Happy birthday, Starships

[bironic]

One year ago tomorrow (or yesterday, depending on how you count it), I dove into making Starships!. As if to celebrate the occasion, this just happened:



I haven't been able to piece together a timeline of what led to what, but for some reason Starships! had a huge resurgence in popularity last week. By which I mean the Vimeo video went from 9,000 views (Aug.-Mar. total) to 34,800 35,300, and the YouTube version has garnered 2,700 views and 180 likes in its first week and a half. Together that makes it my most viewed vid ever. Measuring by hit count, the next most popular is, of all things, the SGA tentacles vid, at 27,500, and even that has 20,000 more than the third-most viewed (Satisfaction). LJ comments for Starships! also passed the 500 mark, which is about 350 more than any other of my fanworks has received as far as I can recall. o_o

Metrics, Google searches and tips from friends tell me that a tumblr post that had been around since August exploded, shooting up to 5,000 likes/reblogs (375 of which are comments, wow), including from the OTW and at least a couple of accounts that must be widely read (like albinwonderland?). The tumblr post got featured on TheMarySue.com last Wednesday, which led to other posts on individual blogs like this one. The vid also showed up on a Finnish TV site (second highest play count after tumblr and before TheMarySue), something called SourceFedNews, a French blog, and Facebook and Reddit, among other places.

It's awesome, although I'm still baffled as to what set it off. The vid had been up on YouTube for several days already, and the YouTube version isn't the one that's been making the rounds for the most part; ditto for the lyrics-to-clips chart timing; and Swancon and Muskrat Jamboree happened a couple of weeks earlier. *shrug* Not that it matters, in the end. I don't know how those kinds of numbers compare to other people's vids, but it's a thrill from where I'm sitting.

.

Interesting things that occurred along the way:

• Thanks to the third-party platforms, received objective feedback from strangers who may or may not have expected the vid creator to see what they said. Common criticisms: "This vid is invalid because Babylon 5/Red Dwarf/Andromeda/Lexx/anything anime/something else isn't in it." (I added a note to the Vimeo & YT posts saying that I agree but it was made under deadline, for what that might be worth.) "I hate the song, but this vid is still okay." "I hate the song, so you should play ___ instead while you watch the vid." It's been excellent to see that side of people's reactions, even when there's an itch to engage; and it's been excellent as well when others have replied to comments here and there with rebuttals or with background about the deadline etc.


• On the subject of fellow fans stepping in to support the creator: this tumblr post from greensilver about credit etiquette re: the original tumblr post, echoed in anatsuno's comment to TheMarySue post. Interesting stuff. Personally I want things to be credited, because credit is all we have here in non-monetary fandom. However, I hadn't thought beyond that to whether a label on an embedded video is enough or whether more attention should be given to attribution in the rec, other than that doing it in text makes it easier to ego-search, heh, and therefore to see comments from people who don't make it back to the original post.


• Learned a little about how tumblr works. Not enough to feel comfortable navigating it, but something, anyway.


• Discovered that at least three people linked George Takei to the vid on Facebook. ! My life would have been fulfilled if he'd reposted it, but having evidence that he might have watched it is plenty exciting.

The other super awesome thing that is not related to the above other than in how it ramped up my excitement is that jetpack_monkey is making a remix of Starships! using all black and white SF source. (!) No one has ever remixed a vid of mine before, unless you count the bizarre spambot thing that slapped effects on Masters of War, changed the song, and produced a long, head-scratchy YouTube description. Anyway. jetpack_monkey's legitimate remix is almost done, it's a ton of fun, and it's going to premiere at Vividcon in August, at which point you can join me in urging him to do some kind of commentary about it. Full circle in one year.

.

(And hopefully that all comes across as wanting to share the happy news instead of as bragging.)

Comments

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

OMG, I can't wait to see the remix of Starships! That sounds fantastic. <3

Also, go you. Holy wow a lot of people are watching and loving your vid. Which is totally as it should be.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I saw that Mary Sue post and flailed about it, and then totally forgot to tell you. ::facepalm:: Congratulations on your massive success! Hope you're enjoying the well-earned attention.

Interesting comments about credit etiquette. I have the weird experience of being nurtured with fannish values but currently working in communications & marketing, where these values are not at all enshrined. In the professional space I inhabit, I am constantly exhorted to become a "content curator", which means share share share, and nobody ever talks about credit. I haven't worked out what I think yet, apart from (as usual) you can't stop the signal.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I also have to have a bit of a split brain when it comes to social media and multimedia at work. As you doubtless know, it's an ongoing experiment and an interesting study on differing philosophies from several angles. :) But I also don't quite grasp why people think that sharing can't be done without crediting too. One area where a clash of values doesn't necessarily need to be a clash. Y/N?

(& thanks! I'm still not sure where this falls in the greater fannish context; I'm used to gauging fanworks by LJ/DW comments and AO3 hits/kudos, and gauging non-fannish content by YouTube views and Reddit virality and whatnot, but not gauging the first by the second. I mean, talitha78 for example has a bunch of vids that are 75-100K hits on YT, whereas the bulk of mine are under 3K.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

♥

On a bironic scale it is very exciting. TBD whether others who are more experienced in / knowledgeable about this space - i.e. fanworks that reach beyond the typical LJ/DW/AO3 community (even though I guess I need to accept that tumblr is now part of that typical community, heh) - also find this neat or if it is more of an "aww, baby's first stats spike." :)

& yes, the remix is worth being excited about! /tease

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Exactly - sharing with credit is fine, and honestly not that much more complicated if you just attach someone's handle to it. The problem I have with tumblr is that stuff gets reblogged over and over until it's practically impossible to figure out where a work originated.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's happy news! Although frankly if it happened to me, I'd brag without shame, ngl.

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

It totally deserves the attention! And I am very excited about the coming remix.

My only sorrow in not having a Tumblr is that I can't reblog Greensilver's post. I do feel like when people embed a video without mentioning the name of its creator that they are treating the video as a found object, not as somebody's creation, and that bugs me as a vid watcher, let alone as a vidder.

[mific.livejournal.com]

You can totally brag - it's such a great vid!
It's weird how suddenly something you'e done gets loads of kudoses or somesuch, anf you don't know why. Tumblr posts seem to generate a lot of response, but I usually can't figure out how to find out what happened. I tried tumblr but I really hate it, except as a kind of fannish junk food.

[jetpack-monkey.livejournal.com]

As far as I am concerned, you have every right to brag. It's an amazing vid and one that I never tired of as I put together my own. And I watched yours many many many (many many) many times.

[perspi.livejournal.com]

EEE YES BRAGGING GOOD because that video IS LEGIT AWESOME. *squee*

[such_heights]

Yay! Yeah, it's coming up on my tumblr dashboard over and over, which is AWESOME, and I'm enjoying seeing lots of people fall in love with it for the first time.

Can't wait to watch it on a big screen at Vidukon next month! \o/

[cincodemaygirl.livejournal.com]

I definitely see this as more of a popularity-tracking, how fanworks move in not-their-native-spaces post (and was totally fascinated), not bragging. However, if you want to brag, you are extremely entitled to do so and I would read all of it and cheer you on, because you are an amazing vidder and Starships is an amazing vid. *\o/*

It's always fascinating to see what fanworks sort of go public, like the Buffy/Twilight vid where Buffy stakes Edward, or the Wait, Wait zombie yuletide fic. I've actually been surprised that Starships didn't go public much faster and more widely than it has so far, but I suspect it will. There are some acafan and vid blogs with much larger readership than LJ (or The Mary Sue) and I think it's a matter of time until one of them features Starships. But I could be wrong, who knows. Obviously I think everyone should appreciate it properly! Also, I am shocked to hear that They Want More isn't in your top three watch counts, because it's hilarious and awesome, and seems like it would interest a really wide cross section of people.

The ~remix of Master of War: WOW. That YT description....I kind of want to quote all of it for the pure WHAT THE FUCK value, but I will restrain myself.

Also, I am SO EXCITED about jetpack_monkey's remix, what a wonderful idea!

As for all the comments of "my favorite thing is not included, therefore the vid is invalid," ugh. Sure, it would be great if you could have fit every source ever into a three-and-a-half-minute vid, but obviously that wasn't possible, and it sure as hell doesn't INVALIDATE anything. Glad to hear that comment doesn't get your goat like it does mine!

(Edited because I can't remember how to code usernames, sigh.)

[trelkez.livejournal.com]

I'm still twitching a little every time I see a reblog of Starships without your name on it, heh. It's underscored something about Tumblr I'm uncomfortable with, which is a double standard between fanart and vids -- I know plenty of people who've gotten up in arms about uncredited fanart posts; people who routinely post fanart that isn't theirs without credits are called out by name and shunned; at least every few months there's a big to-do about fanart crediting all over my Tumblr dash. And yet, those same people who care so much about fanart crediting are reblogging your vid, and other vids, without the vidders' names anywhere. That post I made urging people to credit vids in text? Five notes, and one of them was from me.

On the other hand, I think I've made some actual progress. When the OTW's transformativeworks tumblr reblogged Starships without your name on the post, I messaged them privately asking them to change their posting standards to include vidder credits. I got a reply back saying that the tumblr maintainer would try to ensure creator names were in posts going forward, and that they'd take it to their committee as a possible addition to their social media policy. So, at least there's that?

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

THIS VID IS INVALID. I love it.

It totally deserves all the hits. Best vid ever.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

::nodnod:: I annoy people at work because I insist on crediting photographers, which makes everybody's job more challenging (especially my own). But it's not rocket science! And I'm keenly aware of how pro photographers struggle to make a living in a post-Flickr world.

[amnisias.livejournal.com]

OMG - I know somebody famous.!! I hope you'll still talk to me... ;)

But that Masters of War remix is - very disturbing, particularly the blurb.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I have a project at work where one small part of it is to find photos to represent areas of the US to put on an intranet site, and crediting is not possible there (gah, it's an awful template we have). I scour Wikimedia commons for "released to public domain" photos to make sure we're not leaving off credit that is due and asked for.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Wikimedia commons is great for that. You can also do an advanced Google search by license, and select creative commons no attribution.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Right? There are parts that are so wacky it's clear they're autopopulated fields pulled from sources that have no relation to the vid or the song maship, but then there are parts that read more like a real person wrote them or at least filled in the blanks of a template. I remain baffled. Especially the random insult to poor toft_froggy! WTF? And the dig about me needing to work harder at making sociopolitical arguments. The whole thing is too ludicrous to be anything but amusing.

[amnisias.livejournal.com]

All I can say is, you are a bigger and better person than me - I'd be frothing.... ;P

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The people who cried invalid are easier to dismiss than the ones who sounded angry or upset that particular sources or personal favorites were missing. Apparently not getting Babylon 5 in there was more of an issue than I'd anticipated. I feel like replying to them that I tried! Maybe if I'd known there was a lot of flying on the show (I was under the impression that it was a space station show with one or two eps in which someone piloted something), I would have worked harder to nab some clips, but honestly, the friend who had access to that source had already gone out of her way to make a couple of episodes from other shows available to me, so.

But never mind that; you are not the person who needs to be hearing justifications.

<3

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I am excited it will be showing there as well! The whole con sounds like a blast.

And, oh, by far the happy comments on tumblr outweigh the criticisms. It makes my heart grow, Grinchlike, three sizes to follow people's reactions there.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*twirls you*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

\o/ I am so looking forward to hearing what people have to say when your remix hits the streets.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

a double standard between fanart and vids

That's really interesting. And no sooner did I read your comment than I saw an example of what you're talking about in the comments to the article (http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/mark-ruffalo-science-bros-avengers-robert-downey-jr.html) about Mark Ruffalo being introduced to Tony/Bruce slash that made the rounds yesterday.

It's made me think about my own inadvertent double standards, too - not re: fanart vs. fanvids but about crediting creators of fanworks vs. not always crediting creators of other/professional/non-LJ/DW/AO3/etc. work on this LJ. Which is to say, I make a stink about crediting all photos etc. we use at work, and about appropriately sourcing text etc. at work and everywhere because otherwise that is what we call plagiarism, kids, but now I'm wondering how I've behaved here on LJ when it comes to reccing fic/vids/art vs. reccing material that comes from outside fandom. And wondering if there's a difference in behavior and/or in requirements when linking vs. when embedding. And it's got me thinking as well about peer credit. Like, fans make a big deal out of crediting other fans, and journalists make a big deal of citing other journalists, and artists make a big deal out of attributing works of other artists, all can go into attack mode when work is stolen/uncredited, but do those fierce loyalties slip when it comes to work from outside their circles? Is it (also) related to perceived hierarchies of "legitimate" creation when an established news or other outlet features a fanwork without attribution? Thinky thoughts, no conclusions.

That's great to hear about the policy review you've inspired on the OTW social media platforms. By complete coincidence I met the person who runs their tumblr last night and we had a conversation about all of this too. Totally friendly - nothing was done with intent to snub or interpreted as such - and is likewise getting the old brain gears turning about questions I haven't considered before.

Possibly tl;dr, sorry!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

There are some acafan and vid blogs with much larger readership than LJ (or The Mary Sue) and I think it's a matter of time until one of them features Starships.

That would be totally cool, and if it ever happens, you will get all the credit for prescience.

Also, I am shocked to hear that They Want More isn't in your top three watch counts, because it's hilarious and awesome, and seems like it would interest a really wide cross section of people.

I have been inconsistent in my vid labeling on YT/Vimeo and may not have even tagged that one "Jurassic Park," in an effort to stay below the radar re: copyright issues. At this point I don't suppose it would hurt to put it in and see what happens. Ditto for several other vids...

The ~remix of Master of War: WOW. That YT description....I kind of want to quote all of it for the pure WHAT THE FUCK value, but I will restrain myself.

Right?! It is so wacky. So wacky.

Glad to hear that comment doesn't get your goat like it does mine!

Heh - I vented a little to alpheratz below on that topic. It's just getting a little wearing now that commenters keep making the same point about Babylon 5 without looking at any of my original posts, all of which now have notes about the nature of the project and why it doesn't have Every Source Ever. Or even reading all the comments on some of the third-party posts. But no, the happy reactions far outnumber and outweigh those, and so far still no one has come out with "I don't see what's so great about this vid, it just puts starship pictures on a starship song," so all's well.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I was going to say ditto for AO3, but clearly you agree re: mysterious waves of kudos! I want to knooooooow.

Er, ETA to make sure it was clear that I didn't mean ditto AO3 re: hatred and junk food. Though I do agree with that sentiment re: tumblr. Like Facebook, it's not meant for lengthy text or conversations, and that is what I usually seek in online interactions, so it and I were not meant to be techy soulmates.

Why there are so many re:s in this comment, I cannot explain.

/goofy

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I guess for me the question I hadn't considered before when being recced - I think I've always named the creator when reccing - is is it just as good when the embedded vid includes the vidder's name? Other than that citing the source in HTML makes it easier for the vidder to vanity search. :) In this case, I would have appreciated a link back to the LJ post or someplace that includes the vid context.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

:D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you could do that on Google! Awesome.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ugh, tell me about it. And the number of people who have to be told that "I found it on Google Images" does not mean we have license to use it, let alone use it without a credit line...

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

um, excuse me if it is a stupid remark, but ... the fact that someone released a work to the public domain means there are no strings attached for its reproduction; it doesn't imply that not crediting is author is okay - at least to me, the ethical obligation is still there even if there's no legal requirement.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

Definitely interesting, and I'm glad you posted about it! <3

I too am very excited about jetpack_monkey's remix, omg!! And... I haven't clicked yet but this Masters of War troll/bot remix business sounds... intriguing.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

That's a good point, and I agree. If our intranet template allowed for crediting, I would, but since I can't, I look for the pictures that have the highest possibility of the creator being ok with not crediting. In the way Wikimedia Commons works, that's those marked Public Domain. I'm trying!

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Yes, I hear that, too. Also, an image you found on Google is probably not high-res enough for printing, sigh...

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

I've never embedded a vid when reccing, and I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of that either, because if you don't send people to the original page, how are they going to know to leave comments? And you're right, context is an issue too. /o\ Clearly I'm not cut out for this modern world...

Great, now I've gotten Born Too Late stuck in my head for the fifth time this week. DS9 is coming to a close and I'm not ready! OTOH, at least soon I'll have seen all the source I need for my Prophets vid.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The DS9 finale made me super sad. I mean, not a comment on the substance, but just the fact that my show was over. But that was pre-fandom for me so there was nowhere to direct the energy. Prophets vid sounds intriguing! And yay that you still enjoy Born Too Late.

I've never embedded a vid when reccing, and I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of that either, because if you don't send people to the original page, how are they going to know to leave comments? And you're right, context is an issue too.

Out of curiosity after reading your comment, I went back through my "vidrec" tag to see what I've been doing for the last 4-5 years. Looks like I only embedded vids once in a recs post, and those were still linked and credited in the text. In all other posts, every rec was linked and most recs included the vidder's name. So, that is good from this end. Still something to continue thinking about, though, especially as new and different platforms continue to be adopted and shape the way we share information.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

<3

If you read it, I will be interested to hear what you think!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, hey, and apparently the science editor at NBCNews.com tweeted a link to it that week (!), via someone who writes a Wired Science blog (!), via TheMarySue, via the tumblr post. Without tweeting my name, which stood out to me right away after having these discussions about credit - and which would have originally have stood out to me only because it meant the tweet didn't come up on Google or Twitter when searching for "Starships fanvid" or "bironic" but *did* come up when I was trying to find the tumblr post - "would someone please explain this possum Starships." Because the posts cite TheMarySue.com and/or touchdownpossum but that is where it stops. Interesting!

[cold_clarity]

this is super awesome!

(also, i'm way late in commenting on this? i've had this open in a tab on my browser for weeks. /o\)

but seriously; that vid was great (and i just saw it get spotlighted on io9!)--so congrats on all the new attention!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hey, no problem. And thanks! It has indeed been super awesome to watch the vid get linked around.