I can't believe

[petronia]

That five years ago we were discussing the ramifications of BNFs taking on the attributes of creators! It's now amply clear that it's more creators who are becoming BNFs - not to mention that soon enough, everything will be funded a la Cassie Claire's laptop. DISCUSS, or I'll repost the 2-page business proposal I wrote last night.

(On a less theoretical note, I hope Graham Coxon joins in next time Babyshambles fandom does a blog comment pile-on: he's really fricking good at it, in and out sans tl;dr, one could always use the firepower)

Comments

[arboretum]

yeah his rage is certainly very concise if occasionally misspelled XDDD

that aside, this is hilarious, and I am not sure I have anything else to say about it...

[arboretum]

well no I would like to say I also think the cover is -- to couch it in nice art school terms -- unsuccessful, unless the goal is "unpolished and slapped together on a bootleg copy of photoshop in some kid's basement"

this can be a valid goal, mind

if it is his goal then I take it all back -- it is a successful cover

[petronia.livejournal.com]

IAWTC! I've seen such a crop of bad font jobs recently that I'm starting to think "generate your album via Wikipedia randomization meme" is the newly fashionable indie cover image aesthetic. Or something. It would be disheartening if they were all unintentional. XD;

Have seen G. Coxon manage simultaneous disparagement of professional integrity, mental faculties, and masculine prowess in under 140 characters, with five made up words in the process. No wonder he likes Twitter so much.

[triestine.livejournal.com]

Have seen G. Coxon manage simultaneous disparagement of professional integrity, mental faculties, and masculine prowess in under 140 characters, with five made up words in the process.

I love this description.

[bell]

DISCUSS, or I'll repost the 2-page business proposal I wrote last night.

This threat better not become a trend amongst the ff.net folk, or else we're all doomed. >3

Unfortunately, I don't have much to discuss, not knowing the people! I will say, however, that I've started to think that BNF-dom comes from an inner quality? The kind that stars like Cary Grant have, a magnetic pull that make people go "OOH THEY'RE INTERESTING."

[petronia.livejournal.com]

It's a related business proposal, at least! XD

I think there are all sorts of elements at play there - consistency of presentation, frequency of posting, willingness to engage, relevance of content. It's something that can and has to be actively worked for, though maybe thinking of it as "work" means you're unsuited for it.

[bell]

Yeah, I think if you're "working" for it, you don't have that instant-attract quality. Whereas if you're Carry Grant, you can walk into a room, ask, "Anyone for a game of golf?" and have a crowd fawning over you. To be a BNF you *do* have to actually post/interact, but you also have an attractive quality. If science could figure out what that quality is, they'd quantify it and sell it. XD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I just meant that if you felt like it was "work", it means it's not natural to you, so you're probably not doing it as well or consistently. But I don't think anyone can draw a crowd from one day to the next, that interest, admiration, and trust has to be built up... My opinion from observing others and trying things myself is that charisma is something you do, and the skill can be learnt. *g*

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

This makes me wonder if some of the taboos surrounding the monetization of fandom (within the fandoms which do have such taboos) will decline. If we are going to fund the laptops, that is.

(I look at it from the fan perspective because that's what I am): but I think in some ways this will be kind of onerous for fans. No longer can we talk about creators like they aren't listening. (See how people react to fanfiction in a socially different way from how they react to published fiction). Part of the 'traditional' relationship with the author was reverence, and also distance. But, while people celebrate the destruction of that reverence (to some extent), what are the effects of a lessening of distance?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

What I've realized is that everyone else is trying to monetize fandom, because fandom is the only thing you can monetize in entertainment these days - if people just want to check stuff out for free there's nothing stopping them, so you have to upsell. Recognition, too, is just another form of payment.

It's definitely onerous for fans. It's onerous for the celeb/creator/whatever as well, actually, because now there's the expectation that they will interact, and in fact traditional messaging channels have declined in importance in comparison. (What portion of Neil Gaiman's book sales over the past 8 years was ultimately driven by his blogging presence?) But there are benefits too, or at least aspects that people enjoy, so a trade-off is all it is.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Indeed. If they can't pirate X, they'll go on to Y, which they can pirate. The fanatics are the people who'll buy. So in the end social capital perhaps ends up not being much different from the hard lucre sort: well, time is money. So how are they trying to monetize fandom? Are they succeeding very well?

Well, perhaps it's mostly onerous for them because they're not used to it. In another couple of years, the culture will probably change to accomodate all of that. (So how do music fans react to all of these changes?)

[emblem.livejournal.com]

And what if *I* *want* to read that proposal? XD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

It will probably be up in some form at some point, to be honest. XD;