Okay so I have been in fandom spaces for over 15 years now, and like you and many others, community was the thing. However, my section of fandom, unfortunately, is more 'I'm here to share fic, maybe read them occasionally, and not much else' and I really miss the community aspect. I miss gift exchanges and challenges and rec lists and making actual friends, and all the other stuff. I am one person, and I do have a rec list blog, I leave long rambling comments on everyone's fics because back when I joined fandom, you showed your appreciation, but do you have recommendations of how to encourage other people to join in? I know I can't make them join in, but what would encourage and incentivise people to join in? If that makes sense?
Yeah, it's really, really difficult. I think one thing is that most people don't know what things used to be like? So they don't know what we're missing? Their understanding of what the internet is is shaped by social media, where things like commenting are totally optional, where people are used to being consumers of content instead of members of a community or creators themselves.
So I try to talk about what fandom used to be like and/or what it could be like. Often when I do this, people say wistful things like, "Oh, that's sounds so great! I wish I'd experienced that!" So I know that these things are still appealing to people.
One of the things I'm trying to do with this blog is show people that other ways of forming online communities are possible. Talking about specific things we used to have or specific things we could have in the future is one way to do that.
When it's Yuletide time, I like to talk up Yuletide, tell how I've been doing it for over 15 years, how much fun it is, explain a bit about how it works, offer to help people if they need to ask questions about it. I don't know how successful that is at getting people to participate, but hopefully one or two people have tried it out who otherwise might have felt too intimidated.
I like to tell people about all the lifelong friends I've made via fandom--how I've known some of my online friends for 20+ years, how cool it is watching those friends' talents grow and lives change, how I've gotten to meet up with incredible people when I travel the world, how I even lived with a good fandom friend for a few years.
I like to talk on my tumblr about how much comments mean to me, about how much fun beta-ing is, about how rewarding writing and reading meta can be. I want to show people that these things are fun and open for anyone to participate. I want to spark the idea in their minds that they can be creators.
I think talking about these things, raising these possibilities in people's minds, can make them realize this is something they can not only dream about, but have for themselves. So many people have no idea of all that fandom can be and how online friendships can be real and meaningful, even if they're very different than real-life ones.
Of course, I also don't want to be constantly complaining and being all "back in the olden days" because that's off-putting and annoying and Web 1.0 had plenty of its own problems! So there's a balance to be struck.
It sounds like you're doing all the things that make a fandom great, and I am sure there are people who appreciate you even if it doesn't feel like it!
One thing that I think might be helpful is doing the hard work to find one or two other people in your particular space who feel the same way you do and are willing to put in some work. And then...have fun in public? Make people want to join in?
And some things just really take time. I just started a very specific community in the fandom that I'm in right now. Said fandom is very active! It's absolutely wonderful! But very few people are interacting with the community even though I think it is a really basic thing that wouldn't require much emotional energy or time. So right now I'm asking myself, "Is there no appetite for this? Or has it just not reached the right people yet?" And I honestly don't know the answer! We'll see!
I think you can also have conversations like, "What would make you more likely to comment? To participate in a community? What would lower the barrier of entry for you?" Maybe we could get some really concrete answers?
For anyone who sees this post and is lingering around the edges of fandom or just enjoying what other people create without either engaging with it/commenting/reblogging/chatting with the creator: what would it take to encourage you to engage more with fandom? What barriers are there that keep you from doing it?
Feel free to reblog and answer, answer in the replies, put your thoughts in tags or, if you'd rather be anonymous, send @fandom101 an anonymous message. Both the anon questioner and I genuinely want to know people's thoughts!
