“True Fans Allow You to Focus on Doing Your Work.” Thom Chambers
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for curious artists and scientists “True Fans allow you to focus on doing your work.” Thom Chambers Inside this issue: Pigeons, Music and the Oscars April 2011 Contents 06 Finiteness of a magazine 59 Fika Interview with Thom Chambers A Swedish cafe 14 The Pigeonhole 66 blinkBL-NK March 2011 Art, Books, Cafe Oscars, Darwin myths and intrinsic glory 43 MusicCamp SG in March 2011 And a heated discussion on music 85 Gruesome and disturbing business... evening A visit to the Singapore Art Museum The best way to enjoy this magazine is to see that clearly. Unless you're Superman. In have it as a PDF file on your desktop or laptop which case, OMG Krispy Kryptonite, I've got computer, and then read it with a PDF reader. Superman reading Singularity! *jumps I recommend using the Adobe Reader to do around room*). so. Also, tea (to drink, not splash it on your computer screen. Why would you do that?!?). If you're reading this on a mobile device or If you read this magazine directly with a tablet, let me know (yes, that's a real email browser, then clicking on any links in the link) how I can make it better for you to enjoy magazine will bring you to the link page. And the magazine. basically close the magazine. Which isn't fun when you want to come back to the magazine. In miscellaneous information, the title text Speaking of links, they will be in blue and "Singularity" is set in the font Perpetua. I underlined, like so (<-- don't click, that's not a found out about the font when I read the link!). In cases where the background colour copyright page of a book. Yes, the physical isn't cooperative, the links will be in a lighter kind. And now, I'll leave you to your reading... shade of blue, like so (you're not supposed to Singularity < 3 > April 2011 From the editor March 2011 was eventful, relatively speaking. I patronised 2 new cafes and covered 2 events. I've also started creating YouTube videos, and incorporating some of them into the magazine. Let me know what you think. I've also interviewed Thom Chambers, who writes a magazine to help you reach your True Fans. You'd be surprised at how few online magazines are out there... In an event I covered, one particular topic of note was the business of music (read the whole thing on page 56). The music industry is affected by the Internet (and piracy), as is the newspaper and publishing industry. Big labels and big publishing houses are scrambling for a solution, while individuals are rejoicing (or at least some of them are). Think self-publishing is beneath you, and you want an external party to "validate" you? Nothing wrong with that. Know that they're looking for "sure-fire successes", and you demonstrate that by already having a following. By publishing anyway, you garner True Fans and show you're "worthy" of being "officially" published. Chicken and egg problem? You bet. Decide. Choose. Cover image © Cathy Get this awesome T-shirt at Vincent Tan the store! Singularity < 4 > April 2011 “True Fans allow you to focus on doing your work.” Thom Chambers // intreehouses.com Finiteness of a magazine © Cathy Singularity < 6 > April 2011 Interview with Thom Chambers I believe my first contact Vincent: In Treehouses is a free magazine to with the magazine help people reach 1000 True Fans. My In Treehouses was because readers may not be familiar with Kevin of Chris Guillebeau. You will Kelly's work. Can you tell us what is meant probably hear me talk about by a True Fan? Chris a lot. Because he's Thom: Certainly. A True Fan, in the words of Kevin awesome. Anyway, I took a Kelly, is defined as someone who will buy anything and look at that magazine, everything you produce. It's worth extending this, because I also write a though, and thinking about the type of business for magazine (you're reading it). whom the True Fans model is built. Kelly talks about Wow, this guy Thom Chambers writes a magazine to help you creators as being the real beneficiaries of the idea - reach your 1000 True Fans! I'm already hooked. The True Fan whether they be artists or musicians or authors or concept was first proposed by Kevin Kelly, but I'll let Thom tell whomever - but I tend to use the term 'microbusiness'. you about it. So if you're running a microbusiness, making axe Both Thom and I were inspired by Seth Godin's post on micro handles or cupcakes or ebooks or wedding stationery, magazines to start our own magazines. So both of us were you no longer need to use your limited resources to try plodding along creating our magazines month after month. and shout at the masses, hoping for the occasional Well, Thom's magazine is probably doing better than mine. So sale; instead you can focus on finding a small army of I interviewed him to find out more. 1,000 people who love what you do. In this connected world, 1,000 True Fans is all you need to make a living from your microbusiness. Singularity < 7 > April 2011 V: My readers are curious artists and income you need to make, it could be that you profitable niche communities", which is essentially scientists. What does having True Fans need 50 True Fans or 5,000. The point is that what 1,000 True Fans is all about. Using Kevin mean to them? How will having True you're no longer having to wait helplessly for Kelly's term is just a better shorthand way of Fans help them? someone to stumble across your work and maybe saying it, and it's also a term with which lots of T: Every time I buy a wallet, I buy it handmade purchase something; instead you're actively trying people in my niche are familiar. I'm trying to reach from Dumb Kid Designs on Etsy. I've been buying to build and connect a group of people who love people who run microbusinesses, and for those map wallets from the same store for 4 years now, what you do enough to keep coming back and who run a microbusiness the idea of having a loyal and every time one wears out I just buy another buying more. group of repeat customers who allow you to make a living doing what you love is pretty much the from the same place. I'm a True Fan of the store - they don't need to sell me or advertise to me; I go ideal. '1,000 True Fans' taps into that ideal in one to Dumb Kid Designs without even thinking about The more fans that their simple phrase. it. V: You mentioned that you're inspired by Seth Godin's post on micro This is the power of having True Fans. I'm here in business can reach and magazines. There are online magazines the English countryside, but a little homemade keep, the less they have to that exist as web pages. What made you store on Etsy that runs out of Kansas City, believe that a downloadable PDF (Seth's Missouri, can call me a True Fan. The more fans worry about each sale. suggestion) is the appropriate format that their business can reach and keep, the less for your magazine? they have to worry about each sale. Customers become loyal and keep coming back, which T: This is a tricky one. With In Treehouses, I try to means more time to spend creating and less effort V: I understand your first few issues (5, get out of the way of the technology and just to be exact) didn't start with that goal. and money that has to go into advertising and create something that's accessible to as many How has it evolved to its current state? hoping for customers. True Fans allow you to people as possible. I've no doubt that the focus on doing your work. T: The goal of In Treehouses has always been the magazine's format will evolve as the technology same, but I just changed how I described it. The changes and more people shift to mobile readers It's worth noting that 1,000 may not be a definite first few issues were about creating "valuable, and so on, but for now most readers tend to know number. Depending on what you create and what where they are with a PDF. Singularity < 8 > April 2011 I also think that having the magazine as an entity V: My magazine is also a downloadable If you're putting your unto itself, rather than as a series of web pages, is PDF, and I've been asked why I didn't something that appeals to our increasingly rarely create it as web pages, because I would content up as web pages human desire for completeness. We like stories then gain search engine optimisation and movies and novels and songs because they're benefits. What are your opinions on that? then you no longer really finite - they have an end. When you read a book, you know that it ends at the last page and you can T: I couldn't care less about SEO. Honestly, I've have a magazine - you have say, "I'm finished with this now". never made one single decision for the magazine or the site based on what the search engines will just another website.