Saving Comic-Con Before It Starts Part 3 - Testing For Good

Comic-Con Survival Guide Saving Comic-Con Before It Starts Part 1 – Separating the Geeks
Saving Comic-Con Before It Starts Part 2 – Breaking Up the Site

It’s no surprise that Comic-Con International has gotten its share of bad press and angry emails/tweets/message board posts from fans (and now former fans) who fought for hours to get a membership and came up empty in the end. Some people might think that CCI doesn’t care. They got their money. Who cares about those who didn’t get a ticket? I honestly don’t think that’s the case, but I also don’t think that typing out a slew of profanities directed at the San Diego Comic-Con organizers will make a whit of difference either.

Testing For Good

So what can be done to put a good face on the whole situation going into 2012, and at the same time make sure that the improvements that they are likely going to implement actually do the job they’re supposed to, so that we don’t have a repeat of February 5th?

Test the Upgraded Systems and Processes… For a Good Cause – After February 5th, you can be sure that CCI will be doing everything they can to keep that kind of mess from happening again for Comic-Con 2012. Systems and processes will have to be upgraded or at least tweaked. While there are programs out there that are made to mimic the enormous burdens that could be placed on a web application or server system, nothing can really test something this big like the real thing, meaning that we’ll have to get involved. If Comic-Con could get the fans to take part in a realistic test on their (hopefully) upgraded systems and processes, it would help prepare for the real registration day, making things easier for everyone. But how do you get 100,000+ geeks to take part in the process? Appeal to their good natures by asking them to donate $1 in the process (and maybe even throw in some random prizes for them). Of course, the glitch in the system certainly had nothing to do with the validity of your card or the amount you were attempting to pay; it was the system not being able to handle the number of people offering up their money to purchase a membership all at the same time. By doing a full-blown test, the system would get the rigorous workout it truly needs, the users would become familiar with the site enough to know what to expect on the real registration day, and a worthy charity or charities would get some help courtesy of Comic-Con International and their many generous attendees. How to do it? Glad you asked…

Pick a charity or charities, suggesting $1 donation in place of what would normally be a membership purchase, so that the entire process is replicated, from initial login to completing the “purchase”.
Promote the Test Day any which way they can, making it clear that only the first 100,000 people can participate (or whatever limit they have on the real registration day) so that it mimics the real registration process exactly.
Emphasize the charity angle and the potential to win Comic-Con exclusive prizes (maybe even a 4 Day Membership with Preview night for 2012 for a few lucky participants). I’m sure there are “lottery” legalities to deal with, but I’ll leave that up to them to see if its feasible.
Track the load, the number of attempted users, and through a pre-determined feedback tool after its complete, gather user experience information from participants. Maybe those who provide useful feedback can be eligible for additional prizes?

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the test will show that the new system upgrade is successful. People might struggle for hours just to donate a dollar. But it will be all the more important that CCI sets up something that does the job, if not perfect, then at least better than this year. In the end, Comic-Con gets the data they need to proceed (or not) with the real registration day, they also get lots of positive press in the off-season, the fans get a chance to potentially snag some goodies, and a very worthy charity would likely benefit to the tune of six figures!

Again, there is likely a financial cost to Comic-Con International in performing a test like this. How that would be handled in relation to the ticketing company and the charity(ies) would be something they’d have to factor in before trying it out. But I’m betting that if they implement a new system in the fall, they’ll be testing it first. I honestly don’t know how the load test went back in December 2010 or how many people participated in it, but it must have went well enough to make them *think* that they could follow through with it in February. All the more reason why a real 1-to-1 test is necessary.

Yes, I can’t help but think that something like this would also benefit Hotel Registration Day, but that’s a completely different post (again… coming soon).

What do you think? Would it help? Would it make no difference at all? Feel free to make comments here in the comments below or on the official Unauthorized San Diego Comic-Con Survival Guide Facebook page and let’s hash this out. I don’t have all the answers and ideas. I may have written a book about San Diego Comic-Con, but unlike some people, I don’t claim to know it all. Maybe you have something to contribute that’s even better. Let’s hear it!