The conference known in previous years as Transmedia Hollywood cast its eye towards the future of the industry. What emerged was a sense of how fans, and more importantly, fan communities are about more than just a group of people who are passionate about a particular TV show or film.
4 comments:
I think this is a product of the internet and social media. Fandom itself isn't such a modern concept (The Beatles anyone?), but social media has enabled the mob mentality appeal of fandom to stretch further than ever before, because each level of "connection" is equally important on Facebook, so they all get the same messages. Beyond that, though, I think fandom and crowd sourcing as business models are really cool, and have the potential to shift the way we as a country do business in the next 20 years.
The biggest frustration I've seen written about our generation (Both positively and negatively) is our feeling of being stifled and ignored at best, ridiculed at worst. For a country who was founded in a large part by adolescent rebellion and "You can't make me!", it sure feels like an attitude of "this is the way things have always been" is the standard right now. It's also possible that I'm just really excited for the Marathon tomorrow, and reflecting on what Patriot's Day means.
I agree completely with the opinions in this article. The ability for fan groups to network and organize has never been greater than now in the internet age. Fans have the ability to meet each other online, organize massive real world gatherings, and truly influence the fate of the show.
I think that fandom is one of the coolest things that online communities have enabled. It's definitely going to become more and more of a game-changer in the entire entertainment industry. The audience always dictates the future of product, but fandoms take that to a whole new level because it's less about sheer data and more about people connecting around something they truly care about. It makes people feel like they're truly a part of the show/movie they love, and is a good reminder of how important it is for big studios to cater to their audiences.
This idea doesn't seem far fetched from progression of average businesses. For example, when one McDonalds came out, it was liked enough that the company could move to another location, and then the same thing kept happening until they were liked enough that they were everywhere. Business in Fandom is the same thing. people express how much they like something and connect with other who like it and eventually more season can come out or production companies can make more shows of the same genre. I don't think company support is changing, just how quickly it is expanding.
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