Where has all the fandom gone?
Friday, 10 January 2020 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarasa_catFandom in the 1990s: Usenet news groups. Mailing lists. Geocities. PAPER ZINES exchanged at cons or by sending your address and some money through the mail.
Death of 90s fandom? The birth of Web2.0 baby!
Fandom in the 2000s: Blogs. LiveJournal, InsaneJournal, other LJ spinoffs now dead. Fanfiction.net. Various fanfiction websites that came and went. Deviant Art. Various forums. Delicious.
Death of 00s fandom? Strikethrough. Blogging platforms folding or selling off to other companies with different goals. Yahoo!'s kill-the-goose approach to ownership.
Fandom's initial response to the late 00's: Dreamwidth! Archive of our Own!
What fandom in the late 00's failed to see coming: The endless scrolling wall of decontextualized micro-posts.
Fandom in the 2010s: Tumblr. Twitter. Facebook. (Discord? Instagram??) ....meanwhile Dreamwidth and AO3 show their technological age while nonetheless doing exactly what fandom needs.
Death of 2010s fandom? No one really wants an endless scrolling wall of decontextualized posts controlled by corporatism. No one ever wanted the depressive-addictive dopamine hijacking that is purposefully engineered into these products and the side effect of these products amplifying outrage while suppressing measured discussion. No one likes the fact that they cannot consistently find *anything* that actually interests them within in this constantly updating endless scrolling wall and that there is no sense of community, moderation, or safety. No one has time or energy to be plugged in 24-7 while also **creating** fandom content and doing Adulthood(tm) and, meanwhile, the kids are terrified and screaming.
Potential harbinger of the future? AO3 receives recognition for what it has done and wins a Hugo.
So what is your vision for fandom in 2020s?
--
Edited to add: while this post addresses fandom, I think it could be expanded to all indie-media writers, artists, makers, and the consumers/fans of their original work. That said, Fandom is useful to talk about because of how large and all encompassing it is, but every indie maker, every solo artist or writer, and every consumer of their work feels similar pains, at least, from where I am sitting. Creators who make media for fandom and/or make original works are equally welcome to respond to this post.
Death of 90s fandom? The birth of Web2.0 baby!
Fandom in the 2000s: Blogs. LiveJournal, InsaneJournal, other LJ spinoffs now dead. Fanfiction.net. Various fanfiction websites that came and went. Deviant Art. Various forums. Delicious.
Death of 00s fandom? Strikethrough. Blogging platforms folding or selling off to other companies with different goals. Yahoo!'s kill-the-goose approach to ownership.
Fandom's initial response to the late 00's: Dreamwidth! Archive of our Own!
What fandom in the late 00's failed to see coming: The endless scrolling wall of decontextualized micro-posts.
Fandom in the 2010s: Tumblr. Twitter. Facebook. (Discord? Instagram??) ....meanwhile Dreamwidth and AO3 show their technological age while nonetheless doing exactly what fandom needs.
Death of 2010s fandom? No one really wants an endless scrolling wall of decontextualized posts controlled by corporatism. No one ever wanted the depressive-addictive dopamine hijacking that is purposefully engineered into these products and the side effect of these products amplifying outrage while suppressing measured discussion. No one likes the fact that they cannot consistently find *anything* that actually interests them within in this constantly updating endless scrolling wall and that there is no sense of community, moderation, or safety. No one has time or energy to be plugged in 24-7 while also **creating** fandom content and doing Adulthood(tm) and, meanwhile, the kids are terrified and screaming.
Potential harbinger of the future? AO3 receives recognition for what it has done and wins a Hugo.
So what is your vision for fandom in 2020s?
--
Edited to add: while this post addresses fandom, I think it could be expanded to all indie-media writers, artists, makers, and the consumers/fans of their original work. That said, Fandom is useful to talk about because of how large and all encompassing it is, but every indie maker, every solo artist or writer, and every consumer of their work feels similar pains, at least, from where I am sitting. Creators who make media for fandom and/or make original works are equally welcome to respond to this post.
