7/24/14 - Something to Clear Up...

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Alright, spur of the moment post here. And if you're a loyal visitor to this blog or someone who follows me in the social world, if you can take a moment to read this post, it'll be most appreciated.

Earlier today, I found through a fan twitter account of the season 2 cast of MTV's Are You The One?. But when it came to trying to follow the entire cast, while I thought that I followed the whole group, nine people decided to use their power in to block me, thereby risking the chance that I may not speak to them at all once this all begins.

   Having been given this gut-check, starting this weekend, I'm going to be taking on a strong sense of responsibility in dealing with how to handle the pre-season buildup to any season of an MTV show before the buzz for a season officially begins. Now, you might say that I am a super fan of these shows, and I very much am. But sometimes I can get carried away even though I do my best to not do that.

That's why I'm now going to change my policy a bit here. And for this season, as well as the upcoming next season of Real World Back to Chicago, I will not make mentions of the cast or give them a follow until the buzz for the season officially begins, either when the trailer debuts or when related material begins to be printed or seen online. That means I won't be doing a Follow Friday sweep on DC408Dxtr of cast members from a show until first word is revealed about them. It will also be the case for Challenge seasons too, where at only at after halfway through a Real World season do I start to begin buzz for that too.

   This will add to a policy I've had since the beginning that I won't officially welcome new members of an MTV show to the MTV family until the trailer is released. This way, I will become more responsible and more courteous in giving the newbies their time to have a bit of breathing space and some alone time before the buzz officially begins.

I have dealt with a situation similar to this before when I used to flood timelines with tweets & retweets during shows, sports and events on @DC408dxtr. That's not the case anymore since I launched DC NOW at @DC408dxnow as I moved my live tweeting to that hub while maintaining my primary audience at my primary account, which since I moved tweets over to DCNOW in March, DC408Dxtr has increased its audience of followers to nearly 700.

   Now by making another change in dealing with the preseason buzz for any show by keeping an eye out on how much I can do without making it into a big buzz before the buzz officially begins, I will now join with everyone else in waiting for the right time to finally give these people their close up. This won't change the ambitions I have in wanting to establish a rapport with castmates beforehand. Like those who work as a researcher for NBC Olympics in scouring the globe to find out about athletes who could win gold in Rio before the rest of America knows who they are, I would like to have a chance to get to know new castmates as well, provided that it's done responsibly. But for now, I'll let them have their space and look forward to talking to them then next month.

Now, to the people for whom I am talking directly with, and you know who you are if you're one of those nine people (and for the sake of trying to not get in a huge beef with them, I will not call out these people either one by one or as a group), I hope you will understand that I am a huge fan of Are You The One?. But please understand that I am also someone who's very friendly and someone who would never say anything behind anybody's back or offend anyone.

   I would be most appreciative that once you get the news that the season 1 trailer and/or any related material finally comes out that you would un-block me at @DC408dxtr and we can finally have the opportunity to chat, instead of having to endure an entire season of not hearing from you which would be the worst thing ever.

   To those who I followed from the cast and have not been blocked by your fellow castmates, I will now give you the opportunity to enjoy some time to yourselves, and will wait for the right time for you and I to interact for the first time. It's the great interaction I had with your season 1 predecessors that, along with everything they had to go through en route to their million dollar moment, that helped make the season the success that it was. And I do look forward to watching you all and enjoying your company both on the show and in the social world coming up in September.

Finally, as a way for me to send a message to everyone who doubted me and to those who've blocked me, this weekend instead of the usual varied background & profile pics that I have on my twitter account @DC408dxtr, everything will be black and white. And sometimes, it's only brief words and images that can make a statement, and this weekend will be no exception.

   The profile pic you will see will display my picture, but just black and white. And the header you'll see in the background will not just include my twitter handle, but also the words "I AM DC." If you're an NBA fan like me, you'll no doubt notice that this draws on the inspiration from the L.A. Clippers' slogan "We Are One" that became a rallying cry across the entire NBA community in the wake of the Donald Sterling controversy. And I'm sure that this is my way to answer everyone who's criticized me, those who've de friended me and those who feel that I'm not part of their world. This weekend will be my opportunity to tell everyone, "I AM DC."

   A favorite song of mine that's been in my iPod for the last two years is the one that brought Imagine Dragons to prominence for the first time called, appropriately, "It's Time." The chorus of Dan Reynolds & fellas goes, "It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit, I'm just the same as I was, Now don't your understand, That I'm never changing who I am." At this moment, these are the lyrics and the words I can relate to as I go thru this challenging day.

Thanks for reading. And those who have stayed loyal to me, thanks for your continuing support, loyalty and friendship. I AM DC.

- DC