The Impact of Blogging on Fandom

In the early 2000s, large numbers of media fans migrated away from forums and mailing lists to public blogging platforms such as Livejournal and Diaryland. 
The move to personal blogging platforms was a form of balkanization, the de-centralization of fandom and fannish communities. Fans were even more able to curate their own "bubble" of fandom by creating and joining communities, or by fine-tuning who could and couldn't access their journal. 
This fannish diaspora shaped how fans communicated with each other, disseminated information, and navigated their communities. 
==Context==
When this drift from forums, mailing lists, and private website blogs to public blogging platforms began, fans started a wide-ranging debate over the nature of blogging, whether it was "good" or "bad" for fandom, and how it would impact fandom. 
In 2005, cathexys collected a series of links to essays and posts discussing the impact of blogging on fandom. That list can be seen .
==Discussion Points==
In essays and discussions that were written around that time, several common points and observations continually surfaced around the impact the migration had on Fandom, which are synthesized below with a range of quoted fan perspectives contributed from the recollections of individual fans. 
===Blogging Is All About Me...But It's Also About You===
A personal blog is usually...personal. The owner decides what to post and when to post. On some blogging platforms, access to these posts is always open to the world. On others (like Livejournal) the blogger can limit access to their entries. But the fact that the only person who can create a blog post is the blog owner means that each blog is all "all about me and what I think is cool and fun and what I like and what I did and..."
Or as one fan said:
Not everyone sees blogging as a "me centered" activity:
One consequence of blogging as an "all about me" activity is that blogs are then seen as "people-centered" whereas mailing lists, forums and letterzines are usually considered to be fandom or topic driven:
Others believe that even if blogging is, by its nature, egocentric, it serves a greater social purpose - as an informal memoir of fandom life:
Still, a goodly portion of the early debates about fandom blogging centered on whether your blog was a public forum or a personal space. And that if you wanted to write a successful blog entry you had to pick one or the other:
And last, if blogging is personal, does this mean that blogs are personal space where commentators must mind their manners? Many fans worried that the personal nature of blogs signaled the end to fannish discourse:
Additional reading:
*Public/Private equals OTP or dysfunctional couple? by Ithiliana (10-20-05) reference link; reference link.
*Meet me, meet my ego by thebratqueen (10-31-03)reference link; reference link.
===Blogging As Performance Art===
Since blogging is a public exercise, many fans feel that it edges closer to performance art than direct person-to-person communication.
Certainly, most fans are aware of how they might be perceived when they are posting in public forums - whether in a letterzine, a mailing list or a blog. However, because blogging offers no centralized place for gathering, it is felt it allow greater opportunity for posts to be distorted by others.Deep Thoughts On Blogging (2nd Edition) - This Is Not My Beautiful House by Morgan Dawn, dated June 6, 2007; reference link; reference link. This makes some fans more cautious in what they say and how they say it.
Others point out that blogs serve multiple purposes. Some are chaotic records of day to day thoughts and activities. Others are platforms used to reach a targeted audience. Most fan blogs fall somewhere in between and it is difficult to assess how blogging has changed fannish communication because of these different needs for expression.
And finally, because some fan bloggers are focused on the social aspect of blogging, they spend considerable time worrying whether one of their posts might upset other fans and cause them to be defriended. Because of this awareness, many blog posts begin with statements like: "I realize this might cause some of you to defriend me, but I have to say it anyway.""A lie can run around the world before the truth can get its boots on" by narcissam, post on Livejournal about the MsScribe affair dated June 18, 2006; reference link; reference link. 
For more about this aspect of performance blogging see the section below about friending and defriending. 
During the mailing list fandom era, controversial statements might cause you to be removed from mailing lists. In the print fanzine era those statements might cause your letters to be edited or censored. But in the case of blogging, the power dynamics between "performer" and "audience" were more subtle, complex and ever-changing. In the blogging world, even if you offended, you could still continue posting, albeit with a smaller audience. 
Additional reading:
*Exhibitionism, Performance, and More Clowns by Speranza (3-06-03)reference link; reference link.
===Blogging and Visibility===
Many fans see blogs as personal online diaries: open to the world, but hopefully visible only to their select circle of like minded friends. Like many fans online, they count on their relative anonymity and pseudonyms and the sheer volume of content on the Internet to shield them from unwanted scrutiny and TPTB.
That is however an illusion. Bloggers do have numerous tools to restrict acess to their journals (custom friends lists for example on Livejournal) along with the ability to prevent search engines like Google or the Wayback Machine from indexing their blogs. Age content warnings and notice can also help to shoo underage readers away. However, the majority of blogs remain open and accessible to even a casual stranger.
This creates a cognitive disconnect in some fans who express outrage and surprise when their blogs are linked to or quoted and listed in more public spaces. See Linking to Public Fan Sites for a more in depth discussion.
The shift to open blogging platforms caused much worry and concern in fandom in the early years. That worry was amplified when fans blogged about adult themed material or controversial topics like non-con, dub-con, underage fan fiction, BDSM fiction, slash, incest and RPS. To many, the idea that fandom could - and would - discuss these topics openly was an alien and frightening concept (see Fandom and the Internet and Slash and the Internet).
Other fans were more pragmatic, realizing that if they were going to accept the benefits of online life (easier access to fan fiction, art and vids along with other fans), they would have to become comfortable with the cost of that visibility. 
From a 2002 debate on the Glass Onion mailing list about linking to fan blogs without permission:
Early on some fans began discussing a "blogging etiquette."
From a 2005 discussion: 
===Blogging and Balkanization===
A frequent complaint about blogging sites such as Livejournal was that it was difficult to find and locate fellow fans and to find fan fiction. In fact the rise of the fandom newsletters on Livejournal confirms that without a useful search function or central fandom hub, fans did need help finding one another.
Others felt differently: blogging expanded their fannish worlds and brought out a lot of fandom behavior that had been hidden:
Additional reading:
*LJ and Fannishness by butterfly (5-18-05)reference link; reference link.
===Blogging's Impact on Communal Spaces===
The move to blogging has led some fans to mourn the loss of what they see as communal space. Because blogs are owned by individuals, and posting is restricted to the blog owners, the space is seen as personal. You may comment on an existing post, but you may not initiate a topic of conversation. And, because the space is seen as personal, there are limits as to what you can say. A fan in 2005 wrote: 
Another observation, this one from 2011: 
In fact, as predicted, many fans migrated to other social media platforms like twitter and tumblr, leaving their blogs and their fan fiction behind. Ongoing access problems to main media fandom blogging platform Livejournal in 2011 led one fan to write: 
===Blogging and the Sound of Silence===
While many fan bloggers assume (and hope) that someone is reading their blogs and even commenting on their entries, not all bloggers respond to these comments. The lack of response to comments left in blogs has caused some fans to feel that the shift to the blogging platform has created a lack of community. This may be because on mailing lists, debate was driven by post and counter post even if the majority of mailing list members remained silent observers. In order for the list to be a discussion list, members *had* to comment. Smaller mailing lists often had higher participation rates. On blogs, the infinitely larger reading list made it hard for bloggers to gauge who was talking to them and whether a comment was a simple affirmation of their points or an actual attempt to start a debate.
Still, many fans felt that bloggers who failed to acknowledge comments were rude and lacked common courtesy:
In response, another fan pointed out:
In fact there are many reasons a blogger may not respond to a comment: lack of time, email notifications not working or turned off, not checking your blog or email, absentmindedness, the comment may not spark any thoughts or discussions, laziness, and society anxiety (especially if the person leaving the comment is unknown). Many fans felt these were merely "excuses" to avoid doing the only "courteous" and socially correct thing: respond with a "thank you for your comment."
Comments also are used by some fans to measure their popularity. It is not unusual for fan writers, artists or vidders to complain about the lack of comments complimenting them on their fanworks. Some feel discouraged, wondering if anyone is actually reading and enjoying their work. Others feel under appreciated. If they are working on a WIP, they may announce a hiatus until more comments are added. Or they may lock or delete their fanworks or blogs. (See Flouncing.) Again, this quest for feedback is not exactly new or unique to blogging -- print fanzines are rife with complaints from writers and editors about the lack of LOCs. 
A mailing list writer would watch with envy as a 100-word fluff piece received hundreds of response, whereas her deeply researched novella gathered only a handful. But blogging added a visible counter at the bottom of every blog post that was a constant visual reminder every time a writer or artist clicked on her entry. And it was also a signal to every potential reader as well. Some fans felt 
To which one fan responded:
Fans warned one another: the lack of comments could - and would - drive fan creators away. Be silent at your own peril:
Ironically, the lack of response from authors on the comments and feedback they received created stress and anxiety in some members of the blogging community:
and 
Additional reading:
*friend-adding, friend-subtracting, and commenting by entrenous88, dated February 1, 2005archive link; reference link; reference link; reference link.
*Feedback
===Blogging's Impact On Fandom History===
Because blogs are meant to be read in real time (the most recent posts are at the top of the journal or the friends reading list), there is a sense that online interaction is like a vast river that carries people and fanfic past your fixed position at a rapid pace. On mailing lists this is also true, but most lists have a centralized search function that allows readers to catch up on previous discussions. Fanfic websites or archives are more static; even as new content is added, the old content (usually) remains visible and easily accessible. And while the blog reader can read backwards, the pace of the new entries can overwhelm the reader.
It is because of this that many fans feel that blogging has turned fannish interactions and fandom history into ephemera:
And of course, the ease by which Livejournal fans could change their names or delete their blogs only fuels this sense of historical disconnect:
Apart from the loss of fanworks, the ability of a blogger to delete their journal or posts can lead to intentional erasure of public debate:
Additional reading:
*Party like it's 1993, Y'all by Speranza, dated February 9, 2010 - an example of a post comparing a printed program guide from 1993 to current fandom topics, something that might be difficult 10 years from now due to the temporary nature of blogging reference link; reference link.
===Blogging Levels The Fandom Playing Field===
Blogging is by definition a solitary exercise - at least in the beginning. Personal blogs have no moderator and no third party FAQ or rules that the blogger must follow in order to participate. The blogger is able to speak directly to the fan community on an equal level with all other bloggers. And unlike mailing lists and moderated forums, the personal blog is not subject to being shut down or removed from the fan community. Blogging is also much different from the fandom in the pre-Internet days where fans could only communicate via newsletters and letterzines, which left them open to editing and possible censorship. 
Others feel that blogging is more in tune with how women interact with one another:
Still others feel that the structure of Livejournal creates a more hierarchical interaction:
===Blogging (And Reading) Selectively===
One aspect of the fandom shift to blogging was that it enabled both the blogger and reader to be selective about what information they were exposed to. For example, with Livejournal you could set up a "Friends List" (aka reading list) of blogs you wanted to read on a regular basis. If you were only interested in one fandom, you might only "friend" fans who were actively blogging about your favorite TV show. If you were into multiple fandoms, you could have a smorgasboard of content on your reading list.
Likewise, you could filter out different or unwanted opinions. If, for example, one fan consistently posted negative comments about your favorite TV character or pairing, you could silence them by removing them from your friends list. On mailing lists and forums, readers were, by necessity, exposed to a wide range of opinions. The ability to customize your reading list had the result of both tempering and inflaming ongoing flame wars or wanking. Tempering in that fans could simply avoid content that might irritate by removing the blogger from their friends list. And inflaming, in that when some fans did encounter topics they did not agree with, they would have little experience with debating and little patience for such debates. In a blogging world where reality could be customized to match your own personal world view, stepping outside that reality could often result in culture shock. This was not necessarily limited to fandom, but was part of a worldwide social shift that many social media platforms reinforced by offering a customized and personal surfing experience. But because the blogging platforms that fandom used (Livejournal, Journalfen, Insanejournal and later Dreamwidth) contained numerous content filtering tools, the cultural shift was often overlooked in fandom circles. Source: Morgan Dawn's personal notes, assessed September 4, 2013. See also And Then We Turn Around To Find Out That *We* Were The Assholes by Morgan Dawn, dated July 19, 2010, for a more recent discussion; reference link.
But not unnoticed by everyone:
Not all fans felt that blogging narrowed their field of view. In fact, many felt it opened them up to a wider and more diverse fannish experience:
Additional reading:
*LJ, or, "This week on The OT" by idlerat (1-24-05)reference link; reference link.
*The Price of LiveJournal by cereta (10-5-05)reference link; reference link.
*don't you know, they're talking about a revolution by musesfool (10-21-03)reference link; reference link.
===Blogging As False Intimacy===
Some fans felt that because fan bloggers tended to write about their personal lives alongside their fannish life, this created a false intimacy at best and familiar contempt at worst:
and
and
Others disagree, pointing out that blogging allows you to get a rounder picture of members of the fan community:
===Blogging As A Game of Peek-a-boo===
Because many blogging platforms allowed the blogger to create custom access filters, readers could often find posts that they were reading one day, locked and hidden from their view the next. Conversely, custom "friends" groups could be created that would afford everyone but a few readers access to a specific post, effectively shutting out members of the blogger's community. Many argued that this had the effect of turning fannish discourse into a game of peek-a-boo and sometimes undercut the sense of community. It also normalized taking discourse out the of the public realm on a routine basis. Posts to forums and mailing lists were rarely recalled and words, once spoken, could not be erased from the public debate. Blogging changed this dynamic.
===Blogging As If You Were In Junior High===
One of the features of Livejournal is that it enables you to create "custom friends groups" that can be used to limit access to posts considered too personal or not suitable for general public discussion. Livejournal also implemented a feature that announces to a user if they've been "friended" or "unfriended."The Urban Dictionary offers the following definition for 'unfriend': "The act of removing someone from your LiveJournal 'Friends List'." A more expanded definition is offered for the word 'defriend': "To remove someone from your Livejournal, MySpace, Facebook, or other social networking site. Doing this is often seen as a passive-aggressive move, telling the person without telling them that you no longer want to be friends. It's also commonly a response to drama. Defriending someone often causes more drama. There are sometimes valid reasons for doing this." See Urban Dictionary Unfriend; Urban Dictionary Defriend. Yet the majority of people encountering one another on LJ are not friends in the traditional sense -- they rarely meet in person, and most have little or no online interaction with one another (at least at the start). You friend someone who looks interesting and they in turn will friend you back.
However, the problem is that the word "friend" has a different meaning in real life. The act of unfriending someone takes on a greater negative social connotation than say unsubscribing to someone's journal or mailing list. It for that reason that when Dreamwidth, an alternative blogging service, was set up they consciously avoided the phrase "friends list" and focused instead on "Reading Circle."
Some fans find that being able to establish a friends list is an advantage as it makes it easier to find, sort and keep track of desired content. For example, in a 2003 essay on why she preferred Livejournal over Diaryland, one fan wrote:
The issue of when to lock a post is also often a topic of much discussion:
Then there is the issue of when to "friend" someone back:
Expectations also can vary, making communication fraught with tension:
And interactions can get quite complex and confusing. Here is one fan's "friending" policy that has many twists and turns:
The end result is a community that experiences heightened emotional drama.....:
 
....and a touch of sadness:
==Meta/Further Reading==
* Alt link by hmpf (November 4, 2003)
* Alt link by suelac (November 7, 2003)
* Alt link by suelac (December 14, 2003)
* Alt link by eliade (August 21, 2003)
* Alt link by splash the cat (Julie) (September 13, 2005)
* , by Morgan Dawn (2007)
* Alt archived link (October 20, 2005) by Ithiliana 
* Alt link by thebratqueen (October 31, 2003) 
* Alt link by Speranza (March 6, 2003) 
* Alt link by butterfly (May 18, 2005) 
* Alt link by entrenous88 (February 1, 2005) 
* Alt link by idlerat (January 24, 2005) 
* Alt link by cereta (October 5, 2005) 
* Alt link by musesfool (October 21, 2003)
* Alt link by Speranza (February 9, 2010)
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Fandom Migration
Category:Fan Activities
Category:Chronology
Category:Discussion