A Struggle To Pin Down, But Seen Everywhere

OVERVIEW:

Coming up with a single definition of the term fandom has been a struggle. Prior to the internet age, fandom was used classically to solely identify fans of a person or a sport. However, with the advent of modern technology, particular online forums, social networks, and of course the web, fandom has taken on a different definition that has been supported by historic trends. Fandoms have been described as “microcosms, communities, and domains” that surrounds comics, books, tv shows, video games, fiction genres etc. Within certain subdomains fandoms take on different contexts. For example, within the sphere of fanfiction, a fandom may refer to canon, the original work or text from where inspiration for fanfiction was drawn. What draws all fandoms together is the act of participating in “fannish” activity. Fannish activity consists of participation on message boards, livejournal communities, conventions, amateur magazines (fanzines), etc. Depending on the particular type of fandom, fans can pursue multiple avenues of fannish activity. Members of a fandom community do not necessarily have to actively participate in the community, but they must share a similar ‘obsession’ for the overarching work with other fans. Fans who consume media are participating in a type of fannish activity, as are those who are creating the media.

 

FANDOM ACTIVITIES:

So, what distinguishes, for example, a fandom of a famous group of individuals from a fandom of a popular novel? Both groups are definitely ardent supporters of their chosen individuals or group, and likely seek out other fans in the real world (ie. at conventions, sporting events, award ceremonies etc.). The primary differences between these groups lie in the use of online tools provided for and created by fandom members.

Fans of a particular individual (perhaps a sport hero), may indulge in posting reaction gif’s to reddit or tumblr, they may post messages regarding the individual’s most memorable quotes or actions, they may ardently admire the individual’s physical characteristics or clothing style on social networks. However, most fandoms do not create individual content surrounding an individual. Perhaps if the individual was a famous pop-star, they might create memetic videos such as parodies or spinoffs of an existing music video. However, for the most part fandoms in this scenario are limited by content that plays off real-world interactions or their ability to modify existing media.

However fans of a specific novel or TV series rely more upon their ingenuity and imagination to create new content. These fans alter the foundation of existing content. For example, a fan may draw a cartoon of two characters behaving in a certain manner that is relatively contradictory to canon. Perhaps this is because no libel or slander charges could be considered for ‘playing’ with fictional content whereas modifying events of a celebrity’s life could be cause for some judicial action. In a fandom that spans fictional realms users typically create literary content loosely based off the plot of the original work. They draw art relating to canon, make music, create and attend conventions etc.

SCOPE OF FANDOMS:

An interesting question to ask is, can fandoms be considered the face of modern communication?

When looking at the usage of social network and other popular media sharing sites, a predominant activity consists of engaging with fandoms. Tumblr, in particular, has become “fandom central” where entire Tumblrs are devoted to the support of a particular fandom. Even the structure of Facebook supports this shift towards fandoms, with the constant sharing of pictures and memes posted on Facebook pages, and the hundreds of thousands of ‘likes’ appearing on pages for popular individuals or books for example. Facebook, encourages the participation of fandom activity with the use of two sidebars. One sidebar constantly suggests pages to like or groups to join which are either popular or that your other friends have joined recently/in the past. This technique is interesting because through hosting locations for fans to engage, Facebook is adding a ‘safer’ social component to typical fandom interaction. On Facebook, an individual can learn about their friends are interact with them online concerning a particular fandom. Of course, this model is not necessarily limited to fandoms, but also companies for example, looking to get the word out about a particular product. However, the trend of Facebook post comments has shifted slightly away from a sole focus on divulging personal details to sharing memes, picture content, or other insights relating to fandoms. Facebook’s Top 20 pages (Nov 1, 2012) appears at first glance to be an eclectic mix of artistis, novels, companies, etc. However when looking at the Top 20 Facebook pages in the context of fandoms, only YouTube, Coca-cola, and Texas Hold ‘Em Poker are not fandoms.

Top 20 Facebook Pages

When engaging with people, individuals typically look for certain commonalities. With sites dedicated to, or supporting, the rise of fandoms, individuals find it easier to converse with others sharing similar interests. Because this online friendship is based of common ground, it is easier for this friendship to translate into the physical world. The presence of social fandoms encourage users, by use of implicit incentives, to generate their own fandom-related content. This, in turn, appears to have a positive correlation with sparking creativity and ingenuity – especially among younger fans. Harry Potter is considered responsible for brining a niche genre, Fanfiction, to main stream audiences, it has also encouraged individuals to get active through the creation of ‘Muggle’ Quidditch, and the list continues. If all of these are positive attributes of an extremely popular fandom’s success, are there any significant negative repercussions of fandoms? There is the odd case, where an individual may become obsessed with a fandom to a certain extent that they become a hazard to society. However, these are far and few between in the grand scheme of a fandom’s scope. Perhaps issues with identity are a problem with fandoms’ primarily online communities. However, cyber-security is not the sole problem of fandoms, but is a ever-pressing concern in a world where the internet and the web are becoming a necessity. But, do online fandoms compromise an individual’s identity? Individuals participating in a fandom may become more susceptible to mob mentality and more likely therefore to indulge in crazy or obsessive behavior. As users age, their maturity and participation in certain fandoms may shift as well and they may outgrew certain irresponsible behaviors. Yet, overall, online interactions between fan members augment reality and make for a more cohesive and comprehensive experience regarding a particular work.

 

Entering the Realm of FanFiction

Entering the Realm of Fanfiction:

1. Clarifying Fandoms – Based on some research, I believe that I can further clarify the online definition of a fandom. What does not fall under this category can be considered a smaller offshoot of fandoms, perhaps an online community that rallies around a particular theme or idea, but not actually a fandom since it does not operate within a sufficiently large scale. A fandom today, is a community with a major online presence that both consumes and produces media surrounding a particular book, tv show, or another theme. The content that fandoms create is not limited to a single media or genre. Fandoms also typically gather to discuss the fandom through events such as conventions: Harry Potter Conventions, Comic-Con etc.

The act of ‘being fannish’ is not specifically limited to fandoms, it can also be used for other online hits such as memes, viral videos etc. This typically involves individuals becoming obsessed with a particular subject and then producing content/other media that revolves around said subject.

In this post, I will discuss one of the major fandoms of the modern age: Harry Potter.

2. Harry Potter meet FanFiction.net – the first major fandom (of this new generation) that takes advantage of online resources is the cultural phenomenon surrounding the Harry Potter series. The Harry Potter series was positioned at the correct time in history to become a modern day fandom that utilizes multimedia tools to media creation purposes.

Although fanfiction has existed throughout the presence of older fandoms (such as the dawn of Star Trek) it came into prominence as a major fandom tools with the advent of fanfiction.net (the worlds major fanfiction forum). Before 1965, the term “fan fiction” was used in science fiction fandom to designate original though amateur works of science fiction [1]. However, the modern phenomenon of fanfiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via Star Trek fanzines published in the 60s. Works of fanfiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the author, creator, owner, or publisher of the initial work and are almost never professionally published. The community of individuals in a fandom is sufficiently energized by the setting or characters in the initial work that the creation and consumption of fanfiction has a compounding symbiotic relationship such that the fanfiction community has long surpassed the critical mass point.

The first StarTrek fanzine, Spockanalia (1967), contained some fan fiction; many others soon followed its example [1].

However, the fanzines cannot sufficiently allow the population of fanfiction communities to grow since they restrict the amount of fanfiction published within its pages. Fanfiction has become more popular and widespread with the advent of the world wide web, and comprised of nearly a third of all books on the web[2]. Unlike other aspects of fandoms, fanfiction authors and consumers are largely comprised of a female audience who expand the boundaries of official fictional narratives offered in writing, on television or the large screen[3]. Why do you believe the fanfiction demographic is largely comprised of women? In 1998 the non-profit website Fanfiction.net came online which allows any individual to upload content in any fandom. The ability to publish fanfiction in an easily accessible common-archive has quickly popularized the art of fanfiction writing[4]. Fanfiction.net now hosts millions of stories in dozens of languages across numerous fandoms, making it the largest fanfiction site online. Its indiscriminate policy of accepting any and all submissions has led to its being fondly yet derogatively nicknamed “The Pit of Voles.” Blogging sites have also played an influential role in the move away from mailing lists to blogs as a means for fan communication and fanfiction sharing. There is no means to tell if archives or blogging sites contain more original fanfiction postings since authors liberally cross-post and maintain fanfiction on multiple sites. The Harry Potter fandom has the largest online presence with over 78,000 fanfiction stories written.

Another unifying characteristic of most fandoms is the element of a ‘ship.’ As demonstrated in the creamsicle meme, a ship is typically a romantic Fanfiction spans numerous genres or tropes, although a significant portion of fanfiction stories contains either a casual mention of a ship or a ship that is integral to the major plotline of the story. Common ships within the harry potter fandom include: Harry/Ginny, Harry/Draco, Harry/Hermione, Ron/Hermione, James/Lily, Scorpius/Rose, etc. Through fanfiction these romantic/sexual pairings have been categorized into four broad terms: heterosexual, slash, femslash, and general. The term slash originates from the slash between characters pairs and typically refers to male-to-male sexual pairings.

These ships spans Harry Potter ‘generations’ and ‘worlds.’ Generations refers to generations of characters within the realm and worlds are subfandoms that take content from the books, movies, Pottermore, etc. The story’s relationship to canon is also considered – this includes how the story has modified the characters as set up in canon. The most common term here is AU which stands for alternate universe and is frequently used due to the freedom offered by modifying certain aspects of canon. However others refers to the specific ways in which the fanfiction is modified such as Dark!Harry, in which Harry’s evil characteristics are predominant throughout the story [5]. The fandom has also generated numerous websites and the sustained interest of members in the fandom community supported the launch of Pottermore. Harry Potter fans routinely hold conventions and other Q&A events both in-person and online with actors from the movies, publishers, or JK Rowling, herself. Tumblr has probably now become fandom ‘central’ where users can engage with the fandom and with other fans with ease. This is also probably due to the main demographic of Tumblr – teenage girls, who seem to be a prominent demographic in fandom communities (particularly those with huge fanfiction presences).

Fandoms have also spawned the opposite “hatedoms.” Typically, for example, members of the Harry Potter fandom hate the Twilight fandom. Thus although a separate Twilight fandom exists, a Twilight hatedom has also been spawned, where amateur works ridiculing the series have been produced. The Harry Potter fandom is unique in that content surrounding the series has moved away from amateur online posting and to professional publishing for items such as Lexicons, Encyclopedia’s etc. The 50 Shades of Grey trilogy initially started out as a fanfiction for the Twilight series entitled Master of the Universe. The internet has also allowed for instantaneous feedback to be provided to users through a reviewing or message board system. Often the encouraging presence of online reviews spurs writers to continue authoring their fanfiction, since it is definitely a laborious processes that for experienced fanfic writers and in general all individuals in fanfic circles involves multiple iterations and the use of a beta reader [6].

3. In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday – I thought I would share with you a recent viral video borne from the same studio as the ‘infamous’ Friday by Rebecca Black

Although these viral videos may be more in the category of hatedom than fandom (though they truly aren’t either), it is interesting to note that individuals who participate in the hatedom are actually responsible for the video’s rise to popularity. What makes a piece of media ‘interesting’ enough to spawn discussion? (whether it be fannish activity or hateful repartees).

[1] Verba, Joan Marie (2003). Boldly Writing: A Trekker Fan & Zine History, 1967-1987.

[2] Boog, Jason (2008-09-18). “Brokeback 33 Percent”.

[3] Coppa, Francesca (2006). “A Brief History of Media Fandom”.

[4] Bacon-Smith, Camille (2000). Science Fiction Culture.

[5] “Fanlore.org”. Fanlore.org.

[6] “Fanfiction.net Beta Writers”. Fanfiction.net.

Justin Beiber and One Direction

The music industry has perpetuated some of the largest fandoms in the world and the Internet community, especially among younger audiences. The popularity of various bands/musicians has skyrocketed due to media sharing sites and social networks on the Internet. One of the first musicians to fall under the classification of a social media success is Justin Beiber.

Justin Beiber’s rise to fame and sustained popularity was nearly entirely a byproduct of effective social media use. Beiber’s videos on youtube eventually garnered a number of views and amassed a fairly substantial collection of videos online. His popularity continued to climb steadily (and almost exponentially) on youtube as more and more people began to discover, watch, favorite and subscribe to his video channel. He was initially ‘discovered’ on youtube by thousands of fans before his popularity reached individuals in the music industry. Beiber’s rise to popularity shows, to a certain extent, the power of consumers/fans. Although Beiber’s videos on Youtube were a success, he was essentially ‘unknown to the professional music industry.’  Once he signed a deal with a music label, his popularity continued to grow, in large part due to his existing fan base.

The fandom which previously online existed online, now had an opportunity to enter the physical world. Beiber’s introduction into the professional music industry, provided fans with the opportunity to meet together for the purpose of attending a concert, or show. Yet, his initial online popularity spawned not only physical excitement – ie. teenage girls screaming as he walked by – but also generated more members being part of the online fandom community. It has been argued that Justain Beiber is more influential in social media than United States President Barack Obama or the Dalai Lama. Beiber’s continued interested in his online community has increased his online following which has reached over 30,000,000 followers on Twitter, and over 3,000,000,000 views on youtube. He continued to generate interest in his online persona by maintaining an online relationship with his fandom. He continues to upload videos to his youtube channel – mindful and grateful for his initial supporters. He has also become a model for handling media controversy through social networks, and most importantly continually maintains and open two-way communication channel with the public. This interest in fans and enemies alike has sustained Beiber’s popularity even as his average audience ages.

Fandoms revolving around Beiber express themselves both online and in the physical world. Numerous tumblrs have been spawned that either support or condemn the young musician, facebook pages have been dedicated to him, blogs written about him…and the list continues. Yet, as Justin Beiber’s mainstream popularity wanes his fandoms remain, bolstered by Beiber’s online interactions with the community.

Another recent phenomenon is the rise of British boy-band One Direction. Although they haven’t reached such a mass Twitter or YouTube following, they followed a similar path of success as Justin Beiber. One Direction was relatively unknown, apart from their appearance on Xfactor, in the professional music industry – yet they had thousands of followers. Their ‘agent’ Simon Cowell insisted that their online popularity would soon result in their official introduction to American audiences at the discretion of music agencies. Their widespread popularity reached critical target audiences before the American music industry asked to bring them to the states. Increasingly musicians and other artists are relying upon initial online popularity to launch their careers.

Yet, their fandoms do not stop there. Especially among teenage and young adult females, One Direction has been a source of much discussion and debate. In particularly nearly one-third of tumblr users have at one point either mentioned One Direction or have created pages devoted to them. Twitter, in particular (like Justin Beiber) provides members of the and with a way to communicate with their audience. Each members has approximately 7,000,000 followers each, which while it isn’t the massive following of Justin Beiber, it is still a sizeable community to foster online participation. Whilst these fandoms did not arise overnight, their popularity can largely be attributed to the almost cult-like following of fans.

Materials have been marketed with One Direction or Justin Beiber trademarks that sell for a significantly marked-up price that a similar item without their brand. Yet, these items continue to sell on the market. Their fandoms have brought an online presence largely into the physical world, as any other musician who arose through traditional routes.

Viral Content

Clarifying an earlier point, ‘fandoms’ is a term that can be used broadly. It can be used to describe memes, board-games, movies, books, people, sports, etc. with so-called ‘cult’ followings. These followings are typically comprised of a steady base of fans who continue to perpetuate the culture of a particular fandom and are deeply entrenched within its society. There are numerous behaviors that are correlated to my description of ‘the act of being fannish’ or in general, numerous type of fandoms; however, what I am primarily concerned with is how the internet (and social media in particular) affects the dynamics and creation of fandoms. The topic that I am focusing on has a strong emphasis on how media-based viral content ‘goes viral’ – as in how it is spread throughout modern culture in such a way that a fandom can have a following entirely online and can enter modern society to become a prevalent part of real-world culture and inter-personal interactions.

Media-content with some grounding in reality is a favorite subject of social networks and the internet in general. Looking at the media’s ridiculing of ‘Romney-isms’ you can see how an innocuous comment can be transformed into a seemingly serious social gaffe. As such Governor, and Presidential-candidate Mitt Romney has recently been turned into the media’s scapegoat. Within minutes, nay seconds, of Romney uttering a comment that could be misconstrued or represented in a humorous light, memes and other Internet ridicule began to surface. Facebook feeds were clogged with posts concerning ‘Binders full of Women,’ ‘Romney, Ryan, and Big Bird,’ and Twitter was trending outrage over ‘#fewerHorsesandBayonets’, and ‘#ObamacareCan’tCureRomnesia.’ [1]

What is interesting is how the Internet latched onto a particular idea, making these memes nearly ubiquitous. Even those individuals who are relatively politically isolated were inundated by hundreds of posts that twisted the Presidential debates to highlight a different story. Even though the general consensus was that Governor Romney soundly beat President Obama in the first Presidential debate, the viral spread of media ensured that the public was greatly concerned with the loss of Big Bird and PBS. Romney’s sometimes-awkward phrasing ensures that his words are typically “memorable, if not exactly eloquent.” [5]

So what makes content go viral? In this scenario, it appears that the content is of national significance. While, national significance might not be a criterion for viral content, perhaps we can say that one factor is the relevance of the content to a mass audience. A large portion of the world’s population has at least a small measure of interest in the Presidential Election of the United States. Even numerous other nations follow, to a degree, the election process as it will greatly effect the future path of the American economy. Interest in the subject matter is certainly one point to consider.

Looking at another case study: South Korean pop star PSY’s music video Gangnam Style.

From the Economist – data suggests that the popularity of Gangnam style is not about to fade anytime soon. The viral video seems to have garnered a self-sustaining eco-system that makes its rise to fame, and continued rise in popularity a reality. With an increase of approximately 6 million views a day, compared to the 1.5 million views a day posted by another summer hit – Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” the question remains: what makes Gangnam style special? [2]

And what makes these videos popular when thousands or hundreds of others have flopped?

It has been hypothesized that these music videos have succeeded where others have failed in part due to its connection to humor. PSY has been praised for his humorous lyrics and dance moves. Viewers may ask how a video made entirely in Koren except for the phrase “Hey, sexy Lady” became so popular in the west. K-pop, in its essence is a visual medium that relies heavily upon the music video itself to launch a song into popularity. PSY’s willingness to poke fun at himself is integral to its successes in a western market, which does not heavily favor ‘air-brushed K-pop dolls.’ [3]

College campuses are typically hotspots for spreading media. Researchers could analyse the number of video responses (and parodies in particular) as a proxy for mutations. “Measuring the frequency and popularity of these mutations early in the life of the video could be useful is modelling its lifetime YouTube views.” [6] And, of course, music video such as Gangnam Style are more likely to mutate into flash mobs of parodies than a song like Beiber’s “Boyfriend” which could possibly be covered by another artist but nothing on a large scale.

Love it, or hate it, Gangnam Style’s controversial footage incites discussion and sharing. Like ‘Call Me Maybe’ it has spawned numerous parodies and spin-offs. Two of the most famous parodies “Eton Style” and “MIT Gangnam Style” use the core idea of Gangnam style – to poke fun at oneself. [4]

Humor, is an excellent medium that traverses nations and makes media worth sharing. Drawing a comparison back to the social media’s Romneyisms, we can see that humor may be another integral element that allows for the greater spread and reach of particular media.

Edit: As Alec suggested, humor is not an essential element in a viral theme. What is important is the emotional connection that the viewer feels to the subject matter. Whether it is by humor or not. This is why modes of rhetoric is a significant element in viral material.

[1] Mercury News. Mitt Romney’s Sometimes Awkward Way with Words

[2] Youtube Trends. Gangnam Style vs Call Me Maybe

[3] The Economist. Data Behind Gangnam Style.

[4] Eton Style

[5] The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/blog/170648/why-romney-losing-meme-election#

[6] Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2012/10/28/simple-statistics-gangnam-style-will-be-first-video-to-hit-1-billion-views/

Mac vs PC

When looking at themes across the internet, is interesting to note that the spread of these ‘brands’ do not stop once they achieve a sizeable online presence. Politicians, businesses, and companies – to name a few parties – all take advantage of these brands to market their own wares. Yet, these images can also be used against an individual or a certain idea.

The most classic and probably famous example of a single marketing strategy is the online Mac vs PC ad campaign, spearheaded by Apple, which promotes a certain brand or image of the two tech companies. The Mac character is portrayed as a hip individual labeled as progressive and cool whilst the PC is characterized as conservative, bumbling, and boring. This commercial played upon these stereotyped characterizations in a series of 66 advertisements.[1] One week after launch the Mac vs PC ads received over 1,500,000 views. Clearly recognizing a winning strategy, Apple continued to exploit the success of their Mac vs PC campaign. They continued to market the same ad type long after Microsoft had used and recycled at least four advertisement strategies: Bake Sale, V Word, Bean Counter, I’m a PC.[2] The successful use of a single advertising campaign by Apple shows that viewers are not necessarily interested in variety. They look for a single idea that they can latch upon and create a ‘fanbase’ around. The negative characterization of Microsoft as an out-of-date old man is a stereotype that would remain years after the campaign ceased producing ads. Despite an aggressive response, Microsoft failed to generate enthusiasm for its new advertisements, in part because the Mac vs PC campaign was so ingrained into modern technological society. The media characterization of Microsoft can also be likened to the media lambasting and lampooning of Mitt Romney during the 2012 Presidential election. The Mac vs PC campaign was definitely a significant factor in the ‘creation’ of the Apple fanboy – a stereotypical Mac/Apple Product lover who purchases all the latest hardware despite few changes updates in the devices. While this particular fandom is not necessarily as large as others that exist, there is definitely a sizeable group of individuals who love to extoll the virtues of Apple products. To a certain extent, the media has also taken up this calling and it has almost become a necessity to disparage Microsoft products.

What is interesting is looking at this phenomenon outside the context of the virtual world. Although these advertisements are not necessarily targeted towards an online audience, they were initially extremely popular online. However, now the culture or brand generated by these advertisements has percolated through to modern society, especially in technology savvy hubs such as Silicon Valley, or even school such as Stanford. In the college environment it is almost essential that any potential computer science major supports Apple products or uses them in their daily life. Even the assignments are made easier for Mac users since they are supported on the latest version of the operating system and programming environment whereas for a Windows machine, the assignments can only be done on a 4-year out of date software. The Mac vs PC ad campaign is not necessarily directly responsible for this phenomenon, but it may have initially launched idea of a ‘cool’ Mac. Due to a strong online community, this has been encouraged until, in societies where technology is extremely relevant, a Mac is an essential product.

[1] http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/apples-get-mac-complete-campaign-130552

[2] http://www.brandinfection.com/2008/11/01/mac-vs-pc-campaign-an-analysis/