life_wo_fanlib | A FanLib L Word contest, for the very first time...again?

This businesswire press release dated yesterday deeply confuses me.

OurChart.com, the social networking website launched from an idea in Showtime Networks’ hit series “The L Word,” and FanLib®, the People Powered EntertainmentTM company, today announced an online writing contest that will culminate in a fan-scripted scene being incorporated into an episode of “The L Word” and produced and aired as part of a regular television series for the first time.

Huh? Didn't FanLib already do an L Word contest? And what is "OurChart.com"?

The ‘You Write It’ event realizes the vision of seeing fan stories incorporated into Hollywood productions,” said Chris M. Williams, co-founder and CEO of FanLib. “At FanLib, we’ve had a groundbreaking year by producing people powered online events including ‘Star Trek: Kirk vs. Picard,’ ‘In The MotherHood,’ and now, ‘You Write It.’

Um, Chris, Kirk vs. Picard just started. It might really suck. So BE QUIET. My God, Mimbo, have we taught you nothing?

OurChart.com and "You Write It" seems to be more of the same, yet another Williams brothers product repackaging, starting with my2centences. Read the press release and join me in my confusion, okay, thanks.

Note: businesswire is a vanity press release site. You pay them to publish your press release and hope legitimate news services pick it up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Umm, Chris, Kirk vs. Picard just started. It might really suck. So BE QUIET. My God, have we taught you nothing?

I'm guessing no. He'd have to listen first.

I'm reminded of people in fandom who make everyone angry, decide they want a new start, and get a new screen name. Eventually they do get outed.

I'm reminded of people in fandom who make everyone angry, decide they want a new start, and get a new screen name.

That is probably it. FanLib was thoroughly heckled. Now they are a sockpuppet company. Hee!

“At FanLib, we’ve had a groundbreaking year ...

That made me chuckle. Year? How long have they been running? They're trying to make it sound like they've been around since my granny was writing Gone with the Wind fanfic.

"Groundbreaking" as in "digging our own grave".

You win!

*snert*

They launched in March! WTF! Quick, somoene tell Mimbo how many months there are in a year.

Also, I'm pretty sure the "In The Motherhood" contest is fucking ancient, soooo 2006.

I assume he's talking about FanLib the writing contest marketing machine, not FanLib the fanfiction archive. Which is just CRAP after the Mimbo Brothers [I have trouble telling them apart; their love is so pure] emphasized in the Henry Jenkins interview they are all about the love now, not the marketing swill.

...great, now all the fanbrats are going to insist that their badfic really can hit our TV screens. >_>

It's really depressing there are folks who believe contests like this give them legitimacy. It's just exploitation.

If a real news site does pick it up, why not send them a nice, polite email informing them about what has been going on with FanLib and pointing out the errors in that press release?

That plus a list of about thirty articles on the subject.

Based on the last couple of press releases FanLib has issued, no one will pay any attention whatsoever. :D

Umm, Chris, Kirk vs. Picard just started. It might really suck. So BE QUIET.

Actually this may work out (well, work out for us, at any rate ;)

They are over-extending themselves; too confident in themselves.

The old adage 'never count your chickens before they're hatched' applies here. They've got a huge basket of eggs at the moment and the person carrying them is drunk and playing at the edge of a cliff.

Whoops..there goes their eggs.

I say let them do this. Let them hang their own necks...

Too confident? Yeah, whether they believe in it or not, I think they have to do the chest-thumping stuff -- it's required for all companies supported by venture capital. If they aren't "hot", they are dead.

And FanLib is not precisely warm, if you know what I mean. ;)

At FanLib, we’ve had a groundbreaking year by producing people powered online events

Their marketing speak gives me hives, seriously.

Yes. The phrase "people powered" alone consigns them to Marketing Speak Hell.

More like "guinea pig powered". Their forum alone is anemic. I joined to poke at them and have a little fun, but they put me to sleep instead.

My guess at the new company name is that they're trying to transition some of the business to it, since there is just too much negativity associated with Fanlib.

a fan-scripted scene being incorporated into an episode of “The L Word” and produced and aired as part of a regular television series for the first time.

Maybe the results of the first "L Word" contest sucked and didn't make it into the show...? [wry smile] Hey, they've attracted so many more great writers since then [cough] I'm sure this one'll turn out better!! :D

Angie, eyerolling

Well, shee-it. This seems to be the web site that matters:

http://lword.fanlib.com/

It says the contest will be totally wrapped up July 18th. WHAT!>!?!?! That's eight days from now!

Don't they know what the flock is going on in their own company? They are talking about the Star Trek thing as if it's over, and they are promoting a contest that has basically ended!

*jaw gapes*

I don't see a date on there anywhere so we don't know when it started.

And in fact, now I'm wondering whether this is the trailing edge of their earlier contest...? :/ Because it seems really weird that they'd run a contest for such an incredibly short time, or conversely that they'd have started a couple of weeks ago or whenever without sending out any info about it. I got an e-mail about the Trek contest so why haven't I gotten one about the L Word contest? That's just bizarre. Of course, I didn't get the Trek e-mail until a couple of days after that contest had started so maybe they still haven't figured out about sending e-mail notifications in a timely manner. :P

About the Trek contest, if I remember the dates correctly it is almost over; they should be on the third or maybe even the fourth of the four scenes by now, so they're getting close.

Angie

It seems, that the L word contest started on 30. June 2007, at least that´s the date I found at their website for L word. But I had a look at the forums and they seem to have a lot of members and the oldest forum posts go back to January 2006. I couldn´t be arsed to go and have a thorough look and maybe figure out what happened since then, but my guess would be that it is somehow still the first L word contest... And who I found moderating the forums? Not bryson *whew*, but holly9000 is a pretty familiar name... somehow I thought that she was new to this Fanlib thing. Well, apparently she isn´t...

Possibly the L Word contest has finally reached the judging phase? Man, it's bewildering.

Bryson is gone? Oh noes!

Okay, it is really not making sense. The press release says "today announced an online writing contest" which sounds as if they are asking for entries.

*head desk*

the first L Word script was packaged as a PDF "zine" (probably still available for download there), and winners were given prizes, but that's as far as it went. so it sounds like they're actually planning to shoot this one. I don't know what's up with the confusing dates and material on the site, but my guess is that they just haven't updated it for round two yet.

OurChart.com is just what it says -- it's a giant L Word promo, but also includes original content and user profiles/interactivity.

User interactivity. Hee! Is that like talking? :D

A FanLib L Word contest, for the very first time...again?

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