- Airlock Alpha posted Ann Morris’ discussion of What Mainstreaming Of Fandom Has Done For Me. Namedropping the OTW’s Fanlore, she notes that tech advances have helped her follow her fannish interests despite having low vision problems. “I have low vision, and it used to be super annoying to go to the library and try to find large-print science-fiction books. The people who published large-print books didn’t seem to think that anyone with low vision would be interested in those weirdo books with the rocket ship on the spine. Here’s a pet peeve which is fortunately a thing of the past. The Science Fiction Book Club and the Large Print Book Club were owned by the same company. And yet, they did not publish any science-fiction books in large print. Augh!”
- At MTV.com Taylor Trudon thanks the makers of Almost Famous for being able to see herself on screen. “When adults don’t take the ideas, passions and dreams of fangirls seriously, they’re missing out. They’re missing out on finding possible solutions to major social problems. They’re missing out on the opportunity to ask important questions. They’re missing out on the chance to view the world through a different lens and in doing so, are missing the voices that have the potential to change it.”
- At Popzette Tom Smithyman looked at how fannish activity is driving the growth of crowdfunding. “‘We’re making the ‘Star Trek’ that we all want to see,’ Peters told a crowd at the San Diego Comic-Con. And, judging from fans’ response, Peters is correct. An initial Kickstarter campaign netted more than $100,000, and led to a second initiative, which raised more than $600,000. It also sparked a competition among the crowdfunding sites to house the second. The campaign has since moved to Indiegogo, where it has raised an additional $525,000.”
- Autostraddle‘s Fan Fiction Friday column is expanding because “fandom is more powerful than ever…And because money makes people in charge pay attention, and social media makes our voices hard to ignore, the folks who make TV are listening and responding to us, both on-air and in real life…starting this week, Fan Fiction Friday will…include fan fiction recommendations, of course, but it will now also offer you news round-ups about fan culture, interviews with fic writers and TV writers and TV recappers and TV directors, mini-essays about fandom from people in fandom, polls, discussion questions, infographics, advice about harnessing the power of fandom to affect real change, and a grab bag where I answer questions people have been asking me.”
What commercial opportunities have you seen opening up because of fandom? Write about them in Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent OTW Fannews post. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a Fannews post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.