fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2923 ]

[ SECRET POST #2923 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2923 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 065 secrets from Secret Submission Post #418.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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I agree that Tumblr really is shittastic communication-wise, so what drove fandom there in the first place, and why did so many follow along? Like so many lemmings to the sea....

And I agree that LJ sucks humongous, hairy donkey balls, but dreamwidth doesn't seem so bad.

DA

That's something I don't think I'll ever understand -- when there's a functional and welcoming platform that would've let fandom carry on without so much as a glitch (i.e. DW), why choose somewhere like Tumblr that's basically the total opposite? The formats, the layout, the messaging systems, the privacy issues... idgi. I get migrating from LJ because the place was becoming a cesspit of stupid administration and terribly thought out decisions, but why Tumblr?

In the case of my main fandom at the time of migration, it was basically "All the BNFs go there so we must be seen to be keeping up with them!" which is about as lemming-like as you can get. But when all your other friends have made the jump too, either you follow or you stay by yourself, cut off from everything.

I've heard a lot about how Tumblr is great because users don't have to generate their own content.

And there I think is the crux of why people love it: laziness. BNFs and fans in general no longer have to be talented or erudite or capture the zeitgeist to get people to follow them, they just have to have enough time on their hands that they can constantly reblog pictures and gifs that other people have made or posted.

this, tbh. I got over 2k followers just reblogging shit for a pairing.
Wheras on LJ you had discussions, and the people who got the most attention were those who created content.
What's still true is that porn rules the game...

And that's so frustrating. I'm a content creator, but I only have about 25 followers. Everyone is following the people who reblog the things that every single other blog is reblogging.

But I'm still gonna focus on creating because, since I'm able to create, I feel like I should. I want to contribute to fandom and help keep it active and healthy, and even though I don't have a lot of followers, I think the best way for me to do that is to keep creating.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2015-01-04 22:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2015-01-04 23:05 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2015-01-04 23:20 (UTC) - Expand

That makes an incredible amount of sense.

It's also pretty depressing as far as the future of fandom goes, given that up until now it's revolved around content creation and not just content distribution.

+1
It's even worse after noticing that content distribution is very ineffective.
Not following the right people or not spending hours browsing the right tag means never finding a lot of stuff.

I've always assumed a lot of it was people new to the concept of fandom, who came through sites like twitter where there's also a limited amount of real interaction. Though that doesn't explain all the people used to the old form... maybe they were just used to twitter as well?

From everything I have observed of Tumblr (not having an account there), Twitter is still a lot more social.

Yeah, I don't get it, either. Maybe it's just a low effort kind of thing, because people can "participate" by just reblogging or liking posts. The majority of people in fandom were always like this... quiet lurkers who consume, but don't create. Tumblr's great for that, but not so great for people who want to create and post things for discussion.

This is funny because I used to be a very active participant before. Tumblr is the reason I mostly lurk now.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2015-01-05 04:09 (UTC) - Expand

Right when LJ was going through the Harry Potter kidfic banning / "OMG the Ruskies!" phase that drove people away, DW had a couple of FandomWanks of its own that involved the founders and people close to them. (I think they're still detailed on FandomWank.) I'm still on LJ, will never go to DW because the wank in question involved them shitting all over people n my fandom. But there's so little fannish activity on LJ now that I do it all on Tumblr. There are actual discussions on Tumblr in my fandom, but I think it really depends on which one you're in.

I'm in the spn fandom on tumblr and lj, but I am fairly new to both.

while I feel there *is* activity on lj, it also feels like there is a group mentality. The same people read eachothers fics and look at eachothers art, and as a new person it is hard to join.

On tumblr... I don't know. I dislike it for a lot of the reasons people have mentioned above. I dislike how *big* it is. people with 4000 followers. how can you even communicate? its seems so impersonal, and really? it's just as clique-y. but maybe that is fandom all over?

I wonder if it's because much of fandom's energy is (as always) with teenagers.

I'm the DA from above, and when my fandom migrated one of the most promiment BNFs was 30-something. An immature attention-seeking 30-something but a 30-something nonetheless.

So not necessarily age, but maybe mentality.

lol, maybe. That's kind of sad.

Because for many people, Tumblr is their chance to be someone in fandom.

In LJ and other platforms being good at expressing ideas was a must, either to start discussions or participate in them. Same for writing fic. So for many people it was impossible to be noticed in a good sense or even be part of fandom.

In Tumblr they just need to be able to take screenshots or reshare fanart or (in anime fandoms) be good at hunting magazine scans in Chinese forums to repost them or at the most make tons of gifs and that's it, they can get hundreds of followers. No need to generate anything. They can be BNFs without effort.

There's also the immediacy of everything. They get immediate rewards for anything they do.

+1

Tumblr is perfect for Generation Special Snowflakers who want to be popular and important right now without actually doing a single thing to earn it.

Oh, believe me. There were special snowflakers in the LJ era.

(no subject)

(Anonymous) - 2015-01-05 03:54 (UTC) - Expand

+2

'Generation Special Snowflake'... damn. Totally stealing that.

I think because tumblr is really easy for lazy blogging. The mindlessly scroll through pages of gifs and videos and hit reblog and feel like you're engaging with something kind of thing.

I have a hunch that FaceBook and twitter's enforced brevity were the bridges (or the gateway drugs, or whatever handy phrase you like) beween tumblr and what's now considered "oldschool" (BBS, Forums, and blog/LJ/DW). Clicking "like" and hashtagging has replaced articulate fanfom discussion the way clicking Favorite or Kudo seems to have replaced fanwork feedback.

(I admit the latter could be coincidence, but privately I think not.)

I don't think it's a coincidence either, they're certainly similar interactions. What gets me is that while you can find lots of people who agree tumblr is terrible because discussion is replaced by reblogging/favoriting, it's not that simple when it comes to kudos vs. comments. You'll find lots of people who insist that kudos are all they can do or want to do and how horrible writers are for wanting more. You'll also find people who declare that they love kudos as much as comments because they're happy with anything.

It's fascinating to me to see how two very similar things get such different reactions.

I agree with you, I think it's part of the same trend. People go for short, easy, not a lot of text. You just write random stuff and people "like" your stuff and at the end of the day you all get to pat yourselves on the back for participation and feel like you have lots of friends.

At least on fb you can sort of have actual discussions - with tumblr it's basically impossible, so people just scroll and look at things, and sometimes go "omg look" by clicking reblog.

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