Converting my friends....advice
POSTED BY: nrdpwr
UPDATED: Sunday, April 9, 2006 02:02
VIEWED: 3341
PAGE 1 of 2
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping to get some advice. I'd like to get some of my friends hooked on FF/S and I'm trying to figure out the best way.
Do I:
a) Tell them about a great program I think they would like and invite them over for a DVD night with food and drinks.
b) Invite them over to watch some movie I know they like, discover that I "mistakenly" rented something I know they don't like so we end up watching FF instead while eating and drinking a lot.
C) Meet them in a dark alley or coffee shop, render them unconscious in whatever way is most appropriate (reciting War and Peace, watching C-Span, etc...), take them back to my place, strap them into a comfy chair with plenty to eat and drink (I like to make sure my guests are well fed no matter what the circumstances), press play, walk away, and let the DVD's work their sinister magic.
What has worked best for other people?
On a side note: Was at a small gathering last night for a friends birthday and started talking about FF. Out of the 20 people there, 8 were closet FF/S fans but didn't think anyone else liked the show. Maybe I'll have a Shindig if there's a critical mass...
____________________________________________________
Do you know what the chain of command is here? It's the chain I go get and beat you with to show you who's in command.
alpha squad, 1st platoon, Pasadena Volunteers
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Hm. So far I've managed to make one guy watch the movie and I'm still not sure how I did it - I didn't talk about it over and over again. The guy said, when asked, that he had read what I'd written about it on my website so he thought he'd give it a shot 
As for others... I haven't converted anybody so far. As soon as I mentioned that Firefly resp. Serenity were by Joss Whedon who gave us Buffy and Angel, they'd go "Ewwwwww sounds like crap" - without having seen it, mind you.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
What has worked for me so far is to let the person borrow the series(after telling them a few things about it, but trying my best to not gush so much it is a turn off) and tell them to just watch the pilot. If they don't like it, stop watching. It is only 90 mins or so of their life. I am sure they have wasted more time doing less worthwhile things. So far, I am 10-0.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Just lend them your DVD set.
If you can't bear to part with it - buy another copy to lend them. (But don't tell them that it's a second copy, or they might not give it back...)
Then ask them every day what episode they're up to so they can't get away without watching it - at least until they've seen the first couple. After that, it sells itself.
(If you're particularly confident they'll fall in love immediately, only lend them the first disc so they have to buy their own to see the rest. Personally, I lend them the whole thing. If they fall in love like we all did, they won't need any extra incentive to buy their own copy. If not, they wouldn't have bought one anyway)
I'm up to two converts this way so far. I didn't manage to convert my wife - in fact I turned her off it by being too obsessed. If you're trying to convert someone you spend an awful lot of time with, try to tone down your adoration until you get them hooked themselves.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
The way I did it was to casually mention this wonderful show i'd watched and when that didn't work I went for all out almost constant hint dropping. Eventually more to shut me up than anything he agreed to watch an episode, I showed him OMR (the same one used on me) and it was a surfire hit. a week later I showed him Serenity (the episode) and then by the next week he had bought his own copy of the dvds.
"Every day's a negotiation and sometimes it's done with guns." - Joss Whedon
Liu koushui de biaozi he houzi de ben erzi.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Since everyone is different the same method may not work for everyone. I listen to browncoat radio and on there someone sent in an article that was read and it was actually about different methods to converting people. I suggest you take a peak.
One way I converted one of my friends was to have all my other Browncoat buddies around and we watched and laughed together watching the pilot causing the previous non-beliver to be interested. After that they will usually ask to borrow the dvd, but if they don't ask them if they want to borrow it anyway. After they get through disc 2 they are hooked (as long as they don't posses the "bad taste gene" like Fox anyways).
Another method is persistance, although this can turn some people off to it. It worked for one of my co-workers who had disc 2 for about 3 weeks. I loaned her disc three a day after she brought disc 2 back. She watched all 4 in one night, a week night mind you. Her mom is also interested in the series now. But every day she had disc 2 I asked her if she watched the episode. Not to bug her, but I was waiting to hear her reaction from the series. Again, persistance can turn some people off so use with caution. The key to the whole thing is once the person actually watches it, they become a fan. Hope I was of some help.
IS
The Bible's a bit fuzzy on the subject of kneecaps.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by nrdpwr:
What has worked best for other people?
ok, maybe not for everyone...but it honestly has worked for me...I keep at least 3 new sets of the BDS - unopened at home - (never get below 3...)
On several occasions friends have come over and usually at least one of them will be having a birthday coming up or just past. i act like all, "oh, gee, i forgot to get you anything...yada, yada, yada," and then say, "wait i think i've got something you might like....and give them a shiny new box set of Firefly..."
Also, i usually don't go on and on about what a great show it is, just to say that it's something i really like and maybe they will too...and tell em if they don't like it, to just give it to someone that might.... try not to be too pushy...
everytime i've tried this, the person becomes a fan...that's when you can talk about what a great show it is and compare notes about favorite stuff in the series....
i've also done this at work...given away 3 sets to coworkers & a customer without going overboard - i've found that putting undue pressure on someone to agree with you hardly ever works...
give em a set & let them think they discovered the best damn series ever themselves... they will eventually thank you for it....
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Well, I don't know if they'll thank me for it. I'm still kind of annoyed with the person the got me hooked. I had a fairly normal, non-obsessive life before this.
____________________________________________________
Warning...objects traveling faster than the speed of light are closer than they appear.
Pasadena Volunteers
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
yeah, but admit it...you love it, right?.....besides normal is boring...
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME