If that's a thing. I kind of hope it's a thing. I'd like to know there is a point at which SOMETHING is impossible no matter how many computers you throw at it, but wow do I already digress.
So what did you guys do all weekend?? Because I spent mine trying to gather and categorize all of the back history for the Slenderman fandom/universe/whatever in a misguided and ultimately futile attempt to document things before it whirled away in to oblivion. I think I missed the time frame. In fact, I dropped the entire idea at 2am after my google searches were reduced to nothing but angry spam about newcomers to the mythos.
Now that Slender is a thing (and people will probably hate me, but I actually really liked the simplicity of the game, got a chance to play it the other night and it seems to cover the basics of the character/horror of his attention really well.) there is the usual showdown that happens between two groups... the initial ones who discovered and nurtured the slowly growing universe/fandom - and the "johnny come lately" group, or people that just found out about it and swarmed in.
We're seeing now what I like to call The Hipster Affect, or the "I knew about it first" phenomenon.
Not a legit term, but descriptive enough that you get the gist. The original people who knew about it before Slender now have massive geek and street cred.
So I guess that means I have geek cred, because I knew about it back in 2009, although I didn't find out about it until late December. And as I mentioned in one of my videos, I totally dismissed it as another flash in the pan or Creepy Pasta wannabe. OH HOW WRONG I WAS.
In the end this will actually turn out to be a good thing, because I can also now include not just the idea of Slenderman as a meme, but the entire dynamics of two groups coming together and fighting over what exactly that meme IS. It should provide godawfully amazing stuff. I feel like now I shouldn't just be standing up and giving my speech, I need to interview some of the creators and ask about their investment in Slenderman being a specific way and why that information is so important to maintain. That is, after all, the heart of mimetics-that a thought is purely replicated. Right now that purity is being challenged. Is the backlash because of a need to preserve the data as originally received? Is it just a matter of being resistant to changing the information in the face of people who don't understand the original gist? You KNOW that I am secretly hoping it is the data itself fighting to keep pure in the transmission. After all, we had a solid idea of who and what he was for a looooong time, and now all of that is being challenged.
This is the stuff I live for, believe it or not. Not internet flame wars, but watching the fast and heavy transmission of data and ideas back and forth between groups and seeing what behaviors, speech, even words may change in reaction to it. It's just awesome. (Probably boring for the rest of you, though.)
SO... now that that is all done allow me to share my current library. A user by the name of deadjosey
on Tumblr was sweet enough to compile a MASSIVE and extensive list of Slenderman resources. I'm just going to list them here so people know where I'm drawing from:
First the list of all of the Slenderman video blogs (known to date). (It's missing Ashesfallbro and Willow Adder, as a side-note)
Secondly the list of of all of the known Slenderman written blogs. I've read through a few, but this list is damned scary. Sampling is going to be a bitch, but we already knew this.
I do feel I should extract the one that is considered the forerunner of most slenderblogs, Seeking the Truth, and link that here, because this may become a resource in the future for people the way I'm using it to organize my thoughts now. I was also told that a lot of people reference The Tutorial (aka Get Up High) as a place to start with the Slenderman mythos, so I will link that as well.
Thirdly, the link explaining the in-depth origins of Slenderman. Rejoice, this just saved me from boring you with a 6-page summary on the slow dissection of the Something Awful forum thread. If you're truly curious, you can spend a late night bouncing through this and scaring yourself. It's pretty fun if you aren't busy.
I had originally mentioned going over the signs and symptoms, and I will do that. In fact I'll do that later today now that I can take a break from organizing my thoughts.
In other news.... well, nothing on the sociology front. Still no word from my academic liaison. I may actually drive down to campus and see what's up and why she's dodging me.
Proof that my email IS working in spite of this, got an email from Mr. Talbrie asking if I would stick around until the end of September, apparently he doesn't feel entirely "clear-headed" yet. Personally I think he just doesn't like his job and he's milking the time off, but whatever.
I was supposed to move over to student apartments next week but was told there was a mix up in paperwork that will delay that for a little bit. Gotta love synchronicity. I emailed him back to say that was fine. As long as the money keeps showing up in the account, what do I care?
My only complaint these days really besides the kids running around behind the house and the noises at night... this place is just freaking COLD. Like all the windows open, no AC, 80 degrees outside, and I have to wear a hoodie to keep from shivering.
No more break-ins, thankfully. That freaked me out when I finally saw it on the video. There was nobody downstairs by the time I went back, and that downstairs has been triple-checked for being locked now.
Now to go make some coffee and finalize the idea of what "data" is transmitted in all of these things. Or, in other words, I'ma make a long list of similarities between blogs. You were warned, it's gonna be boring.
Aaaand now I'm just doing the written version of thinking out loud. Gonna put this to an end. Caffeine is my friend and I am out!
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