I'm a little concerned.
When I started to pull together some information to help new-comers to the SDCC experience, I came across several third party sites that purport to provide SDCC Badges. However, there are many questions that come up since there is only one site that can give official SDCC badges and that's through the CCI website comic-com.org/cci. As I mentioned in my last bulletin, individuals, whether press, guest, exhibitor, or guest, all need to register with Comic-Con.org to obtain a member ID before being able to purchase SDCC Badges. Click Here for details. These third party site promise to sell you badges without this and that is cause for concern. Any site that promises to do so should be viewed carefully. Any purchases are at risk of providing fraudulent or cancelled passes that would prevent the buyer from entering the convention center. I have heard of people working the system and being able to obtain second-hand badges, but you also run the risk of being caught and your membership could be removed which also would prevent you from attending any future events, including WonderCon, APE, and other convention events produced by Comic-Con International. See the last paragraph here. Once membership is confirmed, however, then you need to wait for the badge purchase notifications that will come through email. In the past, you will be notified about 1 week prior to the date, and then the electronic feeding frenzy begins. Virtual Waiting Room Start time is usually 0900 am PST. This means that all members who want a chance to purchase a badge needs to log in before then. The Virtual Waiting Room is basically one area where all valid members can log in and wait until they start pulling members to purchase badges. The plan is that once everyone is logged in, the Virtual Waiting Room will close at 0900 am PST and then the system will randomly select batches of members who will be given access to the badge purchasing system. Once a certain number of members complete their purchase, another batch of members are allowed in. My Thoughts I've attended SDCC long enough to have seen the evolution of the badge purchasing process. Back in the day, you could purchase same day memberships. When that was too popular, then you could purchase next year's badges in person at the end of the current convention. Then they rolled out the first online format which was a first come, first served process that met lots of complaints. In theory, the current version removes the first come, first served process and instead ensures a more random process, providing everyone in the Virtual Waiting Room an equal chance to purchase badges. Considering the incredibly large number of people that want to attend versus the limited number of badges available, I think this is the only fair way to process this mass of memberships as quickly and efficiently as possible. The question is often asked, whether long-time members have a right to automatically purchase passes for future years? Not if SDCC is interested in growth. Selfishly, I want to always be guaranteed badges, but I also am aware that maintaining a close-knit community limits the exposure to all exhibitors and companies. Keeping SDCC inclusive hurts any chance for growth. This approach has served it well as the convention experience dominates genre publications and is now considered a major pop-culture event worldwide. Keeping it limited to the privileged few separates the event from the general public. I believe this would stifle the creativity and marketability that the convention current enjoys. Of course, there are those that complain that it's no longer about creativity, but for commercial exploitation. There is something to be said for that, but the question needs to be asked on what SDCC represents? Is it limited to just comics and closely related art, shows, and games? Or is it the celebration of the diversity of pop-culture? i prefer the latter as every year, I'm exposed to new artists and projects that would have never crossed into my world if not being included fin this amazing event. So, random memberships put my chances at risk, but for the continued growth of the pop-culture community, it's all for the better. That being said, I really, really, really want to go again this year. There' never a guarantee, but this is such a big deal every year, I think I would be a bit depressed if I didn't make it. That's all for now. More will be posted when new news of the membership process is eventually released. Be Excellent To Each Other, Ravi
2 Comments
3/6/2017 08:16:51 pm
I appreciate your thoughts. There is something to think about for all.
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6/18/2017 04:48:24 pm
Overall, the comic con was great. What I love about the comic con is that they have featured my favorite movie, the "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes". I've never watched a movie with a special effects like what I've seen in Dawn of Planet of the Apes. I highly recommend this movie to everyone, especially those who are into futuristic approach kind of film. Kudos to the people behind the said movie.
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AuthorWith a couple of degrees under my belt, I have chosen to pursue writing after working in the private sector for many years. It is so refreshing to see how poorly I've retained rules of grammar and other tools of the trade. Good luck reading my blogs. Archives
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