Where has all the fandom gone?

Joan the Vampire Slayer

Joan the Vampire Slayer

Carpe Spuffy!
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As you all know, I've been active in the Buffy fandom for quite a few years now, but I've noticed that over the past couple years it seems to be dying out. What gives? Where is everyone these days? I know fandom still exists, but where? The boards are largely dead. Live Journal, which used to be the hub for fandom, is not nearly as active as it once was. Where is everyone? Tumblr? If so, what blogs should I follow?

Help!
 
The most activity these days seems to be on Tumblr.

They're a different breed of fan in that they seem mostly casual (unlike the hardcore of old) and have come into it from seeing re-runs on places such as Netflix etc.

Just join and put the 'Buffy the vampire slayer' into their search engine and you'll be away. 😀
 
Personally BB is the one and only place I've ever joined and it's the only fandom I'm part of so I'm not an expert on the topic. But I'm actually quite surprised as how active things still are around here (and I hope they stay that way).

But I think many of the newer fandoms are on tumblr. At least that's what I've seen with new shows, not sure about old shows.
 
I think any fandom will start to fade a bit after the show has been off the air more than 10 years. I saw it happen with Xena (my big fandom pre-Buffy) and now it's happening with Buffy to a lesser extent.

It's not quite as bad... when Xena ended, it just ended. Joss has been putting out more Buffy stuff the whole time, though.

The fragmentation of social media has been hurting fandom in general, I think. Message boards like this one are the best way for fans to have group discussion about their shows, but people want to be trendy and move everything over to Facebook and Tumblr, which are much less designed for this kind of thing.

I think there is a generational shift happening too, where millennials have their own way of doing fandom that doesn't really include older fans in their 30's and up. They are mostly interested in shows that are still on the air now.
 
Silverspike
Silverspike
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brinkster130
brinkster130
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Buffy fandom does not seem that dead to me to be honest, I visit Buffyworld every other day and there's always new fan fiction and fan discussions and other fan shit. BB is pretty active as well all things considered. I mean, put things into perspective - the movie came out in 1992, the show ended in 2003. It's 2014, woo-hoo we live in the future. Obviously, BtVS is an evergreen, it's always on a re-run on some channel or other and there's Netflix and DVDs and so on but well, it's been some time. Also, the handling of the franchise since both shows ended has been absolutely abysmal. The comics are just about everything a person who's not really into comics fears the comics are. Shitty writing, ugly art, grandiose and convoluted stories, unnecessary one-shots and mini-series and references to other comics and the rest of that comic book nerd pandering bullshit and the idiotic season format on the top of that. There's nothing else ( books, games, animation etc ) and we're what, surprised that people lost interest?

And where's that goddamn Blu-ray release?!
 
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Blaze
Blaze
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brinkster130
brinkster130
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Ethan Reigns
Ethan Reigns
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SiegePerilous02
SiegePerilous02
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I don't think its dying out, but a good portion of it seems to have moved on from forums and live journal. Like others have said, tumblr, FB, and Twitter (and even instagram) seems to be the cool places to be these days.

You can look at Buffy hashtags on tumblr and find tons of blogs that you can follow...they mostly seem to be pictures with very little discussion.
 
Whether you love or hate the comics (I love them), I don't think Buffy fandom would be anywhere near as active if not for them. Not necessarily because people are reading and discussing them that much, but because they keep a sense of currency and relevance to the franchise. You don't get the sense that the creators lost interest and moved on to other things.
 
brinkster130
brinkster130
so true
Wesley Pryce
Wesley Pryce
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Well, I'm an outlier - came late to Buffy and kicking my heels, first got an LJ (and love my friends there), next a tumblr because pretty pictures, but I came here to discuss Buffy. Is our membership here rising? That might mean fandom is coming here.
 
I don't think the fandom is dead, but I do agree that it doesn't seem to be as active as it once was. And part of that is, as others have mentioned, that the show went off the air so long ago and that there are all kinds of new, great shows for people to watch and discuss.
I do agree that social media has taken away from forums. I think a lot of people would rather stick to sites like Facebook and Twitter for discussing anything anymore, which is sad. I much prefer the forum for stuff like fandoms.
 
This is interesting as it alludes to something I was discussing prior. It is not just that the Buffy fandom is dying, but the fandom that most verternish people here witnessed has changed.

It is now more the instant gratification of making your point versus discussion. But to the Buffy point specifically it reaches the point of diminished returns. Do you really want to be debating the finer points of an argument you debated nigh a decade ago?
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
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Airam
Airam
i agree! Thats why i thing 2 or 3 times before getting involved in a debate on here cause I've done it and typed the sameargument so many times already!
Just found this site today http://w11.zetaboards.com/Death_Awaits/forum/3636141/. Doesn't look as active as BB but there are different fandoms to check out too so thats cool. Since I joined the BB this year, I don't know if the fandom has dropped or not. I've only gotten back into Buffy in the last year and a half or so.

Did anyone listen to the Buffy ReWatch podcast? There was a lot of discussion there, but it's over now and there's a Angel ReWatch podcast that I listen to. Also I search on Pinterest a lot for Buffy and other fandoms. It does look like there's a lot of tumblr pages though. It's all out there, you just gotta look for it. Buffy isn't in the public conscience anymore. It's all about Marvel and superhero movies/shows.
 
AnthonyCordova
AnthonyCordova
that link is cool. Thanks
I can really only judge from this board but the fandom seems pretty healthy.

There are new people coming in every few weeks or so, some vocal, some not, but they say hi and they all have a love of the show(s).
Either they've just discovered the board or just discovered the show.

Plus, there's a few people coming back from almost a decade ago to find the site still going.


I know a lot of fans are communicating via other mediums now, but some of theose are dying off as well. (Facebook, for example, has been declining steadily for the past two years now.)

This board, I find, is a happy medium. 🙂
 
dtrain24
dtrain24
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Scobro said:
Do you really want to be debating the finer points of an argument you debated nigh a decade ago?
Click to expand...


This is the exact issue I'm having when it comes to discussing Buffy. I feel that I've pretty much discussed every detail of the show that I care about to death. :\
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
But there are plenty of details you dont care about! Discuss them!!! Do it now dammit
Thank you for all the comments, guys! Great points all around.

I went ahead and made a Tumblr. Here it is:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/itsjoansjournal (it's also in my sig)

If yours is Buffy or Supernatural fandom related, post it here and I will follow you!

I still think LJ and forums are the best places for fandom, but I can embrace tumblr I guess. I don't want to miss any cool stuff.
 
HisMrs said:
This is the exact issue I'm having when it comes to discussing Buffy. I feel that I've pretty much discussed every detail of the show that I care about to death. :\
Click to expand...

That's what I like about the comics... always new stuff to discuss, even if you don't like it. 🙂

That's the problem when I go back and look into the old Xena board I used to frequent... there's nothing new to talk about, so there's only something like a dozen new posts a week.
 
Wesley Pryce
Wesley Pryce
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Joan the Vampire Slayer said:
Thank you for all the comments, guys! Great points all around.

I went ahead and made a Tumblr. Here it is:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/itsjoansjournal (it's also in my sig)

If yours is Buffy or Supernatural fandom related, post it here and I will follow you!

I still think LJ and forums are the best places for fandom, but I can embrace tumblr I guess. I don't want to miss any cool stuff.
Click to expand...

http://spikesjojo.tumblr.com/

I'm already following you. I try to hit it once a day, and then I just go crazy - sometimes I go for a theme and sometimes I reblog what I have, and sometimes I focus on a character or relationship. There's not nearly enough Spangel out there, or Wesley (particularly nerd!Wes). I just try really hard not to reblog the same old stuff.

I reblog BTVS and Angel (and some important stuff - suicide hotlines, etc) - and I actively look for mixed spn/BTVS. Right now I'm reading a damn good Dean/Spike series.😀
 
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