thescruffypiratedotorg

A New Project Idea

So, I have for a long time been very fascinated with the process of growing up and change. I've had an idea brewing for a little while that I want to get some feedback on.

Here's what I am thinking:

Start interviewing people in my life every 5 years or so. Not every five years I interview 1 person, but interview person X every 5 years. I think it would be interesting to see how they change as they get older. Matching the interviews up to milestones would probably be best if possible.

So, for example, my friend Kate is graduating High School this spring and going to college next year. Or my friend Lisa is having a baby soon. Or Omer is about to start his first real hard core programming job this summer.

Then you would be able to look back and see how the experience (and life) turned out, vs. how they were hoping it turned out. And the results can either be extremely depressing or funny, but most likely very interesting.

The goal of the interviews would be to capture a snap shot of the person's life, so this would include things like

  • What their day to day life is like: what activities they are doing, who they are spending time with
  • What their interests are: what kind of music are they listening to? TV? Movies? Books? Websites?
  • How satisfied they are with how their life is: What they like, what they would change
  • General philosophy about life, religion, family, etc
  • Hopes and dreams for the future
  • Thoughts on the past

So, I have some questions for you guys

  • Should they be video interviews or audio interviews?

    I feel like having video interviews would be more interesting but there are a couple problems with video. 1) Video cameras are expensive. 2) Video takes up a lot of space and I want to interview lots of my friends. 3) It is harder to feel comfortable when you are being filmed. I feel like people would open up more with just an audio interview.

    But video would be so much more interesting to go back and watch/listen.

    Audio has one big advantage, it is a lot more casual. Something you could seemingly do anywhere: While camping or hanging out or on a road trip. Anywhere!

    So, I guess I am leaning towards audio. I think once I make a decision, though I will probably stick with it, just for consistency.

  • Are there any specific questions/topics that you think I should ask? I am going to be compiling a list of questions this month and all suggestions are welcome.

You can either sound off in the comments here or go submit questions to a Google Spreadsheet I have created.

2 April 2009 06:44am UTC • 564 views • 11 comments

Tagged with project, idea, interviewing, lifeinterviews, questions

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11 comments

  1. Boatswain The Fool 2

    2 April 2009 02:22pm UTC

    "... my friend Kate... my friend Lisa... Omer..."

    Ouch.

  2. Boatswain The Fool 2

    2 April 2009 02:31pm UTC

    Also, my personal recommendation is video. Space is hopefully not a very big issue, now that 1TB drives are often cheaper than $100. As long as you're not trying to have all of the interviews online, that's not a big deal.

    And, as a potential interviewee, I think that it would be really cool to see not only what I said in the past, but also my general way of behaving: how much I move my hands, whether I tilt my head when I think, &c.

    Also, in five years, I plan to be much uglier than I am now, and it would be great to relive the glory days.

  3. The Anonymous Poppy 53

    2 April 2009 08:43pm UTC

    Video or audio? Yikes, neither!! Text only! I can't be the only person who would find it difficult to give honest answers to those questions if I were being recorded. Like, just for example, if you asked me what bands I was listening to lately, I'd probably end up saying, "Uh.... the Jonas Brothers? Um, I don't really listen to lots of music." Lame answer! If you asked me to submit my answer, say, by email or something, I'd go do some research (or at least think about it for a few minutes, which you can't really do when you're being recorded right at that moment) and then type something like:

    I've just discovered the Jonas Brothers, and I'm kind of going crazy about them. As usual, new fandoms introduce me to lots of new music. JoBros fandom has given me lots of Matt Nathanson for some reason, who I don't actually love but definitely like to listen to occasionally. Also, some JoBros fans like country, and I've discovered that I kind of like this country group called the Star Room Boys. Of course, liking the Jonas Brothers means I also get to love Demi Lovato; I'm probably going to go buy her new CD today! They also sort of introduced me to Miley Cyrus. I don't really seek out her music, but that girl has a nice set of pipes, I have to admit. Let's see, among music that would be out of place on RadioDisney, I'm also having a little bit of an Offspring renaissance; I listened to their CD in my car the other day and now I want to listen to it all the time. Barenaked Ladies remains my all-time favorite group of all time. My fave "new to me" artist is definitely Lady Gaga. I've yet to hear anything of hers that I don't love. My personal theme song right now is "Aside" by the Weakerthans.

    See how much you get from not recording? I guess it could just be me. But if you collect text answers, they'd be way easier to store, search, and analyze. Answers would likely be more succinct and better organized.

    (Also, my answer above is just for the sake of giving an example. I didn't mean to, like, filibuster on my musical tastes.)

  4. Dread Pirate Benjamin 1

    3 April 2009 03:01am UTC

    Omer, you are a regular reader and participating member of this website. The other two people are not!

  5. Boatswain The Fool 2

    3 April 2009 03:05am UTC

    I guess that is a good reason not to consider my your friend.

  6. Boatswain The Fool 2

    3 April 2009 04:53am UTC

    That "my" should be "me." Otherwise, it makes my sound like I don't make any sense.

  7. joegrange.myopenid.com __default

    8 April 2009 04:08am UTC

    Hey Benj, get awesome!

  8. Dread Pirate Benjamin 1

    9 April 2009 04:55am UTC

    Does this mean:

    a) That I'm not awesome now? ☹

    b) That I need to write a new post?

    c) Something else?

  9. Boatswain The Fool 2

    9 April 2009 06:52pm UTC

    Actually, he was advertising Awesome Brand Milk.

    (Note, this milk is not actually Awesome Brand Milk.)

  10. joegrange.myopenid.com __default

    10 April 2009 03:22am UTC

    i can't believe you forgot already! One of your friends...a dark club...a sketchy guy with selective hearing and a mesh shirt? For some reason I just thought of it.

  11. The Anonymous Poppy 53

    10 April 2009 05:14am UTC

    Well, I don't know exactly who this Joe Grange person is, but we clearly have very similar ideas of "awesome."

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