www.JohnAry.com

For those of you who don’t know, I really like action figures. I like them so much, I decided to create a web show, website, Facebook page and Twitter account that talks strictly about action figures. I’ve been doing this for the last 2 1/2 years, partly because I think toys are interesting and partly as a way to learn how to communicate better using social media. Sunday afternoon on a total whim, I sent an email to one of my favorite websites, AintItCool.com. The creator of the website, Harry Knowles has built a small internet empire through his pop culture blog. You know you’ve made it when your portrayed by Rainn Wilson on an episode of Entourage or you get to co-host an episode of At the Movies with Roger Ebert.

Sunday afternoon, I fired off an email to Mr. Knowles, offering my services as a guest blogger on his website. About an hour later he replied, “it’s a column I’d be interested in.” By Monday afternoon, my first article was posted on the site. I’m very excited because I check AintItCool.com about twice a day, everyday, and now I get to be a part of it.

I wasn’t prepared for the responses I received to my “Top 10 San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Action Figures.”  Here’s a sampling…

moosemalloy foretold of the carnage to come:
AICN has a TOY COLUMN! – Let the hatred begin

I’m not sure if green_lanterns_roommate meant I should get fired or drunk:
This guy should be shit-canned, he failed to mention the GB GHOST TRAP!!!

I kind of think this one is funny from bobo_vision
What do you guys do with these toys apart from putting them in your bum?

I don’t think stegman84 likes me:
You actually hired one of the most mediocre youtube channel guys, rather than someone who actually knows their shit? Why should I be surprised? At least scriptgirl had a decent set of tits to distract from her overall ineptitude, this guy is just another random ‘here’s some stuff I like, isn’t it cool?’ guy. Someone who could actually give us some quality coverage with variety and depth across all areas of collectibles would be a far better way to go…oh shit, sorry, I forgot, this is AICN. Never mind, carry on then.

The best comment so far goes to bacon_aesthetic
you smell like rotten eggs ary. Mom says you gotta wash your balls before you can play with your toys

Thanks to myphdisdoom for helping a brother out:
I find it more pathetic that some of you post… Bashing people buying these things. How much time do you have to click on these links and then write hate like this. You may think you’re putting people down but all your doing is showing how pathetic you are. I want that sentinel figure now…

I can’t wait to see what they say next week.

This is one of the better Twitter bots that’s contacted me recently. After posting this:

I received the following reply from Initech_Bill:

Just thought it was funny.

When Facebook launched it’s new profile layout, this guy got creative. Using Photoshop, he surgically chopped up a picture of himself and precisely tagged it so it would appear on his page in a very interesting way. This lead many Facebook users to follow suit and create their own profile picture collages. For those without a boatload of time or Photoshop know-how, Schweppes created a Facebook profile app to achieve this fun looking layout. You can find it here. I thought I would give the app a try.

The key to making a good Facebook picture is size. Make sure it is large enough to span across your page. Luckily, Schweppes provides you with a scaling and rotation tool. It takes a bit of time to finagle the picture into place, but it is fairly painless. One of the problems I ran into dealt with my profile information at the top of the page. Use the profile rule numbers on the side of the Schweppes menu to make sure your profile pic and tagged pictures line up successfully. Other than that, just follow the directions and you shouldn’t have a problem.

Thanks to Schweppes for providing this useful social media tool. I’m not sure it will entice me to purchase any of their product, but I am not more familiar with their brand.