Victim: The Film Reel
Scene of the Crime: TIFF 2010 – Let Me In – Film Reel Reviews
Killed by: The Film Reel
And that’s it. I only got one submission? Um…any idea why?
Well, in the off-chance you’re not sure of the process:
If you run a horror blog, or like reading horror blogs, and you or they are LAMBS, then you can send in a Bloody Chop to bloodychops@gmail.com using the following format:
Site Name:
Post Title:
Link:
Submitted By:
And have them in by next Friday by midnight, EST.
We also do the same thing for regular-type movies called the LAMB Chops. If you’re a LAMB and you want to send in a link, send those in to weeklylambchops@gmail.com by midnght Monday night, EST.
-Jason
I think you’re not receiving submissions because people are working hard to promote themselves.. and rightly so.
There were tons of chops when you weren’t pushing LAMBS to submit other people’s work. Not trying to be negative, it’s just the reality.
I think the site is still a fantastic forum for movie bloggers to interact, but people are here to showcase their own blogs.
Let them.
Anon – I totally agree. I’ve stopped participating in the chops cause I work hard on my own material.
Saying this in the nicest way possible but you don’t have to be anonymous when leave comments. If you reveal who you are, Dylan won’t kick you out of the LAMB and I won’t spam your blog/site with porn sites. At least this time.
We do appreciate the comments and the thoughts and opinions and we will work together to make the Chops a great experience for everyone.
We just wanted to make the Chops more than self promoting. We want people to check out what else is out there and say “hey, this person wrote a neat post. I think it should get some attention.” That’s all. I don’t recall ever saying “Stop sending in your own stuff”. We just wanted more other posts, that’s all.
Again, not to speak for Dylan, but I’ll try to think of ways to retool things and run them by him. And I’m sure he will to me.
Thanks for the input. We greatly appreciate the opinions.
-Jason Soto from Invasion of the B Movies.
PS: Ok, I was a smartass at the end there. I can’t help it. I apologize in advance for offending anyone.
In defense of Jason and the LAMB, and without having to hold my tongue, I shall respond.
First, I just have a weird suspicion that the two Anon comments are the same person, just pretending to back the other up. Two anonymous replies within a general posting time with the exact same thoughts?
It’s really kinda rude to be like “Why should I say something nice about another blog? All I care about is my own!” Hell, you’re not even saying anything. You’re just submitting a link to an article or review you enjoyed.
But to boycott the Chops all together simply because we prefer you pimping other blogs rather than your own? Pimping out your own stuff is what Announcements are for. As this is a community of bloggers, we should be a community and celebrate each other, not just ourselves. No need to be so selfish about it.
Yes, you’re trying to promote your own blog, and movie blogging is rough with so many out there. But do you realize that in promoting other blogs within the chops ALSO puts YOUR blog linked up? And if somebody clicks on that OTHER link that YOU suggested and likes it, that maybe (just maybe) they’ll go back and think “Hey, I might like the guy/girl who suggested this.” And then they’ll go back and read YOUR blog. It’s a two-way street, buddy. Karma. Acts of kindness and friendship will bring good things your way. If you’re out to self-promote without caring about others, then you won’t go far.
I would like to kick in my two cents on the matter.
First, I tend to agree, but in the nicest way possible (please don’t go on the defense). I think it might just be a fact that the reason there are less chops is because people want to respect your wishes of sending in other people’s stuff. So they’re just not sending anything. Chops were doing well before the push to submit for each other.
Also, in sending other people’s stuff, we have not been linked to. The site names are written but it’s not a link. Just saying.
I think other LAMBS should speak up on the issue, as you’re right – it’s a community. Ask them what they think
I prefer this push and it’s a shame that more aren’t contributing. Shameless self-promotion is no bad thing, but neither is helping each other out. As has rightly been pointed out, we’re a community.
Surely it is more satisfying to be rewarded by someone else?
In all fairness, it’s easy to forget submitting too. There have been countless excellent horror posts I’ve enjoyed from LAMB members, and I’ve just forgot to submit.
Shall try to work harder on that in future
I don’t have a problem with submitting other people’s stories. How hard is it to read through all the blogs you read and pick out the one that stood out to you the most that week? A blog, Evil on Two Legs does a Horror Community Highlights post every week and they pick about 5 or so blog posts that they think people should read. Once in a while my blog ends up on there. Not only do I feel great that someone else is promoting my work, but I also get the chance to read other posts and blogs I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
People’s responses to this make me feel like bloggers aren’t reading other blogs, which is kind of disheartening. Blogging is largely about a community in the same way that the LAMB is. In this aspect it’s about promoting other people’s work. By doing so you won’t lose out on hits, and you shouldn’t feel like your sending people to your competition or something. You’re helping out a fellow blogger and letting them know that what they write matters. Maybe someday someone will do the same for you and….you’ll feel awesome.
I don’t want to get too lovey-dovey here, but I think everyone that’s posted a comment here has made some solid points.
Has the push for non-personal submissions hurt the Chops – almost definitely. However, I do feel as though there is/was some confusion about folks still sending in their own – that’s always been 100% welcome. I think Jason/me/Ivan would just prefer to see people sending in Chops for others, particularly because it helps foster that sense of community. But for us to think that every Chops could or even should be that type of submission is naive at best.
To the two Anons – I hope you don’t feel as though you’ve been attacked – I think Jason’s response was top-notch and that everyone has been nice and civil. By the same token, I think perhaps that the largest sense of frustration that Jason and I feel about this subject is that you felt the need to go Anonymous in the first place. Dissenting opinions are allowed here, so long as they’re not rude or anything like that, of which neither of you were. I don’t understand why anyone would be afraid to speak as themselves.
Anyway, aside from this comment and Jason re-iterating the “it’s quite alright to send in your own stuff” sentiment in the next versions of the Chops, the main thing I’m going to do is put together a “Guide to the LAMB,” if you will, something that many have expressed interest in, and for a site that literally adds new members every day, something that I should have done long ago. If I miss anything on it, I hope all of you will be there to correct me.
Original Anon here… sorry to do it again, I just want to thank Jason and Fletch for understanding where I was coming from. I feel justified in going anonymous after Nick’s condescending reply, insinuating I was “rude”, “selfish”, “don’t care about others” and invoking “karma.” It was not my intention to come across like that or start a debate, but Nick – you represent the LAMB and you claim to take criticism well, but you gotta walk the walk, as demonstrated by Jason and Fletch’s courteous responses. I enjoy the LAMB, I participate, and I promote it. My intention was to offer my thoughts on why this segment was suffering. Of course we’d all like the world to be made of rainbows and unicorns, but it just isn’t so. Of course it’s best to do onto others etc, but I was simply offering my observation of what was happening.
The most important thing about my response, Anon, was that it wasn’t directed at you in specific, but at those with the mindset you were alluding to. As in, those who think it’s silly to promote other blogs while they could just be promoting their own instead.
Yes, I said ‘you’, but it was in that ‘royal you’ or whatever you wanna call it.
I’m sorry you thought I was bitching you out or being condescending. I still hold to my statement, but I wasn’t saying that you specifically were being rude or any of what you quoted. But those that think it’s ridiculous to have to promote other blogs because only their blog is important? Those are the people I was aiming my response at.
Now, if you’re in that group (which I don’t think you are based on your recent response), then I suppose it was directed at you. But you were just giving your thoughts. And as Dylan says, we encourage you to give your thoughts and not be anonymous about it.
Now, the SECOND Anon, on the other hand, is somebody I was talking to in my response.