At ComicCon in July of 2015, I hosted an amazing panel of insightful people to talk fandom. All of us agree that fandom isn't just one thing these days, and it never was - so we spent almost an hour discussing what fandom - and the platforms, sites and communities that host fandoms - are today.
Now that fans and their creativity, content, and consumption are something for media companies to understand, PR people to focus on, social media to thrive on, and news organizations to report about, what happens to the "traditional" fan community and the fanboys and fangirls that create their culture and content? Are follow-on works like fanart, vids, and fanfic to be mocked, tracked, supported, and enjoyed within an organic community, or considered a stepping-stone to a creative career? What if the answer is "sometimes one, sometimes all, and sometimes something more?" The panel takes a look from deep inside popular fandoms, the media companies that work with them, and the sites that host them with Amanda Brennan (community and content associate tumblarian, tumblr), Flourish Klink (Chaotic Good, Inc., Transmedia producer for East Los High), Meredith Levine (Fanthropologist, ZEFR), Aron Levitz (head of business development, Wattpad), Elizabeth Minkel (writer, New Statesman, The Millions), Betsy Rosenblatt (legal committee chair, Organization for Transformative Works), and Jules Wilkinson (manager, SuperWiki) in a panel moderated by Heidi Tandy (founder/essayist, FYeahCopyright.tumblr.com).
8 сен 2024
