Apparently, not everyone is like me …
A year ago today we closed on this house. When we moved in last September I told Rich I wanted to have a Nosy Neighbor Open House. We had spent all summer doing major construction and I wanted a chance to give all our new neighbors a tour (because I knew they were curious) without our furniture and pets in it. He was suspicious but agreeable to my crazy idea.
The plan was to have the Open House from 12-4 on Saturday and then spend Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend moving. At 11:45am, Rich sat me down and looked at me very seriously. He held my hand and said, “You know, not everyone is like you, Genie. I just don’t know how many people are going to want to walk around a stranger’s house that’s not for sale just so they can see what it looks like. So I just don’t want you to be upset if nobody shows up.”
I laughed and told him I figured it would be a good test of who the “cool” neighbors are and who would be offended by an Nosy Neighbor Open House. If they came, they were obviously cool and if they didn’t, enh, screw ‘em. We had a steady stream of traffic from 12-4 and had to kick the last guy out so we could go back and finish packing our old house. I teased Rich about all his concerns. It was a testament to the fact that there are just enough people in our neighborhood “like me” that would want to do something crazy like tromp through a stranger’s house if they got a flyer inviting them.
Many months later, we just finished our fourth volume of this Living Out Loud project. In January, I came up with this crazy idea that I wanted to encourage other people to join me in the endeavor of sharing things about ourselves on the Web. It would be a group effort and I would wave my pompoms and cheer everyone on with prizes and words of encouragement. Everyone would love it.
After it was obvious I was not going to get more than the six video submissions I had received for this month’s project, I wandered around the house not really sure what to do about it. I had promised a kick ass prize on the condition that 10 people participated (really eight if you don’t count Rich’s and mine) and didn’t think it would be that hard to inspire people to pick something to record. But here I was, well short of my goal and with all my participants being from Megan’s household, my own household and Karal (who has been a champ and participated every month).
Suddenly, I felt foolish posting so many Twitter and Facebook and blog reminders for something that I could have accomplished by just emailing Megan directly. I thought a super cool prize would inspire people. I naively thought that the simple requirement of just “tell me a story” in video format would get folks to try something. I thought the tutorials would at least get them started and that they would email me if they had questions because I’d be happy to help.
I just received an object lesson in how the rest of the world isn’t like me.
I am ridiculously pleased with the entries that were submitted. They all kick ass and are each unique and fun. And they really are like a window into each person’s world at the moment. That’s what makes it so magical. I’m so incredibly proud of them all for working outside their comfort zone. Karal didn’t even own a video camera but had to borrow one from me! She got her idea for the project at 1pm the day it was due but stayed up all night to finish it. She emailed me her entry at almost midnight and it is fantastic. Two of my entrants were under the age of 10!
It was just a little bittersweet, though, because I (again foolishly) assumed that people would like to talk about themselves on the Internet and would jump at the chance to play with a new medium. It turns out that really not everyone is like me. Hunh.
My disappointment didn’t manifest itself in some huge crying jag where I felt sorry for myself. It was more of a stomping around the house thinking, “Fuck. You. You know what? Fuck you, Internet.” And once I got past the fuck you stage, I wasn’t even so much mad at the Internet as just very disappointed in the Internet.
Give me a few more days and I’ll be over it. Focusing on the commitment of people like Rich, Megan, Karal and Kim to this project as well as the folks who have taken a chance and written really great entries in the past encourages me. Sure, not everyone is like me (not everyone on my street came to my open house last September). But a few people are willing to give it a try and from talking to them they’ve all found it very satisfying.
My problem has been in assuming that others would be as willing to try what I come up with. I spend too much time worrying that if they’re not entering something, they don’t care about it. But that would be like assuming everyone on my street would invite me into their house to snoop around versus just being more than happy to come snoop around mine. So in the mean time, I’ll just keep doing my thing and not fret over it. Maybe it’s not so bad that not everyone else is like me. I’m just pleased that those who do try living out loud once in a while get to experience just how fun it can be.
Darlin’ I already live more out-loud than makes my husband comfy… *grin* But I love reading the results of your challenges each time.
If’n I had a bloddy clue as to how to make a video and then import it, I would have – just to let you know that I was paying attention.
Genie Reply:
May 5th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Teehee. You have always been a gracious host to strangers tromping through your house and do a fine job of living out loud.
It wasn’t for lack of wishing I could spend hours making something creative and good. I just didn’t have the hours. Or rather, that the few hours I had I needed to zone out in, because the other hours were made up of thinking too hard! There are so many things I wish I could be doing, but I’m already doing things I want to do (work is kind of the exception but I can’t quit that.) One thing about doing the “real blog” thing is that I have to remind myself that my ten readers can go a week! Otherwise I get all shamey about it and that helps nothing.
Genie Reply:
May 6th, 2009 at 12:06 am
Yeah I thought about that when my site was down last night that at least this isn’t my paycheck. And I totally get the not enough hours thing in that I would love to just sit and write on a day like today but alas real life calls.
Oh PLEASE don’t give up. I have had ideas for every one of your competitions (except for the food thing and well I have food ISSUES).
Typical instance flow:
Genie posts an idea that lets people be creative and share a bit of themselves and promises goodies to boot.
Between 2and 4 days later I get around to catching up on my blog .. see it and go “SQEE” I could so DO that and immediately start plotting. With the fire of inspiration burning within me I get about 60% of the idea worked out right then, Grin to myself “this is gonna be cool”. Then inevitably something happens, mostly its my time evaporating. Which really IS funny because that was kinda the story board for the video. Me trying to walk linearly through a simple craft project and getting distracted to other projects/demos every step of the way. (my life in 4 minutes to a They might be Giants sound track)
But things do not work out like I plan, life interferes, I run out of time, or I just flat forget. The spirit is willing but the calendar is weak.
Sigh, please don’t give up on your readership and your vast number of friends. We are out here and lots of us are JUST like you only not nearly so organized. (or want to be like you when we grow up)
Marion Reply:
May 6th, 2009 at 7:28 am
This is basically my reply too, so I won’t re-type what she said so beautifully.
I’ve intended to participate in each one, but just haven’t made it quite yet!
Geena Reply:
May 6th, 2009 at 11:02 am
This is also my reply, so I’ll tag along with the commenter ahead of me…
I LOVED LOVED LOVED watching the videos. Even if there were fewer than you had hoped the effort people put into it was amazing.
I have loved all the ideas. Each month I think “this is the month I join in”. Then life happens. The deadline comes and I just don’t have time to do an entry. I love reading all everything that folks send in. PLEASE don’t stop. Maybe next time I will be organized enough to do it myself.
I read your challenge every time and was gung ho to participate this time – but I don’t have the technology for video. So sorry it wasn’t a will thing just an equipment issue.
Some of us aren’t as good at living out loud as you are; that doesn’t mean that you should give up, just because we watch from the sidelines without ever kicking the football. It also doesn’t mean that I’m not sitting there hoping that one of these months you’ll pick a topic that won’t be somewhat akin to peeling my skin off and staking it out somewhere. (Well, ok, except for the food thing. There are things I prefer to not eat, but that doesn’t mean I won’t eat them or haven’t. Haggis: done. Spam, Scrapple, blue mac and cheese: done. Weird stinky gelatinous things in asia that no one would identify for me: done. Couldn’t really think of anything for that project.)
Keep doing it, and one day more of your Internet ducklings might actually get in the water for you.
Genie,
I totally love your Living Out Loud projects. I couldn’t do the video one because I don’t have access to any kind of importable video and, well frankly I’m busy. A full time job, a part time job and two young children don’t leave me tons of free time. Shoot, I had a fabu idea for it too! I couldn’t do the food project before it because it was too triggery for me.
Please don’t give up just because we all don’t participate every time. It’s not that we won’t. Sometimes we just cant. I love living out loud! Give us some time to grow into it. It’s hard keeping up with you.
I love your living out loud projects, they make me think….hard… and in a good way. I wanted to participate in your video project but I ran into a wall on what to talk about. I don’t make a very photogenic video so I was trying to come up with something else; but the animals around the house wouldn’t cooperate and that’s really all I could think of… and I couldn’t think of anything until about an hour before it was due.. and then it was too late to film, edit and upload. (It didn’t help that I had also somehow missed your entry about editing software and how to upload, etc.).
Please don’t give up. You and your projects make the internet a better place.
I’m going to join the party and say please, don’t stop with the challenges! They are challenges, and interesting ones, and reading the responses has been wonderful. I also keep meaning to join in every month and either don’t have time or forget until an hour before the deadline or some other dumb excuse. The video one didn’t really capture my imagination because I don’t think quite that way… but I still think it’s great you did it. Maybe wait a few months and do Video LOL II? =)