put on their con badges that showed their LJ names, so folks could identify one another in the halls more easily.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

There were stickers this time, but they were on the small side...and people were filling in their names by hand. Man, some people have terrible handwriting!

A party might work...I guess the question in my mind would be what sort of party it would be, and that ties in to another issue: the different types of LJers.

Would it be right to divide LJers by age? Maybe it's just because I'm creaking with age, but to tell you the truth I have a hard time connecting with younger LJers. Half the time they're talking about their fabulous sex lives, which depresses me no end, and the other half they're using that crazy beat language talking about their hot rods and the Frug and raccoon coats, those crazy whippersnappers!

(I'm going to have a nice glass of chamomille tea and lie down, now. )

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

"There were stickers this time, but they were on the small side...and people were filling in their names by hand. Man, some people have terrible handwriting!"

I can make larger stickers, but there's no way to fill in names pre-con. (I used return address stickers because they were handy & wouldn't cover too much of the badge.)

I'll aim for larger ones for Boskone & see how they work.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Well, this is probably not a practical suggestion...but how about finding someone with the best/clearest handwriting possible, and getting them to fill in the labels? Preferably all in caps.

Just a thought. If that option had been offered to me, I definitely would have accepted.

Of course, my name's too bleeping long to be readable on a label anyway.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

You're not so old that you can't have a fabulous sex life, believe me.... you act like we're ready for the old age home just because we're not in the 20-something crowd.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Obviously you weren't raised by my mother.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just because I'm creaking with age, but to tell you the truth I have a hard time connecting with younger LJers. Half the time they're talking about their fabulous sex lives

-Trust me, sir, age is just a number. (Even when it comes to fabulous sex lives.) I would prefer not to see an age breakpoint, except possibly at one of the legally-relevant numbers like 18 or 21.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

ooooo see this finger? it says fuck you.... damn armenians. :P

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Adepsis girl!

thoughts from previous events

[erik-j-meyer.livejournal.com]

there was a Sunday afternoon panel at arisia
there was a Friday night party at noreascon4
there was a daytime social gather at pennsic_war

all three are viable items that could be requested (panel) or planned (party) for the next con.

Re: thoughts from previous events

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Panels tend to be pretty formal and space-limited though. I'd like to see panel+social thing, for more structured discussion vs. actually meeting people.

Re: thoughts from previous events

[erik-j-meyer.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of panel as 'set time daytime event'. The Terrace Room would probably be good for a decent sized event that could be loud.

Re: thoughts from previous events

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

That would be good, yeh.
I like the sticker idea, too. I know someone was offering them, but I didn't manage to catch one, shall have to make a more devoted effort next year. (It confuses me when people actually call me "mathilde", but it also bears no resemblance to my real name.)

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

Terrace room might be *too* big, but I don't know where else you'd hold an event like the mixer.

happypete and I talked about this, and we thought that maybe someplace with either wired or wireless 'net could be used. If we could arrange for people like me to bring in their wireless router boosters/repeaters, we could theoretically string internet to where ever we were meeting and then ask for other users to allow people to use their laptops to post, etc. Also is good for "converting the masses"

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Given the number of people jammed into the panel room on Sunday, the Terrace room might not be too big...particularly if the event started off, say, with a panel about whatever Six Apart or Yahoo had done to LJ over the past year.

As far as a mixer goes, I'm just envisioning everyone sitting around for hours staring at each other awkwardly, in dead silence. Sort of like most of the parties I throw.

Maybe some sort of six degrees of separation thing would work to get things moving...some way of sorting out who has friended who. Of course, it's almost inevitable that someone will have no friends there, which would suck.

You know, I just realized: for all we know LJ might not BE here by the time Arisia 2006 rolls around. Or it might have been so screwed up that we'll all be on The Greatest Journal instead. Who knows?

[dda.livejournal.com]

As far as a mixer goes, I'm just envisioning everyone sitting around for hours staring at each other awkwardly, in dead silence. Sort of like most of the parties I throw.

I suspect if you left a bunch of net-connected machines out, you'd have everyone lined up commenting to each other; there might not be any actual discussion going on in the room. :-)

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

You know what would be REALLY cool? If we invited Brad, Whitaker and a couple of the other LJ folk (and maybe some of the SA staff who are working on LJ) to come to the 'con to talk about LJ.

I think that a "structured mixer" would work well, with some of the more well-known LJ personalities (like ShadeSong, Unquietsoul5) at a long-ish table (maybe anyone who had a friend-of list of over 250?) with little name tag things with their Lj icons. Every 10 minutes or whatever, someone could give a challenger, like "find someone else who has Arisia Planning Board as an interest!" and everyone could scurry off.