[Bloo09]

Those who are in, run, manage, love, and adore anime clubs! Would you like us to give you a panel room to host a meet and greet in? Give us your feedback! There would be fun discussion on running your clubs, fresh new ideas tossed around, and new friends made of course! If there is interest in this we will set up a room for you so post away and spread the word to your club members!

[Audri]

I would certainly be interested.

[Dark Spellmaster]

I'm the advisor of one at my college, can you give us more details about this event before we commit?

[Bloo09]

At the moment it would be very open forum with a staff member answering hands to keep it organized. It's to spread new ideas and get to know other clubs. Unless there is a specific direction club members would like this to go. We just thought it would be nice to give you guys a place to meet and chat.

[Minublado]

That is an awesome idea

[jenchan]

I have an idea that I'd like to propose for this year, and beyond. In running an independent anime club for more than ten years, I have noticed a lack of collaboration among local clubs. For the longest time, I haven't found many college clubs that are willing to work with others, as they seem to keep some sort of rivalry going, which I don't understand.

I'd like to fix this. I would love to get all Chicagoland anime/manga clubs networking, and maybe we can get big things to happen. When we work together, we can get stronger, and there will be a stronger anime fandom in this city, and perhaps create a place for anime fans to meet, other than ACen, one a year.

As rumor may have it (feel free to correct me) Anime Central staff members are also members of many school/college clubs, and as we know, ACen as a convention can have some great influence in the anime community/industry.

As you will perhaps recall, Jamie of AnimeChicago and myself hosted a few Anime Fandom in Chicagoland panels at various conventions, including ACen in an attempt to get a feeling of unity going. I have been more than willing to work with other clubs, hence my work with Elv of AnimeShinGen, having planned collaboration meeting which brought our two clubs together for one amazingly fun day!

Look, all we have here is random events, Anime Central, SoyCon, and UChi-Con. This gets people together occasionally, but there needs to be more. Sure, there is Mitsuwa too, but that's not enough either. We have random anime clubs in random schools. We need a sense of community, and sense of unity. There needs to be a central hub where we all gather, without the fear of rivalry or "my club is better than yours" mentality. We need to really get over this mentality. We need to realize that we need to take control of our own fandom, and make more of a mission to promote and encourage more anime/manga collaborations and events within city limits.

I would like to introduce the idea of a panel, or event a meeting of local anime clubs so that we can find ways to bring the fandom together and discuss what we can do as a community to bring more major anime events to Chicago, and promote them effectively!

Thoughts?

This post has been edited by jenchan: 31 December 2011 - 10:00 PM

[alchemicspawn]

Bloo09, on 30 October 2011 - 02:36 AM, said:

Those who are in, run, manage, love, and adore anime clubs! Would you like us to give you a panel room to host a meet and greet in? Give us your feedback! There would be fun discussion on running your clubs, fresh new ideas tossed around, and new friends made of course! If there is interest in this we will set up a room for you so post away and spread the word to your club members!

that is a great idea for acen. I am currently the president of the A.G.U and would like to help you personally. At the moment me and my associate Carl have been able to set up a network with our communities high school anime clubs but going on a larger scale was what we want to accomplish you can email me at m.zambranojr@gmail to so we can discuss this further

[jenchan]

So, there is obviously an interest in this. Is this something that's going to be in the programming schedule for this year? I'd love to see this happen. If there is anything I can do to help make this possible, like volunteering to host the panel, let me know ACen staff!

[Zerox20]

The idea of this panel is more for networking type panel. Basically a staff member will mediate the room and the room will be available for 2 full hours (Time still pending/changing), and this will be a time when anime clubs can get up and speak, exchange information/ideas etc. So is it purely a social event. Currently we do plan to have this room dedicated and should be on the schedule. Keep in mind things are always changing until the convention and nothing is 100% official until we release a FINAL schedule.

What are you thoughts on some of this, Currently it is just a 100% open forum, and the anime club reps would check in with the staff member and then get their time to talk if they want upfront or it can be more of a mixer format, where everybody just goes around and exchanges information.

This post has been edited by Zerox20: 10 January 2012 - 02:19 PM

[jenchan]

Zerox20, on 10 January 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

The idea of this panel is more for networking type panel. Basically a staff member will mediate the room and the room will be available for 2 full hours (Time still pending/changing), and this will be a time when anime clubs can get up and speak, exchange information/ideas etc. So is it purely a social event. Currently we do plan to have this room dedicated and should be on the schedule. Keep in mind things are always changing until the convention and nothing is 100% official until we release a FINAL schedule.

What are you thoughts on some of this, Currently it is just a 100% open forum, and the anime club reps would check in with the staff member and then get their time to talk if they want upfront or it can be more of a mixer format, where everybody just goes around and exchanges information.

I don't really know what a mixer is...but here is my thought..

I think that having each club representative speak about their club and introduce themselves briefly and then breakout into an open forum for discussion with a focus on exchanging contact information and discuss collaboration efforts. I think the main idea of this is to get clubs talking to each other, so I think that's would be the main focus for now.

If we need an outline, I can try to come up with one.

[klange]

Zerox20, on 10 January 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

The idea of this panel is more for networking type panel. Basically a staff member will mediate the room and the room will be available for 2 full hours (Time still pending/changing), and this will be a time when anime clubs can get up and speak, exchange information/ideas etc. So is it purely a social event. Currently we do plan to have this room dedicated and should be on the schedule. Keep in mind things are always changing until the convention and nothing is 100% official until we release a FINAL schedule. What are you thoughts on some of this, Currently it is just a 100% open forum, and the anime club reps would check in with the staff member and then get their time to talk if they want upfront or it can be more of a mixer format, where everybody just goes around and exchanges information.

I'm not entirely sure I understand the point. The How to Run an Anime Club panel is a 2-hour, open-format moderated discussion for anime clubs to discuss ideas and activities. We've been doing this for a couple of years here, and it just seems to me that a staff-sponsored event with the same goals will only serve to detract from our audience.

This post has been edited by klange: 13 January 2012 - 08:22 AM

[jenchan]

klange, on 13 January 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

I'm not entirely sure I understand the point. The How to Run an Anime Club panel is a 2-hour, open-format moderated discussion for anime clubs to discuss ideas and activities. We've been doing this for a couple of years here, and it just seems to me that a staff-sponsored event with the same goals will only serve to detract from our audience.

My impression of that panel last time I attended it was that it was intended teach folks how to run an anime club, and didn't focus too much on networking.

The concept for this staff hosted event is for those who are currently running successful clubs to focus on networking area clubs. Clubs working together for a common goal. I see nothing wrong with staff members hosting such an event, as it does show appreciation and acknowledgement for local clubs, and a willingness to work together, something that's been lacking in the past.

This post has been edited by jenchan: 13 January 2012 - 09:11 AM

[klange]

jenchan, on 13 January 2012 - 09:09 AM, said:

My impression of that panel last time I attended it was that it was intended teach folks how to run an anime club. The concept for this staff hosted event is for those who are currently running successful clubs to focus on networking area clubs. Clubs working together for a common goal. I see nothing wrong with staff members hosting such an event, as it does show appreciation and acknowledgement for local clubs, and a willingness to work together, something that's been lacking in the past.

I don't know when you last attended the panel, but seeing as I run it, I think I have a good idea of how it works these days.

[jenchan]

klange, on 13 January 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

I don't know when you last attended the panel, but seeing as I run it, I think I have a good idea of how it works these days.

I think you may be misunderstanding. No one is trying to stomp or take away attention from your panel.
Let's try to get this going in a positive direction.


We just want something a little different, more of a "networking"(working together) rather than a "how to".

[klange]

jenchan, on 13 January 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

We just want something a little different, more of a "networking"(working together) rather than a "how to".

And I am asserting that this is what our panel has been for at least the past year and the direction my colleague and I were going for since we took it over.

(The name only has "How To" in it because we haven't changed the name.)

If you'd read the description we provided this year, my point might be a bit clearer. Based on how things operated last year, we requested a larger room and more time and focused on round-table, "town hall"-style discussion, as that is what was popular with our audience previously. As much as the proposition being put forward here may be dissimilar from older versions of our panel, Zerox's description is nearly identical to the wording we used to describe the current incarnation.

[jenchan]

klange, on 13 January 2012 - 09:32 AM, said:

And I am asserting that this is what our panel has been for at least the past year and the direction my colleague and I were going for since we took it over.

(The name only has "How To" in it because we haven't changed the name.)

If you'd read the description we provided this year, my point might be a bit clearer. Based on how things operated last year, we requested a larger room and more time and focused on round-table, "town hall"-style discussion, as that is what was popular with our audience previously. As much as the proposition being put forward here may be dissimilar from older versions of our panel, Zerox's description is nearly identical to the wording we used to describe the current incarnation.

Hey, hey now...I'm sensing a bit of hostility here, and that's not very positive to the idea of networking. I understand that you think this idea is redundant, but why would ACen staff suggest this if your panel clearly described this exact purpose? If you put in the request for the panel and it was a approved this year, then why not contact programming regarding this, and tell them that the panel is already scheduled, and perhaps adapt it to the suggestions made here. Maybe change the description. Maybe change the title to something that reflects a networking atmosphere? Are you willing to open up the panel for other officers from other anime clubs to speak, or do you want this to be specific to be hosted by your anime club? I'd be willing to work on this with you.

I'm just trying to make this work. Where is a description of your panel?

[klange]

jenchan, on 13 January 2012 - 09:56 AM, said:

Hey, hey now...I'm sensing a bit of hostility here, and that's not very positive to the idea of networking.

I don't mean to sound hostile, text is not a very good method for conveying emotion or tone. It's a cold, dreary morning for me and my verbiage may inadvertently convey that.

Quote

I understand that you think this idea is redundant, but why would ACen staff suggest this if your panel clearly described this exact purpose?

I believe this idea was already in place before panel submissions were processed; be that case, the overlap may have been missed based on our previous record. I may be mistaken, though, as I'm basing this assumption off the posting date for this thread.

Quote

If you put in the request for the panel and it was a approved this year, then why not contact programming regarding this, and tell them that the panel is already scheduled, and perhaps adapt it to the suggestions made here. Maybe change the description. Maybe change the title to something that reflects a networking atmosphere? Are you willing to open up the panel for other officers from other anime clubs to speak, or do you want this to be specific to be hosted by your anime club? I'd be willing to work on this with you.

That's why I'm posting here. I think it would be best to avoid redundancy in the available programming and thought we could work something out. We found over the last two years that no one really cares too much about what one particular group does and started to shift to a moderated discussion starting last year. We were going to go all the way and leave our own club suggestions to a quick 5~10 minute introduction and then guide things from there. As much as I'd be willing to give up the moderator seats to staff, I feel I wouldn't be earning my reduced-price badge if I didn't put in the work.

Quote

I'm just trying to make this work. Where is a description of your panel?

The documentation we provided for our panel submission is not on my NAS and the computer it is on is suspended and very far away, so you'll have to excuse me if it takes some time to find our supplied description. I know I used phrases like "town-hall-style discussion" and "moderated panel", though, and we specifically requested a larger room and more time than previously.

[Zerox20]

Let me clear some stuff up. Nothing is set in stone here. Everything in this thread is for discussion purposes. What I posted was ideas and thoughts behind it.

I do know of your panel and submission as well. Please do not take any offense to our wording as I hope it has not demoted your panel in anyway shape or form. I was merely posting suggested formats for a staff event and threw the ideas of mixers, networking, exchanging ideas etc.

We are constantly evaluating different options and ideas for this staff run event.

[MajaanPro01]

Yes!!!! Please do. I am most interested.

[Bloo09]

Ok will need some quick suggestions. Would folks prefer this on Friday, or Saturday.

This is in no way replacing any of our how to's or anime club survival etc based panels. This is an open forum which can go in any direction it wants to with a staff member only there to make sure one person doesn't take over the room Considering we're now over 23k people this is not going to hurt any other anime club based panels. With as much support as we've seen for this idea it is going to happen. And maybe in the future meet ups like this will be able to happen in our panel rooms for other topics. We're kind of testing the water with this.

[jenchan]

Bloo09, on 27 January 2012 - 03:15 AM, said:

Ok will need some quick suggestions. Would folks prefer this on Friday, or Saturday.

This is in no way replacing any of our how to's or anime club survival etc based panels. This is an open forum which can go in any direction it wants to with a staff member only there to make sure one person doesn't take over the room Considering we're now over 23k people this is not going to hurt any other anime club based panels. With as much support as we've seen for this idea it is going to happen. And maybe in the future meet ups like this will be able to happen in our panel rooms for other topics. We're kind of testing the water with this.

I'm saying Friday may be better because Saturday is usually a day where there is more going on. Perhaps we wouldn't be competing with so many other high profile events.
Saturday, on the other hand would be when most people attend because it is the major day of the convention, but it may be too chaotic schedule wise for those attending photo shoots and other events.

In the past, there hasn't been much acknowledgement of anime clubs from Anime Central, and now that this has been proposed, I think it's a good thing. Bringing local clubs together is very important, and what better place to do something like this than an anime convention? When we work together, we can make big things happen, and strengthen the anime community.

[Fuji]

Bloo09, on 27 January 2012 - 03:15 AM, said:

Ok will need some quick suggestions. Would folks prefer this on Friday, or Saturday.

This is in no way replacing any of our how to's or anime club survival etc based panels. This is an open forum which can go in any direction it wants to with a staff member only there to make sure one person doesn't take over the room Considering we're now over 23k people this is not going to hurt any other anime club based panels. With as much support as we've seen for this idea it is going to happen. And maybe in the future meet ups like this will be able to happen in our panel rooms for other topics. We're kind of testing the water with this.

I was talking with my college's Anime Club VP and he said this would be a great thing to do on a Friday because there is alot of things happening on Saturday. It would bd a wonderful meet and greet for all anime clubs to connect.

[Sayuri-chan]

Friday is the preferred day for my group as well. If this got off the ground I would definitely bring my VP and my Treasurer to this event. I'm the current President of the IUSB Japanese Pop-Culture Club and this sounds like it would be really helpful to even us, who are located in Northern Indiana. I know there are quite a few clubs who are sporadically located in the Mid-West, and they're either too small to pull off bigger events, or they don't have adequate ways to bring in new members. Either way, collaboration could help boost up these clubs, and perhaps some bigger events could be created across the board - leading to a promotion of the fandom and generate interest in those who have seen Japanese animation or read some Japanese manga, and would just like to know more about the popular culture of Japan in general.


If this gets off of the ground, I'm bringing business cards.

[jenchan]

Sayuri-chan, on 28 January 2012 - 05:24 PM, said:

Friday is the preferred day for my group as well. If this got off the ground I would definitely bring my VP and my Treasurer to this event. I'm the current President of the IUSB Japanese Pop-Culture Club and this sounds like it would be really helpful to even us, who are located in Northern Indiana. I know there are quite a few clubs who are sporadically located in the Mid-West, and they're either too small to pull off bigger events, or they don't have adequate ways to bring in new members. Either way, collaboration could help boost up these clubs, and perhaps some bigger events could be created across the board - leading to a promotion of the fandom and generate interest in those who have seen Japanese animation or read some Japanese manga, and would just like to know more about the popular culture of Japan in general.


If this gets off of the ground, I'm bringing business cards.

I didn't even know there was such a club in N Indiana. Sounds awesome! Even if this doesn't get off the ground, I'd love to meet up with you! Feel free to shoot me a PM!

This post has been edited by jenchan: 29 January 2012 - 07:56 AM

[jenchan]

Hey, just wondering if this is still a go, and when it will be this weekend.