Some Final Thoughts on San Diego Comic Con

San Diego Comic Con is the pinnacle of geek culture. Pretty much everything you can think of in the entertainment world is somehow represented there. From Power Rangers to Galactus to Buffy to Peanuts and Charlie Brown, and everything in between. It's a great melting pot of fandom, with people coming from all over the world to take part, but there are some elements that were distressing to me as a newcomer, much like with national student affairs conventions.

The Verge did a great piece that gave voice to some of my concerns, and The New York Times highlighted well the convention experience as a whole. The long lines, the shallow industry showcases disguised as fan service, the overwhelming crowds, and the exclusive, fairly expensive nature (especially with airfare, meals, and hotels) of it all just seemed very privileged to me. The convention lost some of its immediate luster to me after spending a few days there. Maybe I just didn't do it right, but I didn't feel like the point of it all was to spend half of your hard fought ticket to SDCC waiting in lines for a short session that essentially was just a studio patting itself on the back for how great their thing is (and then the trailer you saw being released the next day online). There was a lack of depth that annoyed me to most of the proceedings. There was so much going on it's not surprising. There just wasn't a time or place for it.

Maybe the whole event has become a bloated version of what it was originally intended to be and it will eventually deflate back to a more focused event. Or maybe that is what the other conventions are for. Nowadays though, a lot of comic conventions seem to be trying to model themselves after SDCC, becoming huge entertainment industry showcases versus a focus on panels, artists, and personal interactions. Also, it's a whole other post in itself about the problems SDCC has with consent and cosplay.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time. It just feels like it could have been even better. Maybe if I get the chance to go again it will be different. Maybe I'm expecting too much or maybe it's all just not for me. The crowds were frustrating for me at times, I couldn't buy a lot of stuff even if I wanted to (I didn't that much), and I got confused many times about just how the convention worked. Maybe I should have done more homework and preparing.

Well, either way, until next year, here's to the memories and the weird, wild, and one of a kind San Diego Comic Con.

Highlights From #SDCC15

From July 9-12 I was at 2015 San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), which was my first time ever attending this mecca of sorts for geeks and nerds (and my first time ever in California). It was a whirlwind trip that had a lot of great highlights for me.

First off, the weather in San Diego was beautiful for the weekend I was there. The sun was out, it wasn't too hot, and overall it was just a great setting to be able to explore and experience the area. I did a lot of walking over the few days I was there, which wore me out a bit and gave me a solid sunburn towards the end of the trip.

On the first day of the trip (Thursday), I walked to the convention center to check in and just walked around the show floor and other off-site events to see everything and get a lay of the land. I eventually made my way to the San Diego Central Library for the panel I was helping to cover. This was definitely a huge highlight and it was what enabled me to come out in the first place so I'm really happy I was able to sit in and take a bunch of photos of the session.

After that panel, I crashed back at my room since I had to wake up early that day for my long flight from Boston. On Friday, I did more exploring, got tickets for a session, popped in for a panel, and then played the new Star Wars Battlefront game on the PlayStation 4. The Nerd HQ was demoing the game and it was incredible! I would contemplate getting a system to play this game it was that good. Then I went to the Nerdist Conival to see of their speakers (mainly Felicia Day). Both the Conival and Nerd HQ were free to anyone to come in, no SDCC badge was required. They both a lot of fun activities and it was nice that they were there as accessible options for fans to enjoy.

My favorite session that I got to go to was the Nerdist Podcast Network Podcast Jam (an unwieldy title to be sure) that featured Jonah Ray, Matt Mira, Pete Holmes, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Gordon, and Sandra Daugherty. There was also a kid who does a podcast apparently on the network (The Mutant Season) that I had no idea who he was but it was sort of neat to hear from a young person and the impact doing a podcast has had on him. I had never seen all these people in person, much less all at the same time. It was hilarious! They provided some neat insights as well from their collective years podcasting. As a fan of the medium and an avid podcaster myself, it was definitely a major highlight of the whole con for me.

Saturday was spent checking out a local beach and dipping my feet in the Pacific Ocean (a life goal for me). I came back to SDCC later in the day to check out Adam Savage from MythBusters do a Q&A session as well as a session from the folks at Nerd for a Living about doing just that; how to get into nerdy creative fields like costume design, movie makeup and effects, comic writing/illustrating, etc. I have appreciated the work they do for a little while now so it was cool to be able to check this panel out.

After all that, I packed up and got to bed so I could head out the next morning for my flight back to the East Coast. It was an awesome trip and experience that I did not expect to have so soon in my life. I'll try to capture more of my in depth thoughts in a future post, but I just wanted to share some of the cool highlights from the trip with you all. If you haven't gone before, I hope you get the opportunity to do so at some point. It's an amazing experience to behold, and will definitely be memorable for you for your own awesomely geeky reasons.

Thanks for stopping by!

3 Ways to Learn From Geek Culture to Build Campus Community

With New York Comic Con drawing near and several other local conventions happening all the time across the country, it got me thinking about how there is such a vibrant community of geeks/nerds out there that come together wherever they are to celebrate what they love, whether that's anime, video games, comic books, television, or movies. Any organization or institution would love to see such a passionate and engaged audience come out for their efforts or programs. An audience that buzzes about things coming up, is willing to wait in line, and has no problem paying for content that is valuable to them.

Transitioning the best of the geek realm to the worlds of higher education & student affairs may be a jump and easier said than done, but I think there are some valuable takeaways to be considered about how to get a community excited and engaged.

Traditions

All good geeks & nerds know the foundational times of their favorite cons and in an age of instant streaming on demand, still make an appointment of viewing their favorite shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead or make sure to go to midnight releases of the stuff they can't wait for. Making annual traditions on your campus allow for students and the community to have something to look forward to each year. A yearly week long series of events or an annual concert allows for people to know generally when something is coming and they can build buzz for the thing they're anticipating. There is also power in sharing in an experience like Comic Con. People can share the past years they went and what was special about it for them and there is a connection if you've ever been to San Diego Comic Con, it doesn't matter which year. A common example of this on college campuses is homecoming weekends, where current and former students always have it to look forward to and there is a connection to the tradition itself and what it symbolizes. Everyone there has a bond to the campus and feels like they're coming home. Striving for more events like this for students and our communities allows for a common identity and an engaged audience for our efforts.

Symbols

Shared symbols are another important way to get a community together. Be it the Green Lantern symbol, the Starfleet insignia, Spider-Man's emblem, or the mushroom from Super Mario, all good geeks and nerds know these symbols or any others as a sort of badge of honor and instant geeky credentials. Colleges benefit from this as well but shouldn't rest on their laurels. Maximize these symbols with traditions to connect students and the community with the institution so people will display the school's logo proudly. I've seen a lot of schools go all in on this to build pride in their students and an instant identity in their communities. Just think about the Nittany Lion from Penn State, the block R from Rutgers, or the other simple, commonly known emblems from the big state schools across the country. All they need is their symbol for instant recognition. No words needed.

Connections

Of course, all of this means nothing if you don't get people connected to each other. People are excited to talk about what they're passionate about, so if you provide and venue and context to do this, connections will ensue. I love to talk about geeky stuff I'm into with friends and I love finding new people to geek out with. Something similar to this in the college sphere is alumni of an institution finding each miles away from their collegiate home. They can reminisce about their time on campus and make a bond from their shared experience. Many institutions do this of course but it can be taking this a step further to actively make introductions, provide more contextual opportunities for alumni to connect with each other and alumni to connect with current students like workshops on particular topics or networking events centered on a certain major or affinity. There are numerous opportunities to capitalize on the passion folks associated with your institution have and all of us in student affairs can be the conduit or provide the conduits for this energy to be maximized.

Working through these simple avenues will help create a passionate community surrounding your institution. Your students will have an identity, school pride, and be excited to be on campus. Hopefully these simple concepts are helpful to folks, and that they at least start the gears turning of how to get your students to geek out with you!

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 07/25/14

Hello fellow geeks and nerds!

Happy San Diego Comic-Con! Here is what I'm geeking out about lately:

• Guardians of the Galaxy

I have shared my love of this movie before but I am getting more and more excited for it. I've heard a lot of good, positive buzz ahead of the release and all the footage from the movie looks great. It's an ambitious move for Marvel but I think it's going to pay off, and open up the entire intergalactic aspect of the Marvel Universe. Now all we have to do is get that Doctor Strange movie rolling, with its magical elements and we'll have most of the rich Marvel Comics tapestry covered in the Cinematic Universe. Click above for an awesome recent trailer for GotG. Be on the lookout for my thoughts on the movie in the near future!

• Bangor, Maine

I've been living in Maine, and more specifically Bangor, for almost a month now and it has been fun to explore a new place. I liken the area to when I lived in Delaware for most of my life, so it feels familiar and new at the same time. I look forward to continuing to explore, network, and settle in here. I feel like I can get used to this place since I'd like to stay for at least two years. Stay tuned for more tales of my adventures in Maine!

• 2014 San Diego Comic-Con!

This weekend is the geek mecca of San Diego Comic-Con. There has been some neat nuggets from the convention already but the meat of the awesome news is yet to come. I always enjoy what comes out of this amazing event, and having checked out New York Comic-Con last year before I moved, I feel like I know first-hand the magic of these conventions. I look forward to going to more Comic-Cons in the future!

Thanks for stopping by and keep on geeking on!

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

Good day to you!

In honor of the upcoming convention, I just watched the great Morgan Spurlock documentary on San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, and I must say, it was a delight! It totally encapsulates the power an accepting community can have and had some nice stories of the nerds who attend for all different reasons, be it love or ambition or anything in between.

Check it out, true believers!