I love Cons, I am sure many of you reading this Tribe enjoy Cons as well, Let us talk about them.
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posted by:
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Charlotte
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Re: Silent and Sad
Sat, April 5, 2008 - 12:03 PMI used to like them,but they cost way too much these days.
Patrick -
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Re: Silent and Sad
Sun, April 6, 2008 - 8:16 AMAgreed, they have become way too corporate and expensive by charging for packages that include "perks" like reserved seating, admission to special or exclusive shows, Dining with the Stars/Celebrity Cocktail Party (where in the old days they would just mingle for free) and early bird dealer room openings.
It seems to me in the last 10 years that the conventions ran by the fans have been far & few between and the new way of doing business is just alienating their fanbase and thats the main reason I haven't attended my local con for awhile only because that $30 1-day pass doesn't go as far or get me as much as it did in the past.
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Re: Silent and Sad
Wed, June 18, 2008 - 8:22 PMWTF cons are you going too? And you need to pay attention the the differences between "fan run con" and "media con" aka sales event.
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Re: Silent and Sad
Thu, June 19, 2008 - 6:16 PMThats really the point I was trying to make alot of cons are NOT Fan run events anymore and those that were, sold out and are now media or corporate events for example Vulcon -
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Re: Silent and Sad
Sun, June 22, 2008 - 11:08 PM
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Re: Silent and Sad
Thu, June 19, 2008 - 4:01 PMAs much as I enjoy (or used to enjoy) SF cons, unfortunately, I think they're dying. I recently read an argument on this opinion, particularly regarding Phoenix-area conventions, which now pull MAYBE 300 people on a good weekend (20 years ago, a small convention in Phoenix was 1,000.)
The article made some points that I agree with:
- The internet makes connecting with fellow fans easier. You don' t have to pay to hang with people who have the same interests you do.
- Face it, many fans are fans because they have no life otherwise. For whatever reason, they don't do well dealing with actual people -- even people with common interests. The internet keeps you from having to mingle.
- You don't have to buy a hotel room to discuss SF on the internet.
- You save gas.
Personally, I see some other reasons, primarily that none of the cons here in Phoenix really have anything worth paying to see. Lately, most of the GOHs have been artists and authors who live here anyway. What's the fun in that? I know them already!
The vendors here are ALWAYS THE SAME. The same books. The same T-shirts, the same little ceramic dragons, etc.
I like to filk, but as any good filker knows, if you're "in," they'll let you in the filk room even if you haven't paid to get into the convention.
I'm also noticing that the older I get, the older the population at the local cons gets. Sure, you have some folks in their 20s, but they're few and far between. Attending SF cons appears to be going the way of nudism. If you did it in the 60s and 70s, you do it now. If you weren't around for all the hippie-post-hippie era, you're probably not all that interested in it.
I can't remember the last time I saw a kid (read: under 30 person) at a SF convention reading a book.
The most interesting panel I've attended in the last three years was an after-midnight, adults-only panel that had nothing to do with SF at all, except maybe from a mechanical standpoint: a professional porn model talked about mechanical fucking machines. (Sadly, she didn't demonstrate.)
Are other con scenes out there as dismal as Phoenix?
TT
