More realistically, the search engine engineers and I hold a similar sentiment regarding low-level content.
Dear reader, do you remember my blog, 'The Enshittification of Media – Or Is It?'? In it, towards the bottom and in the third section, I lamented about how affiliate marketing is not good content and how there are dozens if not hundreds of repeated articles in search results from a huge myriad of bloggers and e-commerce sources. I chatted about how companies like All Trails and Alaska Airlines are getting in on the affiliate marketing buzz, spitting out gift guides and top picks articles with thinly veiled loyalty programs rewarding points and deals for clicking their product-buying links.
Like many consumers, I was annoyed at all the cheap, low-level content from untrustworthy sources that populated the top of my search results. Google folks seem to be human and have modified their search engine to shove affiliate-link-laden content lower down the page and reward word-of-mouth style content.
Their new content source of choice? Reddit. Woof.
To avoid making this into a marketer's marketing blog full of SEO analogies and search functions I'll avoid delving deeper. But, since the internet affects all of us, I'll give my valued readers a quick preview of what to expect.
Expect to see more opinionated Reddit posts and threads from people like you and me as a result for your information-gathering Google search. Reddit conversations are similar to real life, as commentators engage in casual conversation about hobbies or pop culture and nearly never fact-check or back up their commentaries with sources. Like ChatGPT results, I ask you to take a heavy stance of skepticism when reviewing community-based results for a question you've punched into Google. After all, Reddit is just the source content for ChatGPT.
Yeesh. Those 250-words are enough content talk for a day. Aye yai yai. Nature break below.
DND Szn
We're going deeper. The party has finally wrapped up the first mini-campaign, which, as usual, was supposed to take two sessions but ended up taking six.
Though our intrepid travelers enjoyed exploring Altrightville and defeating the lizard people, bringing peace and prosperity to a recently blighted land, we're ready to move on from socio-political conversations and tropes. Our fearless DM (fearless because he's decided that managing us is a good idea) has given us a small preview of what's to come, with a map that looks suspiciously like the upper half of Map of Middle Earth. Now that the first campaign is over, I'll lay out some feedback below so that if you play or want to play, you can get an idea of what makes a campaign flow. My dad literally makes these games for money, but I tried not to think about that as I typed out these opinions.
Context is Key. The hardest thing to do in writing or storytelling is to provide context. The ability to set a scene is taken for granted in everyday life, as when in conversation, play, or work situations, we are all given the same context by what is happening in front of us. In a DND story, the scene needs to be set in a way that empowers the players with confidence to make decisions for themselves. Starting a story by saying 'you walk into a normal-looking town' doesn't provide us much, obviously, but giving us people to run into, places that look out of the ordinary, or literally drawing a map for us to look at and access will quickly help with immersion. I love a good bit of improvisation, but if my improvised town looks a lot different than the DM's, there will be a lot of confusion and unnecessary interactions. Captain o' captain, please steer my ship!
Players Play. There's only so much management you can do, but I've noticed that going from 5 players to 4 has dramatically improved the flow of the story, how quickly we can get through interactions, and how engaged the players are. People's turns come up faster, decisions affect the group more, and we're all able to have a say in what happens. Though playing with five people and defeating bigger enemies can be fun, I don't think I will return to bigger than 4-person campaigns anytime soon.
Immerse Yourself. You know what sticks out like a sore thumb? People who refuse to give up their ego and get involved. I'm not saying you need to show up in a wizard costume to your first DND session, but you need to be ready to engage and play. If you're on the fence about playing, don't do it. Having a player who's half-in is enough to kill a campaign and the entire group's excitement. Give them a chance, but if you've got a problem player, it's worth giving them a slight nudge to push them over the edge either in or out of the group. As I've mentioned in past posts, I don't want to participate in shit & piss (& sex) campaigns, so it's important to judge the dynamic of the group and set some ground rules early on. I'm not trying to douse the fire of poop-joke creativity here… just smother it a little bit.
Holy Cripes, it's Cold – Incoming
It's a huge weekend of bike racing, and the results to follow will set the stage for an entire summer of giving or getting shit from bike-race friends. This weekend also brings some of the coldest weather I've seen since living in Minnesota, with temps dipping into single digits on Friday and Saturday. I don't even own winter boots anymore.
Crystal is pushing herself to the extremes by committing to not one but two outdoor events on Saturday. The first is in the morning, as she and some like-minded friends will participate in the 3rd Aspire Race. I won't be there for many reasons, but a big one is that I'm soft and don't want to run in temps that low on ice and snow in the woods. The second is the final edition of the Cascade Cross series, as she'll be racing in the women's single-speed category in the afternoon. Temps in the afternoon are supposed to be a balmy 22-and-sunny.
I was hoping for the usual 40-and-rainy temps we're used to, but a guy can only get so lucky.
The big news with the final Cascade Cross series race is the potential for the Men's single-speed overall winner to be crowned. After a mechanical DNF at the last race, I'm highly motivated to return with a vengeance and lay it all out for the win. I've invested in a proper single-speed set-up (aka no zip-tie needed) with a kit from Blackburn and it's performed as advertised during shakedown rides. It's a tight race for the overall crown, and I couldn't ask for better conditions in which to hurt ourselves. The math to take the overall goes as such;
If I win and Brent gets second – Brent wins the series based on tiebreakers due to my DNF.
If I win and Brent gets third – I win based on my best 3 races (1-1-2) compared to Brent's best three (1-1-3).
If I get second or third, Brent only wins if he's within 1-spot behind me.
Basically, the only hope I have is for someone to finish between us. It's out of my control, but as usual, I'll do what I can to contend for the big dub. Hopefully, when you hear from me next, I'll have good news to report and can take a couple of weeks off the bike during mid-January. I'm a bit burnt out on racing and riding and could use a mid-season break as I gear up for the Bell Laps series starting at the end of the month.
The bike races continue. The Tuesday night rides continue. Work is sending me east for a week. I had a bunch of dental work done and my mouth hurts. I love a good diner and titillating conversation tickles my taint. My sister is finally visiting.... In 3 months, but still(!). Crystal and I starting to look for spots to move within Bellingham (hopefully). Life goes on.
On that last note, if you have any leads to two-bedroom spots in Bellingham with additional outside storage that has vacancy opening in March or April, please let me know!
Talk again soon, Casey.
Music Worth Listening To
Mermaid Avenue, Billy Bragg - One of my favorite albums (top 3). Thanks for the amazing Christmas present, Mom & Dad!
Briscoe EP, Briscoe - As summer plans get put into place, this EP is a warm listen.
Podcast Corner Store
Survival In The Andes Parts I, II, & III, Last Podcast On The Left - Usually, I think LPOTL's media is cringey and hard to listen to, but I recently read the book they used for the basis of this (true) story. The hosts do a good job of telling the story without getting too off the rails.
Albert Brooks and Rob Reiner, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend - Part of my Princess Bride kick. Rob Reiner directed the movie. Fun listen.
Anything from Radiolab - It's ridiculous. These folks never miss and continuously set the bar in modern media and storytelling.
Fun Fact: Out of the top 100 Subreddits, about 15% of all their content was paid actors who are compensated to push a certain narrative on any given world event, company, or product.
Solid Read, Casey!
This made me laugh out loud: "My dad literally makes these games for money, but I tried not to think about that as I typed out these opinions." It's true, but I didn't get paid to do it until age (checks notes) 54.
I'd add that it's important to be patient with new players, too, as they have to figure out what kind of game they want to play. RPG in character is fun, but for many it's intimidating. Praise the baby steps, let go of annoyances...that sort of thing.
I also really like the idea you espouse here of setting expectations for the kind of game you want to play. From WotC, the Tasha's Cauldron book has great suggestions…