nerdfightersinfo

[nerdfightersinfo]

My Stories from Nerdfighteria

Last week I conducted a (very) informal Twitter poll asking nerdfighters what has held them back from contributing their #NFstories to @road2nf​.

If that last sentence made no sense, let me explain: my friends and I run The Road to Nerdfighteria, a worldwide multimedia project in which nerdfighters share their stories on how they found Nerdfighteria and what the community means to them. Nerdfighters can share their stories in the form of videos, blog posts, artwork, photos… basically any way you can tell a story. 

It’s been going on for 11 months now, and as we near the one year anniversary of the launch of this project, I’ve started thinking about the people who have supported the project but maybe haven’t shared their story yet, and why that might be.

The part of the poll that surprised me the most was the 32% who felt like they didn’t have much of a story to tell. Admittedly, the sample size is rather small, but at least ten people feel like they don’t really have a story to share. To those ten people, I respectfully disagree: I think you do have a story worth sharing. It might just be different from the one you think you should share.

The prompts for this project are: How did you find Nerdfighteria? What does Nerdfighteria mean to you? I think people may get hung up on the first question because of one of two reasons:

1. They don’t remember.

2. Their story can be summed up in a sentence.

Honestly, it’s fine if you don’t remember. We’ve featured stories from people who don’t remember when or how they happened upon Nerdfighteria.

Others may feel like their story is pretty basic: “My friend showed me this video. I read this book. That’s it.” And that’s okay, too. We featured people whose stories could be summed up just like that. However, they chose to give more context to their story: they shared what their life was like before Nerdfighteria, how/why all the events in their life led to discovering Nerdfighteria, and how their life has changed since. Those stories can get super interesting.

But maybe you don’t have a life-changing story like that, with a big Before and an even bigger After. That’s okay. Your road to Nerdfighteria doesn’t have to be a novel.

In fact, the stories I’m most interested in don’t even answer the question, “How did you find Nerdfighteria?” The stories that fascinate me the most are those that come out of the question, “What does Nerdfighteria mean to you?”

When I hear that question, a number of stories immediately spring to mind… 

STORY 1

Four years ago I took my first trip to Canada. I’d been quietly making YouTube videos for a year and a half, but I had no YouTube friends or any internet friends. At the time, the concept of making a friend through the internet was completely foreign to me. 

I was taking this trip to Toronto to attend this new thing called Buffer Festival, the first film festival for YouTubers. As excited as I was for international solo traveling, it also terrified me. While I had traveled solo before, this was the first time I would be in a foreign country without knowing anyone there.

I needed to make friends there. A friend. I needed one friendly face.

Miraculously, I found this online group of solo travelers also attending Buffer Festival, and through this group of Lonewolves I was able to make friends. Not just internet friends but real life friends. People who were kind and friendly, people who went out of their way to make sure you felt included.

I later learned that the people who founded this group were nerdfighters, which of course made sense. They cared about community, about creating a space where people could find friends and help each other navigate Toronto. That was the first time I saw the kindness of nerdfighters in real life.

STORY 2

Two years ago, Hank Green and the Perfect Strangers were going on tour, and their first stop was in Chicago. At this point in my life, making friends through the internet was still a new thing for me. I’d made a few friends online, but it was not something that came naturally to me. I still felt clunky and awkward trying to initiate friendships online, so I wasn’t really good at the whole reaching out thing.

I didn’t know anyone else going to the concert, but I joined the Chicago Nerdfighters Facebook group to see if they were planning a meetup. Thankfully they were, and before the concert I headed alone to the meetup, hoping to make nerdfighter friends. 

Most of these people already knew each other, and I wasn’t sure where to insert myself. After some awkward smiling and waving, I found myself sitting next to a young woman who also didn’t know anyone there. She was warm and friendly, and talking to her helped calm my social anxiety.

Later I ran into some old internet friends, one of whom I was meeting for the first time in real life. With my old friends and my new friend, we headed to the concert together and spent the evening rocking out to nerdy songs.

After the concert we headed our separate ways. It was late, and I was supposed to take the subway to a garage, where my car was parked. My new friend, a Chicago native, offered to ride the subway with me. (She was parked in that garage, too.) As we rode the subway, I started to get motion sickness, and she offered to keep me distracted by talking about our shared love of Doctor Who. (It worked.) When we got off the subway, she went out of her way to make sure I got to my car safely. We hugged like we’d been friends forever and parted ways.

That night, I learned that nerdfighters, regardless of whether they know you, look out for each other. It’s a very special quality, and I’ve seen it many times in Nerdfighteria since that night.

STORY 3

Two months ago I was at the cinema with a couple coworkers to see Wonder Woman. One of my coworkers brought a friend of hers, because “I think you and she would get along.” 

We were waiting in line at the concession stand, and her friend and I hit it off right away, talking about Harry Potter. At some point in mid-speech she gasps and points at my shirt. I happened to be wearing a DFTBA shirt that day.

Immediately it clicks, but I have trouble getting the words out. “Are you…? You know DFT…?? You’re a…???” For a solid minute we’re both just geeking out, unable to say actual words, only excited squeals and high fives. Both my co-workers are looking on with confused faces, but they know something special just happened.

We both tweet about meeting a nerdfighter in the wild because how often does that happen?? And right up until the movie starts, we go through each other’s Crash Course in Nerdfighteria involvement: how long have you been a nerdfighter? What nerdfighter things have you done? Which other YouTubers do you watch? Have you met Hank or John or Rosianna? Read the books? Gone to concerts? Harry Potter Alliance? Project for Awesome? VidCon? NerdCon?

You have to understand that where I live, it’s extremely rare to meet a nerdfighter in the wild, much less one you get along with so well. She was incredibly friendly and cool and did I mention she’s a Harry Potter nerd? 

I was 100% comfortable with being incredibly nerdy with this awesome new person, which was a far cry from how I was when I first discovered Nerdfighteria six years ago. When I found Nerdfighteria, I was this super shy nerd who was struggling to find other nerdy adults in my post-grad life. Now, it’s easier than ever.

Nerdfighteria has shaped my adult friend group, taught me how to be kind and helpful, and given me so many cool experiences and stories to share. The stories I have because of Nerdfighteria are what make me the person I am today.

I think anyone who’s had a brush with Nerdfighteria has some story to share, something about it that has made an impression on you. Something that sticks. Maybe the story isn’t your road to Nerdfighteria, but it is a story about Nerdfighteria that has some personal meaning to you. 

That’s the story I want to hear.

.

.

.

(As always, you’re welcome to share your story with The Road to Nerdfighteria. I promise we will love it.)

[nerdfightersinfo]

Hey y’all. Project for Awesome may be over but we are all still buzzed on the high of the last 48 hours. (and oh my god! hitting 2 million. I still can’t believe that happened). I was in the livestream chats for a quite some time and I know a lot of us made friends and as a community, I always feels more integrated within nerdfighteria post P4A. 

Last year, after P4A,  I put myself out there and actively searched to a be part of online communities and discovered NFI. So really if you are interested in making videos (they don’t need to be professional videos, even if you are a first timer you can try it) or want to hang out in the comments or contribute by adding captions or anything else you can think off, here is the youtube channel - Nfi .

You can also contact Karola, Dave or Pat on twitter or leave a message here on tumblr if you want to make videos. 

dftba xoxo - Digvi

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A thing I am doing, join in!! - Digvi

I have a thread on Twitter of all the p4a vids I am watching this year. You can reply with your own links (just links, I am avoiding all the chatty stuff on this thread. Chatting is still welcome elsewhere). anyhow, here’s is the link to that-

https://twitter.com/DigviShah0895/status/807489279580459008

and yeah, watch p4a vids and VOTE!!

[nerdfightersinfo]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLa7cOXxKPQ)

Kathy joins us again to discuss ~winter blues~

[nerdfightersinfo]

This year for the Project for Awesome, a bunch of creative Tumblr people including myself are offering to do requests for art, writing, or songs in exchange for pledges to donate to the P4A. A few of us did this last year and it was a really popular idea! The people participating are listed below along with what types of requests they are taking.  

To submit a request, send them a message like “I’ll donate $10 to the P4A if you draw a puppy-sized elephant eating pizza” with any amount of money and whatever you’re requesting. If they post what you requested, then you donate (I’ll update the donation link when donations open). I’ll be tagging my request posts with #P4A Requests and I encourage the other posters to do the same.

Participating Tumblrs: 

Mostly visual art:

Lovely Nerdy Things

@feministengineer

I’d take requests for fanart/drawings/quote art/pun art for any fandom or nerdfighteria! More sample art

Click here to request something. 

Ginz/Mayela

@ginzlovesart

I’m taking requests for digital art drawings. 1 or 2 characters, props are fine, but no backgrounds. I encourage people to browse through my art tumblr to get a better sense of my art style if they want!

Click here to request something. 

the Complete Fiction

@internsnicket

I post some visual art (mostly digital). I’ll do pretty much any type of art, especially anything nerdfighteria-themed. I’m completely fine with gore, but would rather nothing NSFW. I’m best at single drawings, but if anyone is interested in seeing a short comic then I’ll give it a shot.

Click here to request something. 

Ivy,  What is my legacy? My art they don’t see?

@ivy-does-art-sometimes

I’m willing to take line art  and flat color request for female characters from the waist up. I’m Also willing to take short stories(300+ words) and drabble (under 300 words) request. I’d rather not do it with cannon characters unless I’m given a description of their appearance and their attitude/ the way they behave.  I’m willing to take request the 9th to the 11th.

Click here to request something. 

Alicia, turnabout owl

@owlynys

simple drawings/comics; I’ll mostly be taking requests for Nerdfighter-themed drawings/short comics until Sunday, but I’m open to requests from other fandoms as long as it’s sfw and not overly complicated/detailed.

Click here to request something. 

Julien, …so we do them anyway

@phoenixfire-dragonblood

I can do fanart for any cartoon, stylistic postcard fronts, calligraphy banners (10 characters or less), or a short fic (~300 words) for Steven Universe, Undertale, Hamilton, Harry Potter, Les Mis, Into the Woods. I will not do NSFW.

Click here to request something. 

Riddhi Doodles

@riddhidoodles will do drawings for donations. Find out more details in her post here. 

Ryan S. Thomason

@rsthomason

I’m a calligrapher, and I’d be happy to take any not-anon requests of four words or less - usernames and short sayings, that kind of thing. Etsy shop

Click here to request something. 

Chelsea

@shless​

I can be available to do physical drawings up until Sunday the 11th.

Click here to request something.

Zoosemiotics

@zoosemiotics

I can do animal /creature art, original characters, nerdfighter themed drawings, drawings of your pets (with clear photo refs provided), coloring book pages… and more, just ask. Please no NSFW requests. I’ll do my best to complete your request in a timely matter, but please know it make take me time to get it done. My style varies, please check out my tumblr if you want to get an idea of the kind of styles you might get.

Click here to request something. 

Sylvia, Hanklerfish Comic

@hanklerfishcomic

I’ll be taking requests for Nerdfighter-themed drawings and short comics from now until Sunday. I don’t do any NSFW stuff.

Click here to request something.

Writing & music: 

Hillary

@irishiris

I can take requests for Harry Potter or Star Wars fanfiction all P4A.

Click here to request something. 

Hipsterratic

@hipsterratic will make a song over literally anything you send him. Recorded with acoustic guitar. 

Meig, A Dinosaur A Day

@a-dinosaur-a-day

Basically what I did last year and what I’ll do this year is that I’ll write articles about the animals of someone’s choosing. I keep ADAD to dinosaurs only (so descendants of the most recent common ancestor of Megalosaurus & Iguanodon, which includes birds); but for P4A I offer to do entries about any organism someone might choose - such as other extinct animals (pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, et cetera) or animals alive today which aren’t birds (like mammals, other reptiles, et cetera).

If you would like examples of the articles I write, here are some recent ones that I am quite proud of: link link link

And some of the ones I did for last year’s P4A on Non-Dinosaurs (as you can see my writing has improved over the year): link link link

Click here to request something from Meig. 

Thanks, everyone! Please share the heck out of this post! The more attention we get, the more money we can raise. 

If you get a request fulfilled, please remember to donate! You can donate at projectforawesome.com when donations open.

[nerdfightersinfo]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qamMG0Wyin4)

Kathy discusses books about books and book shelfs! 

[nerdfightersinfo]

P4A 2016 Requests for Pledges

Last year during the days leading up to the Project for Awesome, I took drawing requests in exchange for donation pledges. People sent me asks saying things like “I’ll give this much money to the P4A if you draw this thing” and then I drew the thing and posted it, and hopefully the person donated the money they agreed to. It was really fun, but the amount of publicity I got for doing it led to me being overwhelmed with requests, while other blogs started doing the same thing and probably didn’t get as many. With the amount of excitement generated by this whole idea, I realized that I think as a community, we have the potential to raise a lot of money this way. 

This year I want to make a post with a list of creative Tumblrs that would like to do requests for pledges, and then I want to get that post promoted as much as possible. 

So, if you have a Tumblr where you post any kind of art (including stories, music, etc.) and you want to be listed on this post, send the following information to me by December 3rd, and I’ll publish the post the next day. If you have an ask box, I will link to it in the post. 

Email to sylvia.odhner@gmail.com: 

your tumblr url

your name and/or the title of your blog

a description of the kind of art you’re taking requests for (drawings, comics, fan fiction…). Include any conditions you have for requests (for example, if you’re only doing nerdfighter-themed art, or you’re only taking requests on certain days, or you don’t take anon requests) and anything else you want to include. Example: “I’ll be taking requests for Nerdfighter-themed drawings and short comics from now until Sunday.” 

if you do visual art, send me a sample image to include in the post

Some additional notes: You don’t have to do all of the requests you get. The idea is that people only donate IF you post the thing they wanted. 

The official dates for the P4A are December 9-11. Usually the donation window extends a few days before and after the event. 

Please share! 

[nerdfightersinfo]

https://hangouts.google.com/call/bg3ria624racvniszrgtkuty34e

Nfi peeps, We are having a google hangout. Let’s talk.

[nerdfightersinfo]

Project for Awesome 2016 - Call for Nerdfighter Art Submissions!

The Project for Awesome is quickly approaching, and we’re gathering perks! If you’re new here and aren’t familiar with the Project for Awesome, the basic premise is this: People make videos supporting their favorite charities, the community votes for its favorites, and the funds go to the organizations with the most votes (as well as two nonprofits chosen by John and Hank). Most of the money is raised through the Indiegogo campaign, where people can make donations in exchange for cool stuff. One really amazing perk we like to do is the Nerdfighter Art perk. This is where you come in! Here’s what you need to know if you’d like to contribute your art to the P4A:

Ideally, you will be making 15+ items and shipping them to Missoula, Montana to be distributed to the people who claimed the Nerdfighter Art perk!

We’re looking for small, easily shipped items. This can include jewelry, knitwear, small plushies, small drawings and paintings, digital art prints, etc. Nothing super big or super fragile.

The pieces of art do not need to be nerdfighter themed, but it is highly encouraged!

The estimated worth of the art should be about $25-30 because the perk will be sold for $40. That’s not a strict amount, just keep it in mind when making your proposals!

If you’re interested, please email nerdfighterart@gmail.com by November 2nd with an example of what you have/will be creating and what quantity. A picture of it for us to see would be extra helpful when sorting through everyone’s submissions!

We will let you know if it looks like a good fit for P4A and provide additional information as soon as we can, giving you about a month to create your pieces. (We’d like you to ship them to us no later than November 18th.)

If you want to see some examples of nerdfighter art, scroll through this tumblr and nerdfigther-art.tumblr.com. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! Thanks and DFTBA!

[nerdfightersinfo]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_j5ArjQv4I)

Kai talks about making time for bullet journaling!

[nerdfightersinfo]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0f_ln6tVU)

@yyolandaa‘s face is on NFi today!!

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3rjzUhAji0)

New face to NFi! Please welcome Nirali! ( @firewordsparkler)

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRl-9ZV6KIc)

New face to NFi! Today, @tirlen makes vegetarian food and puns!

[nerdfightersinfo]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbYvpAA67Jo)

Hallie sings us a lovely cover of Dodie Clarke’s Sick of Losing Soulmates!!

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Hello, my name is Nykk! I met someone at vidcon this year who gave me a card to the channel after hearing me share a story during a storytelling panel. I apologize for not contacting sooner, I've been ridiculously busy this summer. I love your channel and I would love to be apart of it if I could.

Just seen this now. Yes I remember you! And yes, you can totes be on! Contact me @thegingerpat on twitter for more info. Or @readheadpat if you're not on twitter. Thanks for reaching out!

[nerdfightersinfo]

can straight people stop kissing in public because it makes me really uncomfortable. i mean i dont hate straight people i just dont it being shoved in my face!!! :/

[nerdfightersinfo]

you ever see girls that are so pretty that you don’t know what to do with yourself