A Changing Game
Netflix
is pretty awesome right. A person can stream hundreds of hours of content,
however how can someone possibly chose something to watch when there are
thousands of choices, especially when there are no commercials or advertisements
for other shows on Netflix or most other streaming sites, legal and illegal? As
more television content shifts into a digital on-demand environment the role of
fans, fandoms, and social media in promoting a show will grow greatly. Let us see what this necessarily
entails.
To
start things off clearly let us define some of the terms we will use. For the
purpose of this writing the term fan will refer to an invested viewer of a
program or text while fandom will refer to the collective works of fans in
reference to a common show or text. A person or people can be fans but a piece
of art or writing that involves characters or aspects of a text but is not
created by the owners of that text is fandom. This will be important later when
we discuss what can influence a person to become a viewer.
(Some fandoms on Tumblr)
Now
to the actual point, as technology grows internet access is becoming faster and
nearly universal in many countries, the United
States included. As this happens more and
more technologically savvy people are either abandoning cable and satellite
providers or never bothering to get one because they can simply find everything
they want online (Forbes, 2013). While this is still a small minority, it hints
at a larger trend. That as technology grows that allows people to watch shows
at their own leisure, without having to tune in at a certain time or sit
through commercials, they will us it. And chances are, since there are no signs
of the technological growth stopping, that the trend of cable cutting will only
grow.
But how are other
forms of technology, namely social media, factoring into this discussion? Well
it is fairly well accepted that word of mouth advertising is one of the most effective
forms of advertising (O’Conner, 2012). Basically that hearing a recommendation
for something from a friend is much more likely to make a person use/buy/watch
that thing. This is largely where fans can come in and, by talking about the
show, become major influences on people. However the growth and proliferation
of social media has blurred the lines somewhat when it comes to what
constitutes a friend. While we are not here to discuss whether virtual
acquaintances are friends or not, it can still be assumed that they can still
exude more influence on a person then most traditional advertising on the fact
that they are likely not getting paid for their endorsement and thus their
opinion is considered more trustworthy. And as we should be well aware, social
media is just about everywhere and almost everyone has some form of it. With
this being established it can safely be assumed that social media, because of
its ability to spread the opinions of many fans, can be a significant factor in
whether or not a person watches or even hears about a show. A person using
social media and hearing from a multitude of people about a show can easy make
a person interested enough to watch it. Fandom is similar in the way it can
influence people but with some slightly different subtleties. Namely that it
isn’t a person talking but rather a manifestation of a fans love of the show.
So while it is not a direct endorsement of the show, it can speak to the power
of the show to inspire and excite people and that can definitely influence
someone to at least check out a show. Now with social media fan works can be
spread incredibly easily and seen by a much wider audience (Sivarajan, 2010).
(Example of someone with a lot of social media friends)
At this point it
is important to explore some of the counter arguments. Namely that fans and
fandom won’t become more important in spreading a show because many sites have
recommendation programs that will push shows instead. The main whole in this
counter argument is that people can like a wide variety of shows, some of which
may seem contradictory. The recommendation programs will likely only recommend
tiles that are similar to the one watched in genre which can be a very
artificial connection. An example of this can be seen in the plot similarities
between Showtime’s television series Weeds and AMC ’s
smash hit Breaking Bad. Both feature people deciding to start selling illegal
drugs in order to help support their families only to have their respective
lives spiral out of control but each is completely different in terms of tone
and character development. However another way for a recommendation program to
work is to base it off of other people’s watching habits, namely that a large
number of people seemed to watch both shows within a relatively short amount of
time leading the program to believe that there is a good chance that if someone
watched and liked one that they would enjoy the other. If this is the case
however, it could be argued that this program has been shaped by the fans of
the show and has thus become a work of the fandom. So even though it may not
seem like fans are involved when a computer makes a recommendation, there is a
very good chance it is simply acting on the data given to it by the watching
habits of the fans.
(A good example of fan work fro the
Breaking Bad fandom)
Before moving into
the conclusion, I feel that some more examples of fans and fandoms helping to
spread a show should be given. Namely I would like to mention the classic
cut-to-soon series of Firefly. Firefly aired on Fox in September of 2002 and
thanks to the networks mishandling only lasted one season ending in December
consisting of 14 episodes. However, in that short time the show gained an
incredibly strong fanbase. So strong in fact that even though the show was cut
after only one season it got a movie tie-in in 2005 called Serenity, three
years after it was cancelled. Even to this day the number of fans is growing
and the show has become a must watch for anyone interested in the sci-fi genre.
This demonstrates just how powerful a force fans can be in affecting a shows
longevity and popularity, and that was almost ten years ago when social media
wasn’t nearly as big as it is now. Imagine how much influence fans and fandoms
could have in the near future (Browncoats.com).
In the end it is
clear that as television content moves in a more digital on demand environment
that fans, fandoms, and social media will play a big role in affecting the
show’s popularity and longevity. This can be seen already in past examples of
shows being kept alive and relevant do to a devoted fanbase, such as firefly,
and in the technological trends that are emerging of people going over networks
heads and simply finding what they want online. Clearly fans and fandoms
already have some power to influence their selective mediums, but as we push
forward into a new age of content delivery they will be the ones on the
bleeding edge pushing shows in new ways never before explored. They will boldly
go where no one has gone before.
Works
Cited
O'conner, Shawn.
"Word of Mouth is the Best Ad." Business
Week. n.d. n. page. Web. 28 Feb. 2014 .
<http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2011/12/word_of_mouth_is_the_best_ad.html>.
Sivarajan, Deepa.
"Tlön, fandom, and source text: The effect of fan works on the narrative
of Supernatural."Transformative Works and Cultures. 2010: n. page.
Web. 28 Feb. 2014 .
<http://journal.transformativeworks.com/index.php/twc/article/view/171/154>.
Magid, Larry.
"Households Abandoning Cable and Satellite for Streaming." Forbes. 19 3 2013: n. page.
Web. 28 Feb. 2014 . <http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2013/03/19/households-abandoning-cable-and-satellite-for-streaming/>.
"Welcome." Browncoats. N.p.. Web. 24
Feb 2014 .
<http://www.browncoats.com/index.php>.
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