I read a book! Huzzah!

I finally got to read a book last week. An actual book that wasn't related to my academic ambitions. I had been hanging out to read an actual book for a few months. Even more frustrating, I had been hanging out to read a specific actual book - of which I'd been hearing no end of wonderful reviews.

So imagine my delight when I picked up the last copy of The Family Law from the Readings shop at the State Library. Literally the last copy - the man that sold it to me said they had been flying out the door - and I can see why.

I was lucky enough to meet the author, Benjamin Law, a few weeks ago. I've been reading his frankie writing for years (and more recently in Kill Your Darlings) so I did that awkward thing where you approach a person as if you are already friends - or is that just me? In any case, he was so charming and kind that it wasn't awkward at all (for me, *wink*). In fact, I developed a bro-crush on him, as in, I want to be related to him ... - and after reading his book I figure I probably could be.

Of course that's stupid, I couldn't actually be related to him, but humour me for a second; I too grew up in a migrant family, one of four kids (Benjamin is one of five). I too have an eccentric, superstitious mother and a father who is difficult to buy for and/or interact with. In fact, in every chapter of the book I was nodding knowingly, feeling an enormous sense of relief that someone out there, in the real world, had suffered similar insanities to me and had turned out okay - better than okay; successful, relatively well-adjusted and generally brilliant! Hoorah!

The Family Law is a delightful ride. There are tears; some of laughter, some of heartbreak. The book isn't in chronological order, so there is an excited anticipation at the start of each chapter; wondering where in the Benjamin Law time-line we are being taken. It is a collection of engaging stories that you could imagine someone telling at a dinner party - an intelligent, articulate person who has a knack for adding humour with every tinge of sadness - it could be to lighten the blow, or it could be to lull you into a false sense of security.

The picture that Law creates of his wonderful mother is so tangible it's as if she's sitting on the couch next to you, reading over your shoulder and asking you to pronounce certain words out loud. The whole book is full of "ah-ha!" moments (not so much the band, more the revelation) where Law just nails it in creating that one moment in time.  

Since reading it, I have been telling all my friends to read it. Which is interesting, because I have a mixed-bag of friend-circles; the indie-cool kids, the ageing rock-pigs, the affluent Baby-Boomers, the disaffected gen-x'ers, the Bogans, the LOTEs*, the spoiled brats ... and I have somehow managed to find something in this book that each of them would appreciate.

Examples; 

To my friend who has an Italian mother who speaks minimal English; 

"You'll love this book, Law's mother likes using obscenities inappropriately too!" 

To my gay friend who is single; 

"You'll love this book, Law does the numbers on exactly how likely it is that you will find a boyfriend!" 

To my siblings; 

"You'll love this book, you know how mum likes to remind us that she'll be dead one day?"

- You get the idea. Mind you, I don't want to loan it to them just yet because I keep going back to my favourite bits for a re-read.
 

You know what? I could go on about it for ages - just do yourself a favour and go have a sit-down with The Family Law.

 

* Language other than English

The quandary of Q&A

The ABC are usually the first to jump on new technology. ABC Online is full of award-winning feature sites and exciting innovations. ABC2 and Dig music were the first of their kind in the move to digital media. The ABC's iPhone and iPad apps, ABC iView and ABC Now make the national broadcaster's content accessible almost anywhere, at almost any time, on almost any platform.  

Last year ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott, made a speech to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association detailing his vision for ABC Online to become a digital “town square”. Scott described ABC Online as a place where audiences could speak and be heard, listen and learn. 

In 2002 the ABC tag-line changed from “It’s Your ABC” to “Everybody’s ABC” - a precursor to the development of a community-based ABC, where the audience is no longer a single entity watching or listening but a part of a wider group with a real opportunity to be involved.

The ABC's social media services can now be found on one page, with links to Facebook, newsletters, iView, YouTube and Twitter, amongst others.

But it's Twitter that I want to talk about today. Ahh, my beloved Twitter. There are many ABC folk on Twitter - as you can see from lists such as this one by Daniel Taylor (@Dt_downunder). 

The ABC's panel show Q&A is an interesting example of the national broadcaster being first to test the waters of new technology. For a while now the #qanda Twitter hashtag has come alive on Monday nights - with a vibrant community of smart, passionate, sometimes hilarious, sometimes ill-informed, sometimes idiotic but always engaged community of people commenting on the proceedings on-screen. 

I'm one of them. I watch Q&A on the TV with my laptop at the ready and my phone on stand-by. I love the interactive aspect of the show - some of the comments on Twitter are more intelligent than what the panelists have to say and often the Chaser boys and members of the Crikey team can be found making hilarious observations that are hurriedly re-tweeted.

At the beginning of the program, host Tony Jones advises us that we can stream the show online, ask questions via SMS or through the website, follow on Twitter or through the random selection of tweets shown on-screen. 

Why the tweets on-screen?

Presumably those interested in following the Twitter conversation are ... well ... following the Twitter conversation. For others I've spoken to, who aren't interested in Twitter (I know, they're crazy), the on-screen tweets are a distraction. And why select those tweets that do go on-air at random? Many of the tweets are irrelevant, inaccurate or pointless observations on what the panelists are wearing. Even worse, that unholiest of unholies, some of them have spelling or grammatical errors!*

Wouldn't it be better to show the most re-tweeted tweets? At least that would be giving the television audience an idea of what comments are popular in the twitter-verse. Or how about the top-tweeters; those people that comment most often with the hashtag (- could be just as pointless as random; just because someone speaks often, doesn't mean they have anything interesting to say). 

Yes, some of the tweets on-screen have been brilliant and it is a thrill to see one's "tweety-friends" get their comments up, I just wonder if it's necessary, and if so, if it can be better managed.

The ABC is again striving to be the first to use new technologies to innovate its content, but has it jumped on the bandwagon unnecessarily? It's nice to have so much ABC content on Twitter, both for news and for commentary, but maybe having a presence on Twitter is enough - and having the tweets on-screen is overkill.

There's also the point to be made, which I have made before, that just because someone has an opinion, doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be broadcast in the "town-square". One tweeter felt it necessary to point out that "young ladies shouldn't chew gum" after an audience member asked a question - and his idiotic comment was put on-screen.

So what do you think? Love it or hate it?       

* I may or may not be being a tad pedantic due to my underlying bitterness at not having my tweets put on-screen.