THE GREAT SILENCE

So, "Blue Heaven" has been out for a few weeks, and the Great Silence 
has been, more-or-less, present in the same form, and to the same degree 
as I expected.  There've been a few little surprises here and there, and 
I've spoken with some friendly folks in the audio drama community.  Some 
of the peeps from my usual haunts have been nice too.  Most haven't 
heard it.  Again, pretty-much like I expected.

This is the area I was sure I'd have issues with before I started this 
project -- the promotions, I mean.  And, indeed, I've turned out to be 
prophetic in this regard.  It wasn't any big mystical moment, though, 
as, historically, I've been dreadful at networking.  In a way, such 
things don't take a whole lot more than merely being present in certain 
communities.  I understand that.  But when I've spent an hour pouring 
through forums, or lurking on the IRC, or reading microblogging 
conversations, all without ever jumping in, it begins to seem a little 
pointless.  And, I suppose, if that's all I'm ever going to do, it truly 
is.

Marketing.  Promotions.  Selling.  

Dirty, dirty words...

Well, anyway, in order to participate meaningfully in the communities of 
others, I would need to put in time and energy.  Not just in reading the 
words, but in regard to the various subject matters of the conversations 
as well.  See, THAT'S where the real time commitment comes in.  Whenever 
you join a new community -- especially one that has been afield of your 
usual interests -- there is a great deal of learning to do.  
Terminology, major players, popular subjects or content that everyone 
but you is familiar with.  Getting up to speed on these things takes 
time.  And if your ULTIMATE goal is to promote your own material within 
said communities, you absolutely need to put in that time, lest you 
appear opportunistic or spammish.  Should you come across in a negative 
way, your actions actually hurt your case, rather that help it.

So without the proper commitment, I become very reluctant to insert 
myself into the conversations of others.  The commitment should, at 
least in theory, be a reflection of honest interest and enthusiasm.  But 
when you have myriad and disparate communities that you (maybe honestly) 
want to become involved in, your time needs must become carefully 
managed.  NOT my strength.  Maybe I can re-implement my Shotgun 
Schedule?  That's the sort of thing that requires regular maintenance 
anyway -- you know, dropping old tasks and adding new ones, 
nip-and-tucking the placement of them throughout the day, etc.

But, whatever the system, I need one in place for this sort of thing.  I 
mean, it isn't TOTALLY self-interest here.  There's a lot to learn from 
the various audio drama communities out there.  The level of skill and 
talent on the InterWebs is much higher these days than it was even a few 
years ago, when I last did a serious survey.  It's certainly worth 
exploring.  Though the cost is steep (my time), the results can only be 
positive.


Friday, Feb. 18, 2011
(c) 2011 lostnbronx
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