Before I discuss the episode, I want to thank Scott, Grooveis4Life, for composing my intro and outro music for the podcast. Scott streams on Twitch. Check out his Linktree, and if you need podcast music, contact him! He’ll be a guest on the podcast later this summer. <3

On this episode of Geek Meets Social, we talk about one of my favorite Instagram accounts, Lucas O’Keefe @thelucasokeefe. He consistently has great advice for growing your Instagram following, and I agree with one of his latest posts – “’Going Viral’ isn’t a social media strategy.” Check out his profile for more amazing tips. There are a few things that will help you grow your Instagram or any other social media -  Being intentional, consistent, and authentic. Gradual growth is what you are striving for, and if you happen to go viral – more power to you!

Cisca Small from Dragon Con’s Fantasy Literature Track dropped in to talk about conventions, favorite authors, and more. The Fantasy Literature track hosts several awesome events. On Thursday night, the Page to Stage costume contest started in 2021.  The Fantasy Gather, where authors and fans converge in a setting with round tables like the Scholastic Book Fair meets cocktail hour. There is something about Boiking Beasties – but I’ll let you find out about that for yourself.
 
Cisca and I rambled our way around over half a dozen cons, and I’ve listed them below, but I wanted to highlight ConToberFest with DeepSouthCon 62 in Helen, Georgia, October 11-13. A certain someone is doing the program, so you know it will be great. And Helen is a fun, kitschy town.
 
Here’s the List of Cons:
 
Liberty Con
Dragon Con
Multiverse
Conjuration
ConToberFest/DeepSouthCon
221B
 
We also talked about our love of books and reading. I tried a LitRPG book a while ago and just couldn’t get into it. Cisca suggested I give Jay Boyce a try and I’m going to pick up the first book in the Mystic Mage series on her recommendation.

More about Cisca:
Be it Geek, Nerd, or Dork Cisca Small will gladly claim it, after all she has 2 sciences degrees, is a 2nd generation geek, and has spent a lifetime in Fandom. After returning from adventures as an Army medic, she somehow ended up as the Director of Fantasy Literature at Dragon Con, podcaster, book reviewer, consultant, and Programing Director for ConTober/Deep South Con 62. With five years of podcasting behind her, no one knows exactly what she will be up to next, but it is sure to be entertaining and in Fandom.
 
You can find her on TikTok @ciscasmall, where, hopefully, she will start reviewing books soon! Check out her linktree for all her links!

I met Anthony on the Earth Station One Podcast –The Best Summer &#@% We Ever Ate episode. Later, he would meet my husband in a completely different setting – Freemasonry. Anthony joined my husband’s lodge, Atlanta-Peachtree Lodge #59, and they are now the best of brothers. Outside of being one of the most active Freemasons I know, Anthony is one of the hosts of the Watchers in the Fourth Dimension Podcast and a guest on the Modern Musicology Podcast. He has an MBA from Emory with a concentration in operations and strategy. Professionally, he is a Procurement Governance Risk Manager at a global professional services firm and has a banking background. And did we mention Anthony has a couple of degrees in history as well? 

Anthony and I meandered around geeky topics, from the British University System to his almost life-long obsession with Doctor Who to Dragon Con. And for those of you wondering about the popcorn container for the upcoming Deadpool movie, here is a link to the Variety article about it. I warned you—it is Deadpool, after all. 

I’ll leave you with Anthony’s words of advice for Dragon Con first-timers: “Dragon Con is a marathon, not a sprint.” I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Social Episode Tip:
In episode 13 we start out talking about the importance of reading and reviewing the terms of service for applications that you use to create and design. There’s been considerable discussion about the Adobe TOS lately, including whether they can use your created work to feed into developing Generative AI. Adobe maintains that you retain ownership of your work, but additional clarification on how they can use it to ‘improve services’ is still needed. An updated TOS for Adobe is slated for release by Tuesday, Jun 18th – so stay on the lookout. You can find out more in this Tech Report article.  
 
I’ve included a graphic developed by @XdanielArt that highlights potential replacements for Adobe products.

Gaming has been a part of my life since I was a wee lass. My parents taught me to play cards - Oklahoma Rummy - on vacation. As they grew older, we played knock-rummy in many Starbucks. My conversation with Andrew Greenberg made me nostalgic to play even more games. 

Andrew and I have been friends for a long time (let’s just be honest - I can’t remember when I met him). He’s the executive director of the Georgia Game Developers Association and has made his living as a game developer since 1990. He is the producer of the “Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced” strategy game that will be released on Steam, so make sure to put it on your wish list! Holistic Design Inc. is the multimedia company he helped form in the 1990s that created the Fading Suns property. 

Andrew is also the organizer of the Southern Interactive Entertainment and Games Expo (SIEGE) held at the Georgia World Congress Center this October. He started his gaming career at White Wolf and was the original developer of “Vampire: The Masquerade,” which I played in my 20s with an Atlanta-based LARP group. Andrew chairs the DeKalb Entertainment Commission and serves on the Georgia Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Office board. Both organizations help bring entertainment industries to Georgia. 

It’s finally time. In a world and a time where I have been overwhelmed, and grief has filled many of our days, it is time to move forward - full-throttle. New episodes will drop on most Fridays and some Wednesdays, with our first guest episode dropping on Friday, June 7.

Dobby is our latest family addition. He’s been with us for over a year now, and he is still a bit of a hot mess, but he is our hot mess with a side of separation anxiety. We adopted him from The Atlanta Lab Rescue in January 2023. His second home is the Canine Ranch in Canton, GA. If you need a place to board or train your pup, I can’t recommend them enough. 

Here are links to all the things mentioned in the episode:

• Building Bold Connections - the podcast I host for Coles College
• The Digital Media Tracks’ link tree - you can find our live streams on Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. Join the fun on our Discord to get involved!
• New Heights Podcast - the Kelce Brothers say the f-word a lot, but they are funny, endearing, and just good guys. Travis is also Taylor’s boyfriend ;)
• And speaking of Taylor - check out the lyrics to the Prophecy and So High School. They are two of my favorite songs on the new album - The Tortured Poets Department. 
• Greg is my life/career coach and is wonderfully insightful. He has helped me get back behind the mic. Check out his website, Aspire to Thrive, and let him know I sent you. 

My talented friend, Scott wrote the intro/outro music. Catch him live streaming as GrooveIs4Life on Twitch and on the Twitter (I still refuse to call it X).