Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: thoughtful
  • Music: Talis Kimberley, "Still Catch the Tide."

Vegemite.

deird1 wrote a really fascinating article about something she terms "the Vegemite Effect,", which is so accurate and earnest that it should just about be required reading. Because she's right. The short precis:

"No matter how good something is, if you were expecting something else, you'll hate it."

People ask me periodically why I chose to be Mira Grant for my science fiction when I was already happily myself for my urban fantasy. My standard answer is all about marketing and branding and setting expectations, and all of this is completely true...but the real answer is all about Vegemite. People who like me for me were going to know that I was Mira Grant, because it was an open secret, and they were the ones who'd just be expecting my words. People who like my urban fantasy weren't going to pick up a book by someone else expecting magic and hijinks. And once Mira established a readership of her own, people who liked science and zombies weren't going to up my books expecting the dead to walk.

The Vegemite effect explains a great deal about how we approach media of all types, not just books, but comics, movies, and television. There's a lot to think about. And if you've ever wondered why sometimes I say "this is salty" repeatedly before I hand you something...

...well, there you go.
Tags: contemplation
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  • 78 comments

mel_redcap

September 26 2012, 06:35:28 UTC 4 years ago

...I've seen this happen with a review of the iPhone 5 in my local paper. Yesterday, in fact. The (fairly long) review boiled down to this:

"Well, yes, I suppose it's nice and pretty, but they should have made the screen wider. All the other new smartphones have made the screen wider. I was expecting them to have made the screen wider. It's got a lovely display, but it's not as wide as I wanted. It's fast and pretty and they have made the screen longer and I'll even admit that it's the perfect ratio for watching movies in landscape mode but by golly I looked at all these other smartphones that have widened their screens and I will not accept one that hasn't followed the trend slavishly!

"...Did I mention that they haven't made the screen wider?"

There I was looking at it and going "Huh, and here I was, being glad that they haven't widened the screen, because it's the perfect width for me to do things one-handed." And my husband, who has kind of stubby hands, loves it because it fits in his grip. And his friend, who has nerve damage in his right hand, is happy because he doesn't need flexibility he doesn't have any more to reach across the screen with his thumb. And said friend's wife... so yeah, we weren't expecting jam instead of Vegemite, and we're appreciating it for what it is. XD

seanan_mcguire

September 26 2012, 15:25:11 UTC 4 years ago

That...I...what?

Arrgh.

mel_redcap

September 27 2012, 02:12:28 UTC 4 years ago

On later reflection, I was a tad worried that I might have misrepresented the review, so I went back to have another look. Here's the paragraph-by-paragraph summary, with stuff about screen size in caps:

Paragraph 1: "There's a new iPhone, it's an impressive upgrade but not breathtaking, you might be underwhelmed."

Paragraph 2: "There's a lot to like, but OTHER PHONES HAVE BIGGER SCREENS, iPHONE SCREEN DIDN'T GET WIDER."

Paragraph 3: "OTHER PHONES GOT WIDER SCREENS YAY. iPHONE NOT WIDER!"

Paragraph 4: "TALLER BUT NOT WIDER, boo, unimpressed."

Paragraph 5: "Everyone I've talked to agrees with me [Mel's note: Really?], NOT BIGGER ENOUGH, OTHER PHONES GOT BIGGER."

Paragraph 6: "Okay, it's really neat watching movies in landscape mode."

Paragraph 7: "Improved screen quality, better colours, very nice."

Paragraph 8: "What will app developers do with the new screen size/shape?"

Paragraph 9: "Anti-glare polarisation meh."

Paragraph 10: "I DON'T THINK THE iPHONE NEEDED A BIGGER SCREEN [Mel's note: REALLY?!], obviously Apple felt pressure from Android superphones."

Paragraph 11: "SHOULD BE WIIIIIIIIDER!!! Or not changed at all. Bloo bloo bloo."

Paragraph 12: "Yeah there's more to the changes than a BIGGER SCREEN but I'm not talking about that."

The end. XD

thedragonweaver

September 27 2012, 01:55:10 UTC 4 years ago

The thing about Apple's success is not that they have the best gadget, it's that they change the rules. Right now, people are complaining that the iPhone isn't as good as whichever platform they prefer, but when they're complaining, they're barely noticing that they're arguing over a paradigm that Apple introduced. Touch-screens and multi-function phones with multi-finger functionality, for example.

It will be interesting to see what Ive comes up with next.