Matt Moore's Blog, page 24
March 21, 2011
Schedule for Ad Astra 2011
I received my schedule for Ad Astra 2011, an annual science fiction convention in Toronto, Ontario. This year, it will be taking place April 8 – 10 at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites.
Full details can be found at http://www.ad-astra.org/.
Saturday
11:00 AM
How to Survive Your First Convention
Salon 343
Matt Moore, Diane Lacey (m), Amanda Stock, Aaron Allston
12:00 AM
Self-Publishing
Ballr. East
Matt Moore (m), Howard Tayler, Kent Allan Rees, Rob St. Martin, Shirley Meier, Karen Wehrstein
2:00 PM
Book Trailers
Salon 443
JM Frey (m), Todd McCaffrey , Matt Moore, Lesley Livingston
Sunday
10:00 AM
Reading On Screens
Ballr. Centre
Matt Moore (m), Dave Duncan, Marcy Italiano, Ryan McFadden, Aaron Allston
11:00 AM
Why Professionalism Matters
Ballr. Centre
Matt Moore (m), Scott Edelman, Howard Tayler, Ziana de Bethune, Gregory Wilson
2:00 PM
It's the Best/Worst Time to be a Writer
Ballr. East
Matt Moore (m), Stephen Jones, Eric Flint, Ken Lillie-Paetz, Douglas Smith
3:00 PM
Face-to-Face Critique Groups
Salon 243
Matt Moore (m), Robert Boyczuk, Mike Rimar, Aaron Allston
I hope to see you there!
March 14, 2011
Great Review for My Short Story "Full Moon Hill"
Adam Shaftoe of Adam Shaftoe's Page of Reviews has published a fabulous review of my short story "Full Moon Hill," currently available on Lightning Flash Magazine (and was first published in On Spec magazine).
The whole review reads like I paid my best friend to write it, but some highlights:
With very few words, Full Moon Hill offers an airtight story that is as bio-politically disturbing as it is utterly compelling. . . . (It's) the kind of tale that sets a benchmark between a good story and great literature.
I am floored, overwhelmed, humbled and psyched to receive such a great review. Read the full review and please leave a comment to show some love.
Adam also reviewed "Touch the Sky, They Say" (available on AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review), but was not quite as taken with this story as "Full Moon Hill." I don't disagree with his review, but I think the difference there was wanting a hard SF story vs. a modern fairytale (which is what I was going for).
Are the New Google Profiles the Tipping Point for Social Media Experts?
A couple of weeks ago, Google rolled out revisions to its Profiles pages. Profiles have been around for a long time, but the revision had a "somewhat Facebook-y layout" (Techland). These changes gained more attention when rumors buzzed that Google was going to roll out Circles, its Facebook competitor, at SXSW. An announcement never occurred, but Google isn't denying that a new social networking site is coming.
It's obvious why Google would move into this space. While it has Orkut, it never clicked with a North American audience. Being able to provide a social networking platform that can seamlessly integrate Google properties—Picasa, YouTube, Gmail and let's not forget Google AdWords—is a no-brainer. Taking a page from Facebook, Google could improve what it knows about you and how to target its ads by having a central social networking hub.
However, let's not forget that Google Buzz and Wave never became the game changers they were predicted to be. A social networking site on par with Facebook is a risk several of order magnitude greater, especially considering how entrenched Facebook is in the lives of so many people.
Could Circles Fragment Social Media Expertise?
Circles could be a huge success. And that has me a little worried about keeping up with all the information that's out there.
I started working with social media in January 2006. By 2008, it was a major component of my career. Researching new social media tools ("What's this Twitter?", "Why is everyone talking about FourSquare?", "Should we be looking at Quora?") takes about a lot of my time. And there are still social media sites and tools I've never heard of.
It's one thing to not know all of Vimeo's options and tools because YouTube is still the top site for online video (although a discussion of volume vs. quality might even things out). But if Circles is a success, it cannot be ignored. And that's one more site one needs to be an expert on. Could it be too much to stay current with?
This situation reminds me of a time in 1997. I'd taught myself HTML, JavaScript and CSS. A friend recommended I learn something called Active Server Pages (ASP), but I ignored him, thinking I had the full toolbox. By 2000, we saw not only ASP, but PHP, ColdFusion, JSP were common, mainstream tools. Web development had split into front-end and back-end groups. Over time, these groups would split again into even more specialized areas.
Will the same fragmenting of specialities happen with social media? Will we see specialists in:
Mirco-blogging (Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook updates)
Media sharing (Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo)
Social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)
Location (FourSquare, Google Places)
Informative collaboration (Wikipedia, Yahoo! Answers, Quora)
With more and more questions coming to me about an increasingly broad range of sites, tools and technologies, the emergences of specialities within social media—once a speciality in and of itself—might be inevitable.
What do you think? Are we already seeing the rise of narrow specialists vs. broad generalists in the social media field?
March 1, 2011
What Mobile OS is Being Used in What Country?
I ran across this infographic on ReadWriteWeb, which shows a breakdown of mobile operating systems in use by countries across the world. (Click for full size on readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com.)
What strikes me is how it speaks to knowing your target audience. If you are developing an app to reach the English-speaking world, developing for the BlackBerry, Droid and Apple OS will cover virtually everyone.
But if you are trying to reach developing markets—China, Brazil, India—then you must develop for the Nokia platform, which is virtually unused in the English-speaking world except for a small percentage in Australia, and might consider Samsung as well, another OS that has not penetrated the English-speaking market.
All in all, it is quiet remarkable to see how fragmented the mobile OS market is. And according to Deloitte, the market will remain that way for the near future.
(The image is made available by http://www.icrossing.co.uk/ under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.)
February 22, 2011
Replace Facebook Page FBML Tab with iFrame Apps
Advantages
Pulling a page you create and host into Facebook allows for a much more dynamic experience within Facebook and allows you to continue to use your programming skills rather than having to learn the Facebook API.
Since you are pulling in an existing page, you can code and develop on your live site without having to log into Facebook, which adds a layer of security to credentials (i.e., some people can administer Facebook, others can access the live site).
You don't have to use trial-and-error with the code you enter in FBML being stripped out by the parser.
Disadvantages
It adds a layer of unnecessary complexity if all you want to do is create a static page of content and images.
You must have a webpage to show in the iFrame. If you're a small organization without a website or using a free service like a WordPress blog for your web presence, this is a problem.
It will be interesting to see 6 months from now it iFrames have fully replaced FBML or if we see an FBML-lite option still available.
How to Set Up Facebook iFrames Apps to Replace FBML on Pages
Advantages
Pulling a page you create and host into Facebook allows for a much more dynamic experience within Facebook and allows you to continue to use your programming skills rather than having to learn the Facebook API.
Since you are pulling in an existing page, you can code and develop on your live site without having to log into Facebook, which adds a layer of security to credentials (i.e., some people can administer Facebook, others can access the live site).
You don't have to use trial-and-error with the code you enter in FBML being stripped out by the parser.
Disadvantages
It adds a layer of unnecessary complexity if all you want to do is create a static page of content and images.
You must have a webpage to show in the iFrame. If you're a small organization without a website or using a free service like a WordPress blog for your web presence, this is a problem.
It will be interesting to see 6 months from now it iFrames have fully replaced FBML or if we see an FBML-lite option still available.
February 17, 2011
How to Write Flash Fiction
Flash fiction—generally defined as stories 1,000 words or less—is seeing a rise in popularity, especially online.
But how can you write a story in only 1,000 words?
Tips for Writing a Flash Story
Include the Elements of a Story
Remember, you're writing a story. It has a beginning, middle and end. And like all stories, it must have character, settings, plot, conflict. Finally, something must change during the story—a character discovers something about him/herself; a simple event has far-reaching consequences.
Decide What Element Is Primary, the Rest Are Secondary
The tale of three-dimensional characters in sumptuous settings engaged in a complex plot requires many thousands of words. For flash, focus on one element of storytelling. Is your story about a character? An event? An idea? Use details for that piece and quick, simple sketches for the others.
Keep the Action in One Location
For each setting, you need to describe it as well as the transition and the motivation for moving from one to another. So, keep your story in a single location. Once described, give indications throughout the story–smells, texture, furniture, people–to keep the story grounded.
Use Clichés, Stereotypes and Tropes
While all stories should strive to be original, using things we've seen before quickly establishes story elements in the reader's mind. Think about:
The tough-as-nails woman business executive who secretly longs for marriage and children
2 a.m. at an all-night diner just off the highway in the middle of nowhere
The whore with the heart of gold and her possessive, violent pimp
A rusty, iron door at the bottom of a metal staircase in the basement of an abandoned warehouse
We've seen these things before and they provoke certain expectations, imagery and feelings. While clichés in longer works are frowned upon as unoriginal, in shorter fiction they work to your advantage. In a few words, you can establish setting, tone or character.
And it might also provide the opportunity for misdirection.
Establish Setting, Character and Conflict Quickly
Throwing too much at a reader quickly can overwhelm them. Even in short stories, you should take a page or two to introduce characters, setting and conflict. In flash fiction, all of this should be established in a paragraph or two. Readers will only be with your character(s) for a few pages, so set the stakes quickly.
Establish a "Hook" in the Opening Line
This advice applies to all fiction, but is vital in flash. Readers have to sit up and pay attention immediately. Don't open with the line "It was sunny." Try:
The morning sun barely penetrated the coils of black smoke filling the sky.
It was a sunny morning, marking the beginning of the 2,000th day without rain.
If I could've had a say, I'd have wanted thunderstorm on the morning of my death instead of sunshine.
What Flash Fiction Is Not
With all of this said, there are types things to avoid when writing flash fiction.
The Knock-Knock Joke
A knock-knock joke is 90% misdirection, 10% gotcha! Though amusing, for fiction this is lazy writing. Like "It was all a dream" or "But they were already dead" endings, all the effort is put into building up to the switch, not telling a good story.
Vignettes
Flash fiction should be a complete story, not a scene from a larger story. No matter how well-written, something should change over the course of a story.
February 13, 2011
Why Use the "Use Facebook as Page" Option
Facebook has finally rolled out its new Pages.
While a lot has been said about the new layout or the "Everyone" filter, the "Use Facebook as Page" option caught my attention. This feature would allow a page administrator to interact with Facebook as that page, not their profile.
Opportunity for Outreach
For those who administer Facebook pages for organizations, this feature has great appeal. While interacting on a page with its fans, you and other administrators appear as that page, not your profile. (With the exceptions of Likes, which show up as your profile, not the Page.) But any interactions beyond that page must be done with your name and face.
For small businesses where you and your organization are one and the same, this isn't a problem. But if you keep your work and personal lives separate (like me) and/or don't want to be seen as a spokesperson for your organization (leading to friend requests from people you don't know or being held accountable for what your organization does), you were stuck.
Being able to use the page's name and icon beyond your page presented a great opportunity to interact with and engage others.
What New Facebook as Pages Can't Do
Unfortunately, "Use Facebook as Page" is more limited than I'd hoped. You can't interact with someone's profile—no likes or comments. And you can't see Groups when using Facebook as your page.
The changes are understandable. Facebook has always been about people. Allowing a page the same options as a person could easily lead to a page spamming someone's Wall or raiding Groups to promote their products.
But it still does allow you to do some cool things.
What New Facebook Pages Can Do
Using Facebook as a page allows you to interact with other pages as your page. You can leave a comment or like an item on behalf of your page. So if your company is being discussed on another page, you can be a part of the discussion without exposing your Facebook profile to the flames of attackers. (But that also means having a monitoring strategy in place.)
It can also allow linked brands or products to cross-promote. If someone from the UK posts a question or comment on the Wall for the Canadian version of a product, the UK page can respond right on the Canadian page's Wall. Though the Canadian page could try to answer the question or refer the user to the UK page, providing an authoritative answer where the user is presents a better user experience.
Also, pages now allow you to highlight page owners. For those small organizations that want to tie themselves with their owner, the owner's Facebook profile can appear in this section, even if others maintain the page.
Somewhat surprisingly, a page can also interact with Events. As your page, you can create a new event, indicate attendance and leave comments. A savvy move, this new options recognizes that companies host events and should be able to interact with attendees. So someone looking for directions can be handled by someone who knows the area well. Issues around costs and fees would be dealt with by whoever is handling logistics. A question about when the event starts would be covered by whomever is setting the agenda. But rather than several faces appearing to answer these question, it would all appear to come from the organization, adding a level of credibility.
So Now What?
While this new feature presents some opportunities, a challenge could be keeping it all straight. A page is seen as a single persona, but there may be a large team—or several teams—behind it. If an events coordinator comments on a post for an Event, and then someone posts a question about that comment on the page's Wall, which is maintained by another team, there could be a scramble to find the right person to provide the answer.
And, this also opens up the debate about using a human face and name to interact in the social space, or a brand name and logo. When it comes to Facebook, though, I don't want to get my profile mixed up with my job, especially if I switch jobs.
And, like we saw on Twitter, how long will it be before Coke or Pepsi posts on the other's wall?
February 9, 2011
Please nominate me for Drabble of the Year
The Drabblecast is open (until tomorrow, sorry for he late notice) for Peoples Choice Award. You can nominate my drabble, "The Wall of Gloves," http://drabblecast.freeforums.org/drabble-nominations-t2841.html and entering it in the comments of the forums.
Thanks for your support.
February 4, 2011
Kenneth Cole's #Cairo Tweet in Bad Taste, But Still Successful
Yesterday, Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc., a New York fashion house, released a tweet:
Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC
Though this tweet has subsequently been deleted (originally at http://twitter.com/#!/KennethCole/statuses/33177584262971393), others took screen captures of it: http://yfrog.com/h5348jkhtj.
The uproar on Twitter and Facebook was considerable. I won't talk about what a bad idea this was to use hash tag spam in such bad taste. Plenty of others have. And I won't get into whether using bad taste can result in more coverage than one could ever expect by playing it safe.
What I will draw your attention to is the link used in the tweet. The great thing about bit.ly is the stats for a link are available to anyone. So I invite you look at http://bit.ly/KCairo+.
As I write this, late Thursday night, there's been nearly 15,000 clicks on the link. So I guess despite the uproar, this tweet accomplished its message of getting people to look their new spring collection.
I guess this brings up the question: intentional bad taste or accidental success?
