Doing What I Do Best ~ Ragging On Others

Yes, yes, yes. It is what I do best. But I believe it's a necessity to say something when things don't seem right. Unfortunately, not enough people say anything because it's not "PC" or they don't want to hurt someone's feelings or.....I don't know what. I think it's better to say something than to let someone believe things are okay and make themselves look silly.

I must admit that I am brutally honest and will tell you what I think. I'm not saying bad things to hurt anyone but again, I don't want them to look silly. So, you must be thinking who made me the "honesty police"? Nobody. I'm just honest and tell it like it is. People don't like it but there are a lot of people like me and we just rub people the wrong way. Sorry about that.

So, again, we talk about paranormal conferences. It's that time of the year. For those of you that know about me, I tend to sit back and watch. Watch what others are doing. See how they are doing it. Not because I follow others but because, at least on the West Coast, our group has set the precedent for paranormal conferences. When conferences were first beginning to be held back in 2002, we started out with a cocktail reception. Now, everybody does it. We started out with having a bonus attraction. Now, everybody does it. So, now I must begin my ragging on a new conference that is trying hard to form and that is ..... a virtual conference.

I was sent an email because I lectured at a conference last year and therefore, I was suddenly on this list. Interestingly, the person sending this email to me was someone I always wanted to meet. I had seen him on TV numerous times and he was just someone I wanted to meet. I felt like a kid in a candy store when I did finally meet him at that conference I spoke at and he turned out to be someone who was similar to a movie star with their nose in the air as they walk past you totally ignoring you. I was kinda devastated. You build up certain people in your mind and that bubble pops when they turn out to be stuck up. I hate that.

That is not a moving force in my writing this blog about ragging on conferences but it didn't help much. His email to me was basically that he wanted to put on a virtual conference and did I want to be an exhibitor. Getting something like that from someone says, hey, send me money. Yeah. Right. I bet you have a bridge to sell me too.

So, he says why are conferences "failing"? Is it the economy? Yes, according to him. Hmmmm, no, no, no. That is not why conferences are failing. Conferences are failing because they are being held in the same old spots with the same old people that say the same old things. There is nothing new and refreshing. They are herding people into places and expecting them to have an experience when you have too many people who keep running into each other. The information is the same old ragged stuff.

The same thing is happening with TV, namely, "Ghost Hunters", "Ghost Adventures" and all the other paranormal TV shows that are out there. They are going to the same places over and over again. Case in point. Ghost Hunters is going to start in a couple of weeks or so (I don't know because I don't watch it but saw it in a commercial on TV) and they are going back to Alcatraz. Alcatraz. I think the right wording is "OMG". Hasn't that been done to death? No pun intended.

I introduced the world (yes, I don't have a problem saying that anymore) to the Preston Castle. I found it and had it as our attraction at our conference. The castle is in a position that it is surrounded by many, many other paranormal groups and yet, I came along from another part of the state and found it. New. Exciting. Fun. Different.

Then I brought Ghost Adventures there. That worked well. Now, Ghost Hunters has just gone there. Wow. The same old thing.

So why can't others find stuff? Why can't they find something new, exciting, fun and different? I don't know. What I do know is virtual conference is silly and I'm not afraid to say so. They will put this thing together, get to rub elbows with the guest speakers, get paid money to have people watch and you, the consumer, the ghost hunter, the paranormal investigator will get nothing out of this. You get to sit in the comfort of your home and watch on your 15" or 17" monitors waiting patiently if you have dial-up or while the pictures load. You don't get to walk in the place they are investigating. You don't get to talk to that special guest speaker and get snubbed as I did or actually get to talk to them if they are friendly. You don't get to socialize with other ghost hunters OR exchange ideas, techniques, tips or pictures.

The economy has slowed down some people, but ghost hunters and paranormal investigators are a hardy bunch. We have endurance, stamina and the knowledge that if we want to learn we have to go out there and learn. We don't wait for anything to happen. We make it happen. A conference is something that you have to experience at least once. You will never forget it nor will it stop you from doing it again. There are so many vibrant people all with exceptional ideas, stories, and lives. I would hope that these people who want to put this virtual conference on will reconsider because we do this for those that want to learn and experience. A virtual conference is not something that can be experienced although you can learn online.....anywhere, anytime and anything.

It's not something I like doing ~ ragging on anyone but it's tough to be brutally honest and tell it like it is. Someone needs to do it because of things like a "virtual" conference.

We need to get back together and begin to learn and experience again.