• Entertainment reporter Ken Baker has written a novel about a pop star dating a fan but in a twist it's the star who stalks the fan. His inspiration was the intimacy provided by social networking in contemporary fandom. "Fans know so much about
 their idols. The interesting thing is that it doesn't seem to have spoiled 
the fantasy or dampened their fanaticism. If anything, it seems to only 
fan the flames of their passion for the celebs. As they say, information 
is power, and I think fans feel empowered to know so much and become that much more interested in their favorite stars."
• Hypebot provides a different take on music fandom, but one which also looks at the role of technology. Several public relations specialists weigh in on how music fandom currently functions. "The older online music communities were ecosystems dedicated to either genres or geographic locations...Now that communities are forming around artists and personal tastes, these older characteristics of ecosystems are evolving, but some are stagnated based on the fact that complementary activities need to take place away from the community for it to evolve." One concern? Over-reliance on a particular online platform. Another is how much the artist can offer. "The artists that have thriving fan communities are generally a result of their cult of personality, not their art. Most don't have artistic output rate high enough to maintain engagement by the community, hence the need to be...more than the sum of their art."
• Tor.com recently proclaimed Babylon 5 set the bar for fandom in the 21st century. "[W]ay back at the end of the last century, one of the first sci-fi fandoms did have the internet, complete with online spoilers! That fandom was centered around Babylon 5, and though we don’t talk much about Babylon 5 now, the narrative structure of the show, in tandem with internet discussion, essentially created the model for TV fandom today." Technology played an important role: "Babylon 5 was also one of the first TV shows to market itself through grassroots internet outreach, assuming (correctly) that science fiction fans were hanging out online. This was back in the days of Genie and Usenet, but a lot early internet jargon found its footing here. For example, those who didn’t post on the forums were called “lurkers” and at one point, [Babylon 5 creator] JMS, left the forums for a time because of too much “flaming.” He triumphantly returned, of course, after a basic moderation system was sussed out. At the time, all of this stuff was brand new."
• Speaking of fannish history, the MediaWest Con blog hosted a piece on fanzine archives citing several collections including "The University of Iowa Special Collections (aka the Fanzine Archives). This is the largest media fan collection currently in place. They have jointly partnered with the Organization For Transformative Works...which helps fans donate zines, flyers, convention program guides, fanvids, audio and video recordings etc. The OTW has an active outreach program called Open Doors with a volunteer assigned to facilitate donations. The University may be able to help pay for shipping. They can also handle large collections and, if needed, may be able to help arrange for someone to box and ship the zines."

If you're a music fan, a Babylon 5 fan, or have been a fanzine contributor, why not write about it in Fanlore? Contributions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent OTW Fannews post. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of fandom controversy stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Following the shootings at a Batman screening in the U.S., various commentators used the incident to express concern with fannish extremes. The conversation of two journalists in The Sacramento Press took a look at how changing factors in entertainment news has made cult project fandom closer to that of sports fandom. "[N]ow if you’re a big fan of a project for whatever reason, it’s not just about how well it’s produced, it’s about how it stacks up against other projects as measured at the box office. After all, the deep, quality dramas have their awards shows to separate out the wheat from the chaff, but the giant effect-laden comic book and action movies are rated by their fans in the box office competition – and it’s just like a sport with home teams and rivalries." This means that "[n]ow a bad review might put somebody off seeing a movie and actually hurt your favorite project in terms of long term box office performance, rankings, and subsequently its perceived success and status in the pantheon of movies. And god forbid a bad “The Dark Knight Rises” review helps “The Amazing Spider-man” or “Avengers” look like better movies as a result. Suddenly it’s personal and people care unduly what others think."
• In some cases it seems that it's Hollywood creators who don't consider what people might think. Author Cassandra Clare cared rather a lot that the film version of her Mortal Instruments series might be whitewashed. "I have gotten many letters over the years from readers who are happy that Magnus is not white, that Jem is not white, that Maia is not white, that Aline is not white. The fact is that most parts in books are for straight white folks and even more so in films. There are not that many parts for actors who are not white — even less substantive ones. Taking those things away by casting Magnus as white and talking about him as white does cause actual pain to actual people — and to what end? Why? Why send the message you only want to read about white people and only want to see white people on your screens?" A recent incident involving Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis suggests this doesn't need to be an intentional message.
• A different Teen Wolf controversy revolved around media choices of who constitutes a couple, leading site After Elton to host its own favorite slash couples contest with the caveat that they could only be fanon couples. An article on what they termed slashwink made it clear that they know their audience.

If you're a slasher, concerned about fannish extremes, or have something to say about whitewashing, share your experiences on Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories on fan art that might be of interest to fans:

• In a story that could have dropped the specific fandom reference, CNN's Geekout blog looked at the slew of Game of Thrones fan art online. "Often inspired by a favorite science fiction or fantasy franchise, fan artists gain exposure for their work on social media sites like Deviantart, Tumblr and Etsy. One of the most popular franchises permeating fan art territory today is the imaginative world of Westeros in George R.R. Martin's 'Game of Thrones.'" Indeed while fannishness inspires the artworks, one contributor pointed out that fan works need to be considered on their own merits. "Parra's advice is that a piece of fan art should gain notoriety for reasons beyond the fact that it interprets a famous scene or character...'We should refer to fan art not only as personal reinterpretations of other's characters ... but as pieces of art itself.'"
• Cracked.com would agree in their own piece about fan works that are better than the original. These included a Star Wars fan film, various fandom movie posters, fan made video games and creature models, and a revised comic strip where less has often been shown to be more.
• The Escapist looked at the Homestuck fandom which it concluded "is second only to fans of Japanese shooter series Touhou Project as the craziest and most devoted fandom on the internet. Case in point: When series creator Andrew Hussie announced that he would be taking a temporary hiatus from the comic in order to prepare for San Diego Comic-Con, the fans erupted in a flurry of creation." This resulted in "an overwhelming pretense that the story they love isn't a webcomic made by some dude from Boston, but a manga/anime series out of Japan - replete with a bunch of fake screenshots...What's impressive here is the commitment to verisimilitude...All in all, the focus on creating actual believable screenshots or manga pages (terrible anatomy issues included) is what sets this fan project apart from mere fan art. Fans without artistic talent have also made fake Wikipedia articles referencing the nonexistent series."

If you're an A Song of Ice and Fire fan, a Star Wars fan, a Homestuck fan or a creator of fan art why not contribute some to Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of academic takes on fandom remixes that might be of interest to fans:

• At the digital industry conference NEXTBerlin, presenter James Bridle utilized fan fiction in his talk "Metaphors Considered Harmful." The piece was about the development and changes in stories over time and across storytellers: "Every time we retell the same stories we are also acting on them, we are changing them in some fundamental way." He included a segment on Fifty Shades of Grey's evolution from Twilight fanfic, saying "There's a lot of anger about it from professional writers and publishers because they don't like fanfiction, they think that that's somehow a lower form of writing. But they're idiots because Borges wrote fanfiction as well." After explaining how Borges rewrote Lovecraft who rewrote Poe, he said "All of these stories are layered one on top of the other."
• Bridle then cited fans' use of Omegle to write Harry Potter roleplay fic and explained slash to the audience. He noted that the fact that they are queer stories often authored by women opens up a whole discourse on why the audience might want to take possession of the stories, and that slash fiction adds characters, voices and ideas not existing in the original stories. He then comes to his thesis which is that too much happening in the technology world is attempting to stick close to canon rather than opening itself up to new ways of thinking. (No transcript available)
• An example of what Bridle was driving at can be found in Classic Movies in Miniature Style. Turkish art student Murat Palta created it as part of a graduation thesis. "It all started 2 years ago with an experiment to blend traditional ‘oriental’ (Ottoman) motifs and contemporary ‘western’ cinema. After a positive response to "Ottoman Star Wars", I decided to take the theme further, and developed more film posters using the same technique. Combining global with local, traditional with contemporary, and adding a bit of humor made it a fun and rewarding experience for me." It also suggested Bridle might be right when he concluded that "the Internet is human fanfiction."

If you're part of Twilight, Harry Potter, or Star Wars fandoms or have things to say about how fanworks and remixes are part of a global culture, why not write about it in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.