My gmail chat with Tao Lin

Though I consider myself to be an avid supporter of Tao Lin’s famed gimmicks, I never actually expected myself to take part in any of them. I heard about the auctioning of an opportunity to chat with Tao via twitter and honestly didn’t give it much thought. It seemed like Tao’s target audience was between the ages 19 and 34 (I have done absolutely no research on the demographics of people who read his work/’get’ his brand so I cannot confirm this statistic) and, being sixteen, I felt that I was ‘unwelcome’ in his world of self-promoting marketing schemes. Conversely, my mother caught wind of Tao Lin’s eBay endeavors and felt that I was the ‘perfect person’ to conduct a gchat with. Using a dormant eBay account, she bid ‘aggressively’ for the iced coffee auction. She won the 30-minute chat for $35.76, which I calculated to be a conversation that would cost us $1.19 a minute. Seemed like a ‘good bargain’, despite the fact that there was no mention of iced coffee throughout the duration of our exchange.

It wasn’t until the day after we won the auction that I realized I might not have much to say. I felt as though my reverence toward Tao Lin would interfere with how easily I’d be able to communicate. What are you supposed to say to a person whom you consider your greatest literary muse? I expressed my apprehension to Carles, who instructed me to ask Tao uncomfortable questions that would keep him stimulated. I suspect that I was ‘set up’ and likewise asked uncomfortable questions throughout our gchat as a result (thanks, Carles). Nonetheless, I think it was worth the dollar nineteen per minute rate.

Also noted- I believe I came across as being insecure and self-deprecating throughout this chat and would like to negate all suspicions that my personality is as read. Feel free to send me your feedback: bebezeva[at]gmail.com

Read our chat here: http://muumuuhouse.com/afaaaafa.html