Fandom Snowflake Challenge | Day 14

[setsuntamew]

Day 14 | In your own space, talk about what you think the future holds for fandom.

I like to think of myself as an optimistic person, but also a realistic one. I've been on the internet long enough that Anime Web Turnpike was where I found all the hot new websites for my favorite fandoms. So I've seen a lot of ups and downs, migrations, etc.

I worry that with the great Tumblr mess that is going on presently, fandom is becoming disjointed and spread thin. I worry that spaces are becoming less accessible and more restrictive, and that there's no good place for anyone to settle right now. I'm loving Dreamwidth, but I know that it's a hard sell to most people who are used to the simple, fast-paced feeds of tumblr and twitter. I think that pillowfort could be a good alternative, but it's still far too much in beta.

After tumblr banned adult content, I made the decision to quit entirely, keeping my blog up but only using it to occasionally reblog a post with all my contact info on other sites. But now that I'm helping run a big bang, it would be stupid to ignore the huge amount of people who use tumblr as their primary fandom website. So I've resigned myself to going back there at least for that. I hate it, because I hate the policies they have enacted.

But I do have hope that someday fandom has a place online that most everyone can agree on, with policies that don't stifle and lock people out. For me right now, it's Dreamwidth, and I'd love for it to be for awhile. All I know is that I'm willing to try out new places as they show up, with a hope for a brighter fandom future :D

Comments

Dreamwidth

[oldtoadwoman]

I'm vowing to organize my stuff on Dreamwidth so that I can take advantage of tags so that I can find things. I'm definitely not using the site to its full potential.

Re: Dreamwidth

[setsuntamew]

I used LJ during most of the early 2000s, so I'm familiar with how it works and I'm enjoying the nostalgia of DW. It's nice to have my own personal blog again too because I'd definitely stopped...making as many personal posts on tumblr...

Re: Dreamwidth

[oldtoadwoman]

Tumblr was all or nothing. I'd post something announcing I'd finished writing a fic (with a link to AO3) or I'd post fanart or I'd try to start a discussion about something fannish and I'd get 4 notes or 3 notes or 0 notes. (0 always stings because even when it's 3 or 4 you know it's only your friends reblogging it and when it's 0, it's like, guys, come on, not even you could signal-boost this?)

And then I posted one political thing that got 20k notes so I had to switch notifications off. (Bonus commentary from a weirdo who wanted to know why anyone objected to Trump sexually objectifying his own daughters. Bonus private messages from an angry anti-vaxxer who was trying to convince me I didn't have my facts straight.)

Re: Dreamwidth

[setsuntamew]

Mmmmmm yeah that sounds like tumblr!! It's just, all or nothing, with no way to do anything privately or better get your word out. Even though the user base on DW is a lot smaller than tumblr's, I definitely feel like I'm interacting with people more, and that's just really nice. It feels less lonely.

Re: Dreamwidth

[oldtoadwoman]

♥

[dragonofeternal]

Regardless of where the future of fandom takes us, at least you know I'll be by your side. <3

[setsuntamew]

UR GAY

[spikedluv]

I'm loving Dreamwidth, but I know that it's a hard sell to most people who are used to the simple, fast-paced feeds of tumblr and twitter.

Same. I would love if we could convince a few people to stick around and fandom here.

I've got my fingers crossed for a fandom-owned platform that melds places like DW with places like Tumblr.

Yeah, I feel ya.

[ngtskynebula]

I haven't been in the fansphere as long as you, but I've been long enough to already be able to miss how it was back in 2015... I feel like many fans are being discouraged of participating in fandom through the big, centralized websites; maybe small comms and fanfic newsletters will make some sort of comeback, who knows, but it's sad cause it'll make it harder to find new fannish friends when it doesn't have to be anymore. This is not the 90s, the web isn't diminute. Plus, as you've said, the culture has changed, people aren't used to long-form blogging and the slowness of 'old school' fandom... if the fragmentation keeps going on, then I don't know if we'll cb to the old ways or if we'll just scatter...