Blueberry Muffin Tops. Secret Santa. Dead Space Girl’s head. Episode Zero. Meetups. Official unofficial official t-shirts. X Spaceghost. Poyawd casts. Bob Muthatruckin’ Ball in a DINOSAUR SUIT.
These, and more, were legendary memes that proliferated through my favorite Facebook group of all time, the JPAG (Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group). What started as a small gathering of fans of Joystiq.com’s staple podcast grew to well over 3000 members over the years. It spawned friendships, marriages, contests, get-togethers, and podcasts of its own. At first it wasn’t even promoted by the show, instead growing by word of mouth. At times it even eclipsed the show it was based on (that epic Christmas podcast is still a vivid, happy memory around these parts). It became a huge family, replete with drunk uncles (we’re looking at you, Russ).
For us at SideQuesting, it was where we all met. SideQuesting was founded by me, Yaniv (the skin-wearer), and Ryan, all of which were active members of the group. As SideQuesting grew, we kept adding more and more like-minded JPAG members to the staff. Call it inmates hiring inmates, I guess. It’s worked, and well, to the point where we consider the JPAG to be a tremendous breeding ground of creative and enjoyable people. Also: really fuckin’ attractive, too.
When Facebook changed it’s layout and aborted many things that we built as a community, and the Joystiq Podcast came to a grinding halt at about the same time, we tried several options to keep things going. Ning, Twitter, NEW Facebook groups… but it just didn’t work. Then, Steven came to me a couple months back with a rough idea of getting the JPAG engaged again somehow. Granted, it was just an idea, but it sparked a fire in us that kept us going. I’d suddenly found myself being a bit more active in (what remained of) the group, and started missing the old days of oddball conversations and strange Photochops of our favorite hosts.
Well, it took a couple months to come up with a “real” direction for the idea, but here it is. Since SQ is made up of JPAG members, and owe everything to it for getting us into games, we’re hosting a “JPAG Appreciation Week” the week between Christmas (Dec 25th) and New Year’s Day. We’d love to get as many people involved as possible, showing love for the group in just about any way possible. Here’s the plan, and what we’re asking for:
– If you’ve ever had an itch to write about games, and you’re a JPAG member, we’re going to offer you our outlet for the week. Have a topic? Want to share a story? Have a rant about how Tall Sonic is superior to Fat Sonic? Want to review a game on your shelf? This is the place for you. Our esteemed staff will work with you to edit your posts, and we’ll give you full credit & promote your work. Keep the swearing to a minimum, and no hateful posts, please.
– We’re looking for people to write articles ABOUT the JPAG, too. Memories, good/bad things about the community, etc.
– Artist? Designer? Want to help make a t-shirt, poster, song, etc for the JPAG? We want to get that going, too.
– We’ll be doing prizes and giveaways aimed towards JPAG members only. If you’d like to donate something, or have an idea for a contest, let us know.
– We’ll do Tinychat sessions and game nights each day of the week.
– We’d love to do a live episode of the JPAG Show to cap off the week. Let us know if you’re interested, or if you’re willing to run it. Randall, maybe?
– We’re going to post everything FIRST on the JPAG group on Facebook, and then on SideQuesting & Twitter. Why on SideQuesting and not just the Facebook group? Well, the group has sort of died and more people are getting their JPAG-related info elsewhere, so any extra forward-facing exposure is helpful and encouraged.
– If you run a website that started because of the JPAG, please let us know. We have ideas about how to spill this over onto other JPAG sites as well.
That’s it. Email us at sidequesting at gmail dot com and let us know if you’re interested in writing, creating art, donating a prize or two, whatever.
Go to the JPAG here: JPAG on Facebook
*Again, this is aimed at the JPAG first and foremost.
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