Serious Conversation about Fandom

[dugindeep]

Let's have a Serious Conversation (yes capitals) about fandom ... I believe it is a quiet feeling among writers and artists and other creators that the shift to AO3, Twitter, and Tumblr has obliterated feedback, connections, and conversations in fandom. I say it is a quiet feeling because I have had this conversation in person, but few of us say it

Comments

[the_rant_girl]

Well said Amy!! ♥♥ And yes absolutely screaming into the void just really doesn't cut it!!

I mean one of the things that I really enjoy doing is writing things that I know my people are going to enjoy, and yes I do write things for myself too. But it's the sharing of the enjoyment that makes it worth it.

[dugindeep]

All so very true!! I have had tons of ideas lately that then die because I think 'oh, I don't have time to write that' and 'oh who really cares about it' and all these other excuses. I'm to blame just as much as anyone because I've fallen into reading stuff on my phone, not staying connected with LJ, reading but not commenting in between other hectic moments in life, work, etc. We all should try better! <3

[the_rant_girl]

YES!! I mean I have so many things I want to write, but not having someone to share those thoughts with is very detrimental to my process, because I need my squee to be shared, it's such a catalyst when the excitement is shared. It makes you want to write!

And yes I'm very guilty of pulling away from fandom, I mean it's sort of a vicious cycle though right, the less other people engage the less you want to engage. And I think it can go both ways, where sometimes if you do leave a comment on someone's work and they don't respond it can leave you feeling miffed. But yes. Vicious cycle.

We gotta break it. Gotta kick my own butt too lol

[dugindeep]

Totally agree. The pace of replying to stories AND to feedback has fallen so far behind. I'm a bit guilty of it too, but try to keep up within a day or so.

The squeeing is some of the best stuff when writing! We need more squee!

[wings128]

Thank you for voicing the above. I agree wholeheartedly and I've shared this post on my LJ too.xx

[dugindeep]

Glad to hear it!! I just hope my well-intended points make a difference ... even just a lil bit at a time <333

[wings128]

I hope so too. These hallowed halls are decidedly echoey of late. :/

[dugindeep]

It's very true. I mentally complain about it all the time, or lament about how busy LJ used to be ... but we all have a chance to help make that different!

[deirdre_c]

Hear, hear! I definitely need to get back in the habit of reading (and commenting on) fic. I used to read so much more than I do now.. in the Golden Age, I think I read almost every Sam/Dean or J2 fic listed in the SPN newsletter each day, which was A LOT, yikes!

I think without feedback/commenting that fandom will die, because there's no way to get to know each other without reaching out and communicating beyond a like or a retweet. *nodnod*

AND WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT ALL OF YOU!?!?! :(

[dugindeep]

I surely do hope we are here for years to come (just like the show ;-)) and it'll take efforts from us ALL to hold this baby up for as long as she'll let us.

I am so very grateful for the friendships I still have, and even the newer ones that prove we're gaining new folks all the time ... now we have to translate that into the community we all had way back when.

[locknkey]

Ditto what you said! my flist is as important to me as my RL friends and so many of you have become RL friends. I've been very sad to think that my fandom days may be behind me.

I miss the interactions I had here. I've tentatively friended journals that are active and that has helped, but there is a dearth of posting and I am as guilty as anyone.

[deirdre_c]

I go days at a time now when I forget to check LJ, when I used to be on there pretty much 24/7. It does make me nostalgic. (And now Wincon is over, too! Dark days of fandom indeed). On the other hand, we're all still here, so I guess we just need to find ways to get the conversation started again. Like this one. THANKS, AMY!! <3

[zubeneschamali]

It occurs to me that part of it might be a larger problem with today's social media ("today's social media," she says, in contrast to the ancient media of, you know, three years ago). I've heard that Facebook is having a hard time because people just reblog and share what other people and organizations say instead of coming up with their own contributions. The percentage of original content has gone way down, and since all of Facebook's content comes from its users, that's a problem for them. Web 2.0 was supposed to be about the "prosumer," a content producer and consumer all in one, but we're doing less production. We're becoming more used to passively reading content and reblogging/retweeting/"curating" it rather than putting out something original

[dugindeep]

I absolutely agree. I think even about Twitter and how many times folks reply to me and sometimes I just hit the like button instead of continuing the conversation. I think people in general are suffering from some kind of media ADD, where we can't take the time to really absorb and reflect on something. We have to move onto the next thing. Hell, I'm the girl who watches TV at night with her iPad on one side for solitaire and her iPhone on the other side to tweet. It's terrible ... and then we have such a short attention span that even if we see/read/discover content, we don't take the time to truly connect with the creators and offer some sort of feedback/commentary/etc. Similarly, so many of us just RT on Twitter. Some of our silly photo/gif wars on Twitter remind me of all the comment wars we used to have here ... we haven't really changed THAT much

[zubeneschamali]

Ha, I thought as I posted that, "but comment memes haven't done so well lately..." But you know what? Even if there's only six of us left, if we leave a bunch of prompts and each fill one, that's six more fics out there. The Olympics are coming up, someone was talking about a TFLN meme, it's still summertime...

[dugindeep]

Yes yes yes yes yes. I'm game if you are! We will plan the next one this weekend :D

[sillie82]

Man, I resent Twitter so much for taking away so many awesome people from LJ. If not for those people, I wouldn't be on Twitter at all. :/

I try to comment on all the fan creations I consume, and I will keep doing that. It's the only way to keep things going. <3

[dugindeep]

I think Twitter provides a different kind of connection that meets the fast-pace of how other media is today. It's like comparing LJ to classic books in a library versus scanning a magazine on your phone. You have to go the library, pick out a story, find the time to really read it, etc. When a magazine is intended to have short blurbs to just compress the main points into a flash call-out box.

We just need to find/make the time to be a part of this fandom and keep it all going! :D

[sillie82]

I guess my dislike for Twitter mainly stems from the fact that it makes me feel like a nobody and a complete outsider. I can't check my phone during the day, so I have to catch up on like 11 hours of Twitter when I get home, and that's just impossible to do. And a lot of people who used to be on LJ now only post on Twitter, and I feel like I'm completely loosing touch with them and it makes me so sad. :/

We just need to find/make the time to be a part of this fandom and keep it all going! :D

Yes. <3

[dugindeep]

I totally understand how that is! Hopefully we will all make a valiant return to LJ to strike up all the fun again :D