So after Rob's column on filling in the continuity blanks to avoid "fanon" taking over your image, how would you handle your fandom if you managed a media property? Let's hear from you!
media
Why Media Creators Need To Pay Attention To Ecosystems. And Ponies.
Let me get this out of the way. I am going to discuss how Apple's iCloud and Ecosystems, My Little Pony Fandom, and creating successful media come together. I am not insane in any way you can prove, I just want to note that.
Now, where to begin while you search for the tranq gun . . .
As we've seen Apple is pretty much ahead in the Ecosystem race – creating a unified suite of technologies that are fast, interconnected, reliable, and universal. The announcement about the iCloud is unsurprising – it's just another case of more utility, giving you access to your content anywhere. Apple is giving us the ecosystem – everywhere all the time.
Everyone will follow suit (or perhaps, suite). Amazon is obviously doing their own ecosystem and of course has EC2. Other companies have, at least, the potential.
So, ecosystems. All over, everywhere, omnipresent. Do anything, anywhere, any time (more or less, we know there will bugs)
Now, let's turn to My Little Pony.
(Put the nets down, people).
This fandom, which I've often said "isn't so much a fandom as a science experiment" is big, active, and bold. It churns out fan product constantly, from art to memes to music videos. It's honestly one of the most dynamic fandoms I've seen in ages. I easily credit this productivity with expanding it and keeping it going.
It's a fandom that persists on the ability to communicate and to create fan -product and interaction. It's also a fandom that anyone would love to have for their media creation – loyal, enthusiastic, and buying things. That heavy fan-creation/fan-interaction is doubtlessly part of it's magic – and potential.
Where am I going with this? Simple:
1) A successful media product needs dedicated fans to support it and purchase it and peripheral goods.
2) Fandoms persist with communication, social media, and fan creativity.
3) Ecosystems are going to make fan-creation and fan involvement faster, more easily distributed, and more easily participated in.
So end result? The insane popularity of My Little Pony shows the importance of fan involvement, and Ecosystems are gonna make that easier, and faster.
So you got a book, movie, comic, etc.? Take advantage of what's coming because your competitors are going to.
Take advantage of the fact your fans can get involved faster by encouraging it with communities, emails, apps, and more.
Take advantage of fans making fan product and by not getting aggressive towards them unless absolutely needed. In fact, with Ecosystems there will be more of it coming faster.
For that matter, set your fan product boundaries early and help out. Meme-blanks, templates, mentioning videos, etc. Expect it and assist it when you can.
Fandom is gonna get faster and ecosystems are going to do it.
If you're a writer or an artist or what have you watching the Herd of Bronies storm the internet and drooling? Get moving.
Because if you want fans, they'll want to get moving too, and ecosystems will let it happen.
Media Mutation
I noted a few posts back that many industries, geeky industries, are in transition – or should be. I noted that movie theaters face many challenges, and perhaps even the and of what it means to be a movie theater, or its expansion into something else. I noted publishing is changing. Many, many industries and businesses are in transition, and those in them need to keep up or the changes may well crush them.
So, yes it's important to realize that businesses are changing in this bizarre, wonderful age of technical and media mutation. Yet, if you think about it, media itself is changing. Why should we expect the media to stay the same after all - it relies on technology which is ever-changing, so it's going to change and morph and modify itself.