The price of being a fan in fandom.

[rogueslayer452]

++ I just found out that ThinkGeek closed its online store recently and have relocated by integrating with GameStop instead (which is kind of a downgrade imho, aesthetically and functionally). I have always looked on the ThinkGeek site for anything new and interesting with fandom/geeky merch, and have bought things from time to time, but I do agree with some of the criticisms that some of the stuff was a bit too overpriced and they didn't really update a whole lot in recent years. I'm just sad I missed their "moving out" sale since I was dealing with health issues during the time it happened, I could have gotten great deals on things I had always wanted to get.

++ Wil Wheaton is suing Geek & Sundry over profits of a webseries he created. Although I had watched G&S since it debuted, I've been hearing some unfavorable things ever since it was sold to Legendary (LDN) years ago and the changes they'd started making once they took over and the clashing between them and the staffers/creators. So yeah, I hope he wins.

++ Tumblr has been bought by the owner of Wordpress for less than 3 million dollars, which is significantly less than what it was originally bought for by Yahoo years ago. It's kind of hilarious seeing big corporations who clearly never understood the platforms they were buying (Yahoo legitimately thought that Tumblr was "the next generation PDF" which...what?) and thinking they could profit off of ending up with a massive financial loss for fucking it up big time, but it does leave the question of what this means for the site now. The ban on adult content and the shitty algorithm is still up unfortunately, which won't win people back that either left or were forced out, and despite claims that nothing will change we've all heard that song and dance before. The fate and longevity of the site is still up in the air, and many, especially those among the fandomsphere, are worried what this means. Tumblr might not have been originally created to be for fandom use, but fandom did migrate there and it became one of the biggest platforms to host fannish content and it's what caused its rise in popularity. But without it, where would people go? There is no other site that is comparable to it. I've said this before, but ideally we need a solution that is similar to that of AO3/OTW where a non-profit fandom platform is created by fans for fans, but realistically I know it isn't that simple. So for right now, it's just a big question mark of what the future holds.

Comments

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I think this was honestly easier in the 90's and 2000's when everything was website based. Remember when there were web rings? Stuff like that made sites a bit easier, although as someone who tried to start a few, that was no guarantee of success. But it came more often, whatever you think of some of those sites. I don't even know if there are still fansites. Are there?

Plus... I don't want to sound like one of those geeky bros who are all "basic normies ruined everything waaah." But.... the abundance of casual fans in fandom spaces does make it harder. And there's nothing wrong with being a casual fan. I am a casual fan of many things. However, if you're trying to garner the sort of fan interest and love that Harry Potter, Buffy and The X-Files had (to name just a few), people whose idea of engagement is "this episode was good" really... are not who you're going to rally into a deeper, nerdier experience.

(It's like when a Star Wars fan tried to have a deep dive with me. As a VERY casual fan, I was like "I have no idea who any of those people are." So there you go. Now I don't even know if I qualify as a casual fan, given that I haven't seen the second newer movie. Just the first. But even before that, I liked Star Wars just enough to talk about the very basics.)

On the other hand, you could argue that said rallying ignites fandom feels. I always liked Harry Potter a lot, but it really wasn't until I found all of these sites and forums that my obsession began, because I had a space for it. That's also how I really found fandom. I'd technically dabbled before, but nowhere close to that. Now, Harry Potter is kind of an unfair standard because even for 2000-2007, that fandom was ginormous. And I do think former HP fandomers were a bit naive to the reality, which may be why a lot of the original fandomers aren't really into fandoms anymore. Still, even if most fandoms were significantly smaller, they still had more grounded homes. As sites dwindled people tried to make LJ home, but I think enough has been said there.

but creating a non-profit fandom platform would be trickier than just creating a normal website.

Yeah, I think that would be most ideal, but it's also much trickier.