How Bronycon Changed My Life and How I Look At The Fandom (Part 2) · · 3:48pm Aug 9th, 2019
Business stuff:
I'm doing a recap live cast with barcast this week to talk about bronycon, our 56 person bar meetup and all the other amazing shit that happened. https://www.fimfiction.net/group/212308/the-barcast/thread/410611/bronycon-recap-cast-saturday-8-10-2019-the-barcast
My book is for sale. If you have interest in purchasing this non-profit book, check out my online store at this link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=1662371
Blog stuff:
When I set out to write this blog, I purposely wanted to write it in several parts. The first part of which to talk about the immediate impact of con, and also the long term impact. As many congoers know, and as many first time con goers are experiencing, Post Con Depression or Con Drop is very common. and it's crushing. I wasn't invulnerable to it, but now that I'm mostly on the other side I feel like I can now begin to talk a bit more about Bronycon and what I see/consider from this experience.
As I talked with various people around con, there seemed to be one unifying feeling of stress, overwhelmed anxiety, and frustration. I say this because it was pretty easy to see that everyone in con had different priorities, goals and desires out of the con. So many people stood in line at con waiting for something. Waiting for something great, or on the other side of the door. On the horizon.
It's so poetic, because it's a pretty strong parallel to our community. And that's my thesis. Bronycon is a parallel to the current state of our community, and now knowing how Bronycon turned out, we can use this information to shape and improve the community at large. That thing on the horizon can be something that we can shape and create together.
Let's see how much I can elaborate before I begin to become rambly and non-sensical. There was a lot of very kind and passionate speeches, toasts, talks from people in the community about how the fandom is dying. How now that the show is over, we're finished. kaput. There's no more. But we can keep going! If we all just work hard enough, we can stay alive an stop the bleeding.
I feel like that's slightly misguided. and doesn't do service to what's being done now to keep us going and going strong.
The intent is good and pure. I never want to say that it isn't. Everyone wants to keep us alive and going strong, because for some it means that they're losing their friends. Nobody wants that. Passionate speeches make people feel good in the short term but the next step is ensuring we have meaningful and proper points of action. The reality is that we need to talk a good look around at the world/community around us and realize how interconnected our site/community is and how we can keep everyone together. How many people know each other? How many of you have developed deep interpersonal friendships that will last years, ages because of this fandom. There's groups of friends that met and got together because of the fandom, and while that group's interests have waned or changed over the years, but they still stay friends. They still hold strong. That's the power of our fandom. While the show changes or while we grow as people, the friendships we made along the way endure.
I will admit that I didn't have the chance to attend the panel about how it's our job now, as fanfic writers to keep the fandom together, to keep it strong, and to keep moving forward. I feel like this is both correct and incorrect, and I really wish I could have attended the panel to learn more about their thesis. However, let me tell you why I think Fanfiction is going to end up being one of the best ways to keep this scared fandom together.
1. Fimfiction is half fanfiction site, half social media site.
This shouldn't shock anyone. Look at the "It's New, I Hate It" Movement from a few years ago. Fimfic went under a massive redesign and a lot of folks were deeply upset about how it seemed we were trying to become a "Fanfic Twitter". But we have to admit, all of the pieces of the puzzle are there. Follows are so similar to "Friend Requests" in some ways that it's impossible not to see the "feed" of your follows turn into a twitter like feed of interests. And with this in mind, if we can draw people into Fimfic, there's no easier way for people to Roleplay, Make Groups to organize games or contests, Talk about New Shows or interests, Socialize and make friends, or of course, write fanfiction. Fimfic has everything we need to have something for the whole community. It's a fanfiction site first, but it's easily the strongest site we have in the community to keep everyone together and have something for everyone.
2. People will want a fix, for a while
When the show is fully ended. All the movies are gone. No more EQG specials... no more comics... People will still want a fix of their favorite characters and world of Equestria. Which Fanfiction, books, independent comics can fill the void for awhile. This will inevitably bring people in passing to fimfiction. The important thing will be to keep the bastions open, and allow people inside our world. Our fandom is vulnerable to cliques. That's a statement said and validated by multiple community guests over multiple conventions over multiple years. If we accept this and instead focus on creating and nourishing community centers that are open and invited for everyone, then we have the opportunity to keep these groups larger, together, and even invite new people to join our little pastel horse world.
3. The show does not define us.
Generation 5 can come out. It could suck. It could suck a lot. I think Hasbro and it's content creation teams have learned a lot over the last decade. But let's admit something - Here's a link to Hasbro Animation Studio's 'all shows' page. Tell me a show on their list that has the same level of widespread appeal that MLP gen4 did - https://allspark.hasbro.com/category/show_category/animation
It's a pretty difficult list.
However, this doesn't mean that finding animation that is widespread appeal like our show is impossible. Look at Samurai Jack. Look at Spongebob. Look at Steven Universe. Look at Adventure Time. Gumball. Gravity Falls. In an animation age where studios are becoming slightly more encouraged to dare to do more with what they create. There's every opportunity that the new show could be better than everyone fears. BUT, I feel we need to plan for failure, and to fail fast. And if we do, then we might be able to stop hemmoraging people so much.
So how? How do we isolate ourselves from the show and make ourselves resistant to failure?
Well, I think we could learn a lot from the Star Trek fandom.
Star Trek is no stranger to bad content. Sometimes, truly awful content. But trekkies are strong and are considered almost more devoted to their content than star wars fans are. Their mutual bond over the content they enjoy as well as the friendships/community they've built along the way kept them not only together, but growing. We're trying to solve a problem that we're making for ourselves. By making us and others think the fandom is ending, we're making it happen.
But don't lose sight of the communities, friendships, and people along the way. The fandom is not over. There's no need to get out and 'push' Not that the idea isn't bold or well intentioned. Love you, Shakes. Not trying to beat you down. The reality is that we're all pushing. By talking with our friends, staying around. Enjoying what we've always enjoyed, we're keeping the community strong. And that's what's important for us to keep alive. The community. not the show. Not bronycon.
Trotcon, Babscon, EFNW, Hahcon, MLP-MSP and so many other cons are still running strong and stronger than ever. Don't stop going to cons! There's still going to be fun to be had. There's still going to be people who make great works of art and books and other creative content. There's still so much more for us to think and create. To declare the fandom dead now would not only be a disservice to the community at large, but also to the friends you've met and made along the way. Keep participating. Keep joining groups and making friends.
So, what do we do to make ourselves not lose morale when the new show turns out to be a dud?
Well. For one, I think we should still watch it, even if it is a dud. I think there is an endless amount of comedy to be had in riffing/joking over the new content. Lets say the new show comes out and it's total shit. It's not like fixfic culture isn't -already- a thing. Let's meme the new characters. Let's make such a ruckus on the internet and shake Hasbro's cage enough that the show can't ignore us. Maybe that sounds like rebellion or some sort of dog-whistle call for a Hasbro style coup, but the reality is we're already doing it.
I believe that episodes like Episode 100 and 200 would never have happened without the fandom, and is evidential proof that hasbro and the show staff are listening. If they are, and continue to keep listening, they will make something that keeps us in mind as a target demographic. The reality is, that if they think they can make money from us, they'll sure as hell try. We're probably a drop in the bucket compared to the wider audience of little children[/spoler] but we're still here.
And we aren't going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere.
Tomorrow I'm having a livestream with the Barcast That's an open AMA to How Bronycon changed my life and How I view the fandom that will act as Part 3 of this blog post series. Then last but not least I want to take part 4 (final part) to discuss how this fandom has personally changed me.
Last but not least one final disclaimer, because I'm scared this blog could ignite a touch of drama.
Nothing in this blog is intended to be percieved as an attack against a specific person, idea, or group. Everything written in this blog is said or percieved with positive intent and is not intended to put any one person or group down or shame them. I'm more than happy to discuss the ideas contained in this blog in the comments, but would like to encourage that we stay excellent to one another. If you guys have any ideas on how we keep the fandom going strong, I'm happy to hear and discuss them. No idea is wrong. In fact, I'd encourage that we move fast in all directions. Try everything.
Perhaps I'm totally misguided or am thinking completely backwards. I'm fully willing to admit that I'm wrong! But I felt like what I'm thinking needed to be put into words. The time for talk is over. It's time to do something.
Thank you for reading this incoherent mess :D Part 3 is going to be a livestream tomorrow and then Part 4 is going to be a full wrapup pulling all the parts together and discussing How my PERSONAL life has been changed and last but not least what YOU can do.
Such words, much wow.
Amen to all that, brother.
Love the nod to Star Trek. There's a fanbase that probably won't ever vanish.
~Skeeter The Lurker
I quite agree. We need to move forward together, as a community, as a fandom and as friends. We've always been about sharing and supporting different points of view and each other. We need to remember who we are and what we, together, can accomplish.
But most importantly, stay together and stay positive. We can do anything we are together.
This is a good post. The sort of optimism I like to see.
The sooner we stop being scared of things ending and changing, the better. Incredible as BronyCon was, and much as many people will quite reasonably miss it, it wasn't the fandom. It wasn't even particularly representative of the fandom, really. It was a freak. No other con even in the US approaches its size, and barring another FiM-style miracle I doubt any future MLP con ever will. BronyCon was great, absolutely. It was not everything. Nor was the US fandom. Nor even was the English-speaking fandom -- look at the interest there is now in China and Russia, to name but two.
We in the UK fandom are in a slightly odd position anyway, in that our largest con by some distance, UK PonyCon, was founded in 2004. Six years before FiM began. It's never been dependent on G4, although of course it's this generation that's led to its recent growth. I think that perhaps helps some of us over here not to feel quite as much as though "the end of G4" and "the end of MLP" are the same thing. Talking to people at UKPC, some of who've been around since G1 -- when they didn't even have the internet to help them find other enthusiasts -- has been reassuring.
I also think we may have a slight advantage over here in that we've never had much of the huge, super-flashy stuff that BronyCon in particular had. For example, no Mane Six VA has ever been a guest at a UK convention, not even in the peak years of the fandom when BUCK was active. We don't have anything like Quills and Sofas or the print bookstore at any UK con, because there's nowhere near the volume of ponyfic people needed to make it work. We've had to do things on a slightly more homespun, smaller scale. We're used to it, and frankly I think that may stand us in good stead for the smaller fandom ahead.
The fandom is and will be what we make it. I'm optimistic that, even if it's not as big as it used to be, it can still be as much fun. As I said elsewhere recently: the fandom now isn't like 2013, 2013 wasn't like 2010, 2010 wasn't like G1, etc. It's never like it was in the old days. That isn't something to be afraid of.
I think you’re right, man. The “it’s in your hands” panel ultimately struck me as similar to what you’re saying: we keep the ball rolling by continuing to participate, collaborate, get out to cons, et cetera. I think having FF as a partial social media site definitely helps, too.
Hear hear!
WELL SAID, SIR!
It was good seeing you there, Priest. As well as Milk, Snu, Pencil, and everyone else. Still kinda blows my mind that you lot know me by sight at this point.
5102815 I think the first thing we should do is challenge the Star Trek fandom to a fistfight.
(The second thing we should do is cheat.)
I like your more realist approach to the fandom. As much as I want to be an optimist and say we'll never go under, I know a lot of that depends on us sticking to our guns and really putting in the work needed to stay alive. I had mixed feelings about this last BronyCon, but one thing I will be thankful for is that it got me writing again. It's not much, but I hope it will push me to do more and help keep the fandom alive.