OTW Fannews: Social Media for Fans

  • The Wall Street Journal wrote about different fandom activities on different social media platforms. “[T]he CW is trying just about everything in social media. Interestingly, once its fans tell the network which platform they want to use to interact with their favorite shows, the network leans in hard. ‘We attack all the social media,’ said Rick Haskins, the CW’s executive vice president of marketing and digital programs. ‘Very, very quickly, the consumer says ‘this is the social platform we like [this particular show] on.’ When we see upticks, that’s when we move in quickly.'”
  • At The Daily Dot, S.E. Smith pointed out that not all fandoms embrace social media. “It seems to run counterintuitive to the idea that tech determines the pulse of popular culture. The NCIS website is crude and clunky, the show’s Twitter is an anemic promotions vehicle, and the Internet doesn’t exactly come alive with fans livetweeting NCIS on Tuesday nights. The Internet isn’t interested in it for all the reasons that it appeals to vast numbers of viewers, illustrating that what the Internet wants from television is not necessarily what the Nielsen viewer wants.”
  • The Asahi Shimbun discussed the importance of the decision to go royalty-free with vocaloid Hatsune Miku. “Developer Crypton Future Media Inc. released guidelines that acknowledge the creation of fan fictions for noncommercial purposes. To encourage collaborations between users, the company also set up Piapro, a social networking website where fans can post their songs and illustrations. ‘It’s meant to make creative efforts widespread without making users feel intimidated,’ said Hiroyuki Ito, Crypton Future Media president.”
  • Wattpad continues to pursue amateur authors and to focus on readers. In a discussion with The International Business Times, the inline commenting feature is mentioned. “This adds another dimension to the social interactions on Wattpad. With Inline Commenting, readers can comment on specific words, sentences and paragraphs of a story…Not only does Inline Commenting provide valuable and in-context feedback to writers, but it creates a new social experience for readers. It’s almost like they’re reading alongside their friends and they can exclaim, commiserate, and react as the story unfolds.”

How have you seen companies developing content and features for fans? Write about it 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.

2014-11-15 admin
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  1. jcporter1 commented: It seems to me that the more obvious the show inserts itself into the platform with blanket ads, the more it pushes the fans away. We like to interact and think, not to be assaulted by commercials. The live tweeting done by actors and show writers is a great way to use social media. Having fans discuss shows on tumblr is another. If I was in charge of a show, I would simply insert myself into the media as a fellow fan and promote it that way. Something like Orlando Jones does.
  2. Aless commented: I read the Watt pad article, and it seems awful. The heavy marketing, the way that they claim that, "There's no other platform that has connected readers and writers on a massive, global scale like Wattpad has." It reeks of exploitation and feels... too aggressive. As for the others, if fans like something, they will talk about it. If not, money can't buy loyalty. I do, however, like the fact that Hatsuke Miku allows free content. It stays true to it's roots as a collaborative creation.
  3. Elwyne commented: The difference in social media usage between the CW and CBS (NCIS) delineates the difference in the two networks' demographics. The CW skews powerfully young and Internet-savvy, with heavy Tumblr and Twitter users among its viewership. While CBS is attempting to shift via shows like Elementary, much of its audience remains older and less inclined to tweet anything.