I know Ive most likely said it before, but Im going to say it again. I have awesome Friends. The Downside, most of my friends are over the internet. Not all of them mind you, just most. And to me, that isnt a bad thing. I have more in common with the people Ive met over the internet or on a game than I have with those that I know in real life. It isnt something that surprises me, to be honest I would of guessed this if I didnt have the whole "Internet friends are not real friends" saying drummed into my head by people.
I know thats false now. I know that internet friends can BE real friends and that you can truely harbor relationships with people that you have met over the internet. Hell, I even met my Boyfriend over the internet and we've been together for three years and we're still going strong. So to the people who told me that internet friends arent real friends I have only this to say. You're wrong, you're very very wrong.
Friendships take two things to bloom, and to flourish. You need the time to put into it, and you need a common ground to get started on. For me, it was gaming. I met so many people while playing video games its funny really. So many people that most of my friends are from these worlds, and thats where the Time aspect comes from. I was able to devote time to these people, and although we met on a video game, we soon found out we had a lot more in common that just that game. We liked the same type of books and movies. Watched the same TV shows. We became friends, true close friends.
And it didnt stop there, I made many friends over the internet. I started a podcast with some, Stream with others, sit in chat rooms for hours on end with the remaining. These are the people that my family and some of my real life friends told me I couldnt connect with are that I shouldnt put the time into. These "Fake" friends are the ones that have given me the most support when it comes to making my youtube content, my blog, that help me stream and put up with me on a day to day basis. These "Fake" friends have supported me in all my endeavors, and I couldnt replace them in anyway, shape or form. These "fake" friends are the weirdest, funniest, coolest people I could ask for, and thats what I like about them.
It isnt even the fact that I have more in common with the friends I met online, but also the fact that Im friends with people from around the world. Ive made friends with people that I would never of known otherwise if I still have the mindset of "internet friends are not real friends." Ive made friends with people from most states in the US, as well as other countries. Hell, Ive made friends with people from the Future (aka, in timezones ahead of mine)
I know that many people will disagree with me. Hell, my parents still disagree with me. But Im sorry to those people, but I still have to disagree with them. You can make friendships anywhere, no matter what other people tell you. Dont let others opinions stop you from connecting with people that you have stuff in common with. It isnt their life, its yours, and you should live it how you want to live it.
Moral of the Story; Someone else's mindset doesnt have to relate to you. And the Friends you meet online, are just as real as the ones you meet in Real life.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Putting things off and Boredom; The Power of the Net
For the people that didnt know, I live on the internet. I dont know if I should be proud to say that, or not, but its true. And that isnt to say that I dont enjoy it. I really do. I love logging on in the morning and catching up on twitter and facebook. Then getting down to the grind, getting any videos I need edited done. But, as well as being my place of residence, the internet is also my weakness,
I have always pushed things off, even when I was in school. Projects, studying, everything.This isnt to say that Im stupid, I just get bored very easily. And I mean, very, very easily. And it always happens. Its one of the main reason why I love doing things with other people, they keep me entertained so I can actually get the things that I need to get done, done. And thats the name of the game, Completing things.
But then, I moved out and got a job that doesnt require me to go to work everyday. And I built my computer, made it so it was nice and fast (even though Ive had a few issues with it, but thats another story). I sat down and set some goals for myself. I wanted to start a blog, this blog in fact, two years ago. I wanted to start producing content for youtube everyday. I wanted to do so much, and I pushed it off. I started playing video games more and more, and I loved it because it kept me focused.
Doing anything on the Internet is very hard for me. Distraction, combined with my ability to get bored very easily, takes hold. Projects that would normally take a day or two take me weeks because of it. For example, the content I release on youtube takes me a few weeks to finish. From finally getting down to recording it, to editing, to uploading, I just get distracted or bored and do somethig else. Hell, even creating this blog took me about a week and a lot of pushing from friends of mine on Twitter. And thats what it took for me to make it, but at least I did get it done.
Personally, I dont know if many people have the same issue. I dont mean that people are never getting distracted, just I dont think its as bad as me. Or everyone is as bad as me. I tend to have anywhere from 4-6 tabs open on my internet, my other monitor is a chat room and twitter, and my laptap playing a stream while I "work" so, I really dont get much work done.
But Im trying to change that. I guess that whole "First step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one" is true here. I admit I have a HUGE issue with Putting things off, but Im going to find a way to fix it. Im either going to get a day planner, or a whiteboard in which I can put up ToDo lists for me to see, so I can keep myself sane. Hell, even a notebook that I can divide the page into 5 days for me to get stuff done on would work at the moment.
Moral of the Story; Keep yourself on target, or things might get worse they you think.
I have always pushed things off, even when I was in school. Projects, studying, everything.This isnt to say that Im stupid, I just get bored very easily. And I mean, very, very easily. And it always happens. Its one of the main reason why I love doing things with other people, they keep me entertained so I can actually get the things that I need to get done, done. And thats the name of the game, Completing things.
But then, I moved out and got a job that doesnt require me to go to work everyday. And I built my computer, made it so it was nice and fast (even though Ive had a few issues with it, but thats another story). I sat down and set some goals for myself. I wanted to start a blog, this blog in fact, two years ago. I wanted to start producing content for youtube everyday. I wanted to do so much, and I pushed it off. I started playing video games more and more, and I loved it because it kept me focused.
Doing anything on the Internet is very hard for me. Distraction, combined with my ability to get bored very easily, takes hold. Projects that would normally take a day or two take me weeks because of it. For example, the content I release on youtube takes me a few weeks to finish. From finally getting down to recording it, to editing, to uploading, I just get distracted or bored and do somethig else. Hell, even creating this blog took me about a week and a lot of pushing from friends of mine on Twitter. And thats what it took for me to make it, but at least I did get it done.
Personally, I dont know if many people have the same issue. I dont mean that people are never getting distracted, just I dont think its as bad as me. Or everyone is as bad as me. I tend to have anywhere from 4-6 tabs open on my internet, my other monitor is a chat room and twitter, and my laptap playing a stream while I "work" so, I really dont get much work done.
But Im trying to change that. I guess that whole "First step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one" is true here. I admit I have a HUGE issue with Putting things off, but Im going to find a way to fix it. Im either going to get a day planner, or a whiteboard in which I can put up ToDo lists for me to see, so I can keep myself sane. Hell, even a notebook that I can divide the page into 5 days for me to get stuff done on would work at the moment.
Moral of the Story; Keep yourself on target, or things might get worse they you think.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Community in and around WoW.
I read a post a few weeks ago written by my friend Ray (Wowprofitz, found here) and he talked a lot about community. I enjoyed the post, agreed with him, and went on my way back into the games I loved and enjoyed. Back onto the internet where I spend most of my time. But the post didnt really resonate with me at the time. Dont get me wrong, I did enjoy it and I do enjoy his style of writing, but the meaning of the post didnt really strike me until a few days ago.
I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember, since I was very young. I played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega and grew up in the playstation 1 era, until I became the PC gamer I am today. But up until I started playing multiplayer games, I was always alone and didnt need to interact with other people. But I did start playing multiplayer, as most people do, and for the first few years it was ok. See, I had started playing the Huge game, World of Warcraft, and when it first started out, it was all about other people. Forming Dungeon groups, being in a guild, selling the things you made to others, the game just forced the formation of a community upon you. And I liked that. I no longer had to play a video game alone, I could interact with other people, I could PLAY with other people. It was a change for me, back all those years ago. It was fun, it was different, it became what I loved to do.
But it changed, as most games often do. Blizzard tried to make the game a little easier for people to get to end game, implementing a Dungeon finder to make doing dungeon content easier. Gone were the days of standing around trying to find a group to do content with, gone were the days of making friends, filling your friends list with people whom you enjoyed spending time with. It just seemed that the community I had come to know and love was starting to break down slowly. Still, I was lucky, I had found a group of friends and we still did everything together, but some of my other friends began having a tough time with the content that I was still getting to enjoy with people. And I did know why.
Going into these random groups with people that you would most likely never see again just shut off the need to be nice and communicate with each other. The mindset of the player became "me,me,me,screw the other guy". It seemed that most people began to want instant gratification and nothing more. They wanted the mount, the pet, the gear, the achievement, but no longer wanted to put the time into helping others. I felt like I became the odd man out, joining a select few that still wanted to help my fellow player. Not that its a bad thing, far from it, but it felt weird becoming one of the few (I feel like there's a movie reference here, but I cant think of it. Oh well)
My feelings for the game never changed, I still loved logging into it. I still loved playing in a world filled with Magic and Dragons, where I could be a mage that built bombs, or a hunter that mixed potions, or a Shaman that skinned the hides off of animals. I loved trying to make as much gold as I could off the auction house, I still loved the game as a whole. What I began to resent was the player. Not my friends, or the people I had come to think of as extended family. No, I began to resent the people who wanted nothing more than to help themselves, the ones who wanted to race through a dungeons for gear, never saying a word, and then leave to do it all again.
As the years went by, it became worse and I became madder. The guild I had loved fell apart, and they began to leave the realm. I started new characters on another realm, but the feelings I had for other people stayed. I felt alone. So I began contemplating leaving the game and finding somewhere else to hang my hat. Yes, I was ready to hang my WoW hat up after years of enjoying it, years of fun. But thats when two things happened.
The first was I met Brent, my Boyfriend, who started off as one of my best and closest friends. We met in a guild, talked for a while, and then began to do everything together. Quests, dungeons, achievement runs. Everything! He brought back the sense that I wasnt alone in my gaming anymore. I had a friend, and then, after a few months, I had a boyfriend that I was able to share my gaming with. I found my love for World of Warcraft all over again, and I was glad I did.
The second thing that happened didnt happen until a Little later, but I met some awesome people through the WoW forums, and they became friends as well. We shared some laughs, and soon I had a lot of them on real ID, and soon I was never doing anything alone again.
But there are still some moments where I really hate how the community in WoW has turned out to be. I did a Looking for Raid the other night, and where my Boyfriend asked very nicely for combat to be allowed to drop so he could go repair, people raised a fuss. They began to cuss him out, calling him all sorts of names just because they didnt want to wait the extra ten seconds it would take for combat to drop off and him to port out to repair his gear. I sat back, shaking my head and sighing, but not saying anything at his request, remembering a time where if someone needed to leave to repair, people would wait and even summon him back, but no one wants to anymore. People just want instant gratification. Thats it, and it annoys me.
Most of the time, I feel ignored by people. Like Im seen as just another faceless clog in the machine for them to get their gear. And if I dont do things how they want me too, or as fast as they want to go, I get cussed out and called names. And Still, that sense of community is only found with certain people that I have come to know and enjoy. Who have become my friends.
The Moral of this story; Dont forget your roots, or that other people might need your help. Community is still the name of the game when it comes down to it.
I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember, since I was very young. I played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega and grew up in the playstation 1 era, until I became the PC gamer I am today. But up until I started playing multiplayer games, I was always alone and didnt need to interact with other people. But I did start playing multiplayer, as most people do, and for the first few years it was ok. See, I had started playing the Huge game, World of Warcraft, and when it first started out, it was all about other people. Forming Dungeon groups, being in a guild, selling the things you made to others, the game just forced the formation of a community upon you. And I liked that. I no longer had to play a video game alone, I could interact with other people, I could PLAY with other people. It was a change for me, back all those years ago. It was fun, it was different, it became what I loved to do.
But it changed, as most games often do. Blizzard tried to make the game a little easier for people to get to end game, implementing a Dungeon finder to make doing dungeon content easier. Gone were the days of standing around trying to find a group to do content with, gone were the days of making friends, filling your friends list with people whom you enjoyed spending time with. It just seemed that the community I had come to know and love was starting to break down slowly. Still, I was lucky, I had found a group of friends and we still did everything together, but some of my other friends began having a tough time with the content that I was still getting to enjoy with people. And I did know why.
Going into these random groups with people that you would most likely never see again just shut off the need to be nice and communicate with each other. The mindset of the player became "me,me,me,screw the other guy". It seemed that most people began to want instant gratification and nothing more. They wanted the mount, the pet, the gear, the achievement, but no longer wanted to put the time into helping others. I felt like I became the odd man out, joining a select few that still wanted to help my fellow player. Not that its a bad thing, far from it, but it felt weird becoming one of the few (I feel like there's a movie reference here, but I cant think of it. Oh well)
My feelings for the game never changed, I still loved logging into it. I still loved playing in a world filled with Magic and Dragons, where I could be a mage that built bombs, or a hunter that mixed potions, or a Shaman that skinned the hides off of animals. I loved trying to make as much gold as I could off the auction house, I still loved the game as a whole. What I began to resent was the player. Not my friends, or the people I had come to think of as extended family. No, I began to resent the people who wanted nothing more than to help themselves, the ones who wanted to race through a dungeons for gear, never saying a word, and then leave to do it all again.
As the years went by, it became worse and I became madder. The guild I had loved fell apart, and they began to leave the realm. I started new characters on another realm, but the feelings I had for other people stayed. I felt alone. So I began contemplating leaving the game and finding somewhere else to hang my hat. Yes, I was ready to hang my WoW hat up after years of enjoying it, years of fun. But thats when two things happened.
The first was I met Brent, my Boyfriend, who started off as one of my best and closest friends. We met in a guild, talked for a while, and then began to do everything together. Quests, dungeons, achievement runs. Everything! He brought back the sense that I wasnt alone in my gaming anymore. I had a friend, and then, after a few months, I had a boyfriend that I was able to share my gaming with. I found my love for World of Warcraft all over again, and I was glad I did.
The second thing that happened didnt happen until a Little later, but I met some awesome people through the WoW forums, and they became friends as well. We shared some laughs, and soon I had a lot of them on real ID, and soon I was never doing anything alone again.
But there are still some moments where I really hate how the community in WoW has turned out to be. I did a Looking for Raid the other night, and where my Boyfriend asked very nicely for combat to be allowed to drop so he could go repair, people raised a fuss. They began to cuss him out, calling him all sorts of names just because they didnt want to wait the extra ten seconds it would take for combat to drop off and him to port out to repair his gear. I sat back, shaking my head and sighing, but not saying anything at his request, remembering a time where if someone needed to leave to repair, people would wait and even summon him back, but no one wants to anymore. People just want instant gratification. Thats it, and it annoys me.
Most of the time, I feel ignored by people. Like Im seen as just another faceless clog in the machine for them to get their gear. And if I dont do things how they want me too, or as fast as they want to go, I get cussed out and called names. And Still, that sense of community is only found with certain people that I have come to know and enjoy. Who have become my friends.
The Moral of this story; Dont forget your roots, or that other people might need your help. Community is still the name of the game when it comes down to it.
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