(no subject)
So I have horrible cramps and want to kill people today. That's just a warning, if you annoy me and I fly off the handle, I might even apologize in a couple days.
J just linked me to this: SGA fans continue to win the dumblympics. I annoyed her by saying that I think this is just the logical outcome of his online behavior. What?
Now I will state some wanky opinions:
I think the convergence culture where David Hewlett feels like fandom is his personal advertising space for his indy joints and venture capital firms and colonies on Mars produces a feeling of community that he fosters that leads to certain fans feeling that he's their actual friend. This has troubled me ever since he got a Twitter. At that point Twitter hadn't tipped over into the ubiquitous marketing tool it is now. (If that sounds like early adopter bitterness, that's because it IS.) Suddenly Twitter was flooded with people friending David Hewlett and talking directly to him and my embarrassment squick made me weep into my qwerty keyboard. I knew then that David Hewlett on Twitter would not end well. I did not tweet him about that.
So basically what I'm saying is that David Hewlett just got an object/abject (the jury's out on that turn of phrase like saying one's peace/piece) lesson in what can happen to you if you get too friendly with your fanbase. I think this sort of thing will happen more and more as "celebrities" (he is not one except in fandom) interact overly familiarly with their fans. On the one hand, direct marketing is an invaluable tool for artists, on the other they show up on your fuckin' doorstep!
(Obviously, I do not condone this behavior. How did they get his address, is it a matter of public record?)
(Who did this, are you reading this? Don't get into Supernatural, we have enough problems as it is.)
I think there aren't any conversations going on about the acceptable level of falsely familiar interaction that objects of fans (whether that be writers, actors, directors, what have you) have with their fans. I mean, DH erased the permeable boundary with his Twitter saturation and he's hardly going to be the last one to do it. So do we have to set up the ethical limits on THIS side of the boundary? Fans shaming other fans into not stalking because the objects of fannishness are too stupid to actually remind people they aren't their friends?
I mean, do we have to explicitly state over and over again that showing up on someone's doorstep is WRONG? Is this the logical outcome of RPF fic and Cons? (Meaning, is this actually MY fault at least in a very tiny way? Woe! I'm glad I could make this all about myself somehow.)
How does one leap off from "oh, David Hewlett answered my twitter" to "I think I'll go to the Hall of Records and get his address because clearly we're totally buds!"? I mean, is this a function of mental illness of just an outgrowth of fan culture?
(Please, please, Jared, I hope you bought your house in your cousin's name or something.)
J just linked me to this: SGA fans continue to win the dumblympics. I annoyed her by saying that I think this is just the logical outcome of his online behavior. What?
Now I will state some wanky opinions:
I think the convergence culture where David Hewlett feels like fandom is his personal advertising space for his indy joints and venture capital firms and colonies on Mars produces a feeling of community that he fosters that leads to certain fans feeling that he's their actual friend. This has troubled me ever since he got a Twitter. At that point Twitter hadn't tipped over into the ubiquitous marketing tool it is now. (If that sounds like early adopter bitterness, that's because it IS.) Suddenly Twitter was flooded with people friending David Hewlett and talking directly to him and my embarrassment squick made me weep into my qwerty keyboard. I knew then that David Hewlett on Twitter would not end well. I did not tweet him about that.
So basically what I'm saying is that David Hewlett just got an object/abject (the jury's out on that turn of phrase like saying one's peace/piece) lesson in what can happen to you if you get too friendly with your fanbase. I think this sort of thing will happen more and more as "celebrities" (he is not one except in fandom) interact overly familiarly with their fans. On the one hand, direct marketing is an invaluable tool for artists, on the other they show up on your fuckin' doorstep!
(Obviously, I do not condone this behavior. How did they get his address, is it a matter of public record?)
(Who did this, are you reading this? Don't get into Supernatural, we have enough problems as it is.)
I think there aren't any conversations going on about the acceptable level of falsely familiar interaction that objects of fans (whether that be writers, actors, directors, what have you) have with their fans. I mean, DH erased the permeable boundary with his Twitter saturation and he's hardly going to be the last one to do it. So do we have to set up the ethical limits on THIS side of the boundary? Fans shaming other fans into not stalking because the objects of fannishness are too stupid to actually remind people they aren't their friends?
I mean, do we have to explicitly state over and over again that showing up on someone's doorstep is WRONG? Is this the logical outcome of RPF fic and Cons? (Meaning, is this actually MY fault at least in a very tiny way? Woe! I'm glad I could make this all about myself somehow.)
How does one leap off from "oh, David Hewlett answered my twitter" to "I think I'll go to the Hall of Records and get his address because clearly we're totally buds!"? I mean, is this a function of mental illness of just an outgrowth of fan culture?
(Please, please, Jared, I hope you bought your house in your cousin's name or something.)