Monday, March 16, 2009
"Sci Fi" sounds too much like those geeks we can't stand...
Not specifically game-related, but this has me fuming:
Sci-Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name
How concerning is it when the executives of a company are embarrassed about the company's product, and resort to narrow, unflattering stereotyping to describe their core audience?
A quote from a "TV Historian": “The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular.” Uh-huh. Yeah. Dude, you are a freaking "TV Historian," and you are calling other people out for being geeks?
And yeah, only dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements play video games. Sheesh! That wasn't even close to true in the 1980s.
Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but it seems to me that the new name, "Syfy"could only be considered cool and hip by an aging executive or a desperate marketing consultant.
Labels: Geek Life
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 8:13 AM (Permalink)
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I've always preferred "sf".
Preferably in some kind of 1960 almost-neon-on-black retro-design, possibly reimagined with today's post-production values.
Quiet. Elegant. Understated.
Because you don't need flash and dazzle for the imagination.
Preferably in some kind of 1960 almost-neon-on-black retro-design, possibly reimagined with today's post-production values.
Quiet. Elegant. Understated.
Because you don't need flash and dazzle for the imagination.
So, in bad economic times, they're dropping a strong brand to go to something completely mysterious to everyone including their core market.
You know, if they need to save money, there's this whole marketing department full of incompetents they could fire...
You know, if they need to save money, there's this whole marketing department full of incompetents they could fire...
Funny, add a "lis" at the end of syfy and you get.... yes, a very awkward name indeed.
Guess it's best to be identified with an STD than with geeks.
Guess it's best to be identified with an STD than with geeks.
And in the age of globalisation they should check what feelings will the name evoke in other languages. In Polish that will be direct derivation of "syphilis" used usually in meaning of "utterly boring shit worth nothing". Really.
# posted by 
: March 16, 2009 10:48 AM
: March 16, 2009 10:48 AM
"utterly boring shit worth nothing"
Well, at least it's accurate? :)
(Disclaimer, I haven't had cable in six years. I remember the SciFi channel showing some okay genre shows, a far-too-limited and stupid set of ads, some head-desking stupidity calling itself mediumship, and Rather Bad TV Movies.)
Well, at least it's accurate? :)
(Disclaimer, I haven't had cable in six years. I remember the SciFi channel showing some okay genre shows, a far-too-limited and stupid set of ads, some head-desking stupidity calling itself mediumship, and Rather Bad TV Movies.)
Like most marginal basic cable channels, their shows are drowning in commercials and frequent, giant, in-show animated bugs. Unwatchable--where's the Raid? Also like most marginal basic cable channels, they're engaging in a bit of Network Decay here.
Wow. So I read the article. I'm speechless. There's literally too much idiotic stuff to tear down. It's a stupidity overload. Even the guy's *picture* makes you wanna smack him upside the head... not to mention every single quote out of his mouth... And everything else in the article...
woohh I feel dizzy... I gotta go look at cuteoverload.com for a couple hours... to lower my blood pressure to normal levels again. Wow.
woohh I feel dizzy... I gotta go look at cuteoverload.com for a couple hours... to lower my blood pressure to normal levels again. Wow.
# posted by : March 16, 2009 4:39 PM
: March 16, 2009 4:39 PM
Heh - I like Scott Jennings (AKA Lum the Mad) single-picture comment on this issue:
A brief comment contained within an image
A brief comment contained within an image
This is probably the beginning of the end for the channel. And good riddance to them, I say.
I will never forgive them for cancelling Farscape and ending the series on a cliffhanger. Ever.
Yes, they did a mini-series, big deal. It was a rushed effort that tried to combine too many threads into too few hours, I rate it a C+ at best.
I will never forgive them for cancelling Farscape and ending the series on a cliffhanger. Ever.
Yes, they did a mini-series, big deal. It was a rushed effort that tried to combine too many threads into too few hours, I rate it a C+ at best.
You got to be Freaking Kidding me here. What are these Execs on? This reminds me of the "Womyn's" movement, where some feminist group wanted to always spell women as womyn. I guess it's more "hip and cool" and it get's "men" out of their name. Just plain silly if you ask me.
One word: Re-tard-ed.
But whatever; I gave up on the Sci Fi channel years ago. (...just wait for any of the (very few) good shows to release on DVD.)
But whatever; I gave up on the Sci Fi channel years ago. (...just wait for any of the (very few) good shows to release on DVD.)
I mentioned the name change to my husband, without mentioning what it was being changed to, and his response was "'Horror'?" Maybe it's just as well the new name is unrecognizable as connected to SF.
The new name makes me want to pronounce it 'siffy'. When I'm not trying to hold back the giggles, that is. As for the unfortunate implications with the Polish language...it looks like the internet took it and ran. And is still running. At this point I wonder if 'skiffy' might have been LESS offensive, loaded term that it is.
Though as far as genre abbreviations go, I've always preferred 'specfic' (short for speculative fiction) since I came across it in high school. Covers science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between -- and sometimes the lines are murky indeed.
The new name makes me want to pronounce it 'siffy'. When I'm not trying to hold back the giggles, that is. As for the unfortunate implications with the Polish language...it looks like the internet took it and ran. And is still running. At this point I wonder if 'skiffy' might have been LESS offensive, loaded term that it is.
Though as far as genre abbreviations go, I've always preferred 'specfic' (short for speculative fiction) since I came across it in high school. Covers science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between -- and sometimes the lines are murky indeed.
Wow that's lame! I've never connected the term SciFi with a geeky image. In fact I know many people, male and female alike, who love SciFi and are not geeks at all.
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