Fan de hockey, de Britney ou… de tueurs en série. Fini le temps où on levait le nez sur les fans et leurs groupes. Ceux-ci font désormais l’objet d’études sérieuses et surtout variées, suscitant de plus en plus l’intérêt. Pour cause : avoir des idoles rend heureux. Donne un sens à la vie. Et en a même sauvé certains de la pandémie. Explications, analyses et témoignages, en trois temps. [Read on]
Organizers called it an unusually good turnout for their niche activist group, in which fans of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world promote literacy, human rights and civic engagement in Washington and beyond.
While superstars like Beyonce and Marilyn Monroe found stardom in the traditional sense, the Kardashians gained popularity through a whole new medium. Here’s how the entertainment industry has shifted from its traditional roots to glorifying “everydayness” through reality TV and YouTube.
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Do you ever feel like you’re friends with celebrities you don’t know? Here are some psychological and historical reasons why that may not be as strange or uncommon as you think.
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What do you do when you’ve founded a successful company and an unexpectedly strong online culture arises that threatens to overwhelm your carefully curated brand? Well, if you are Zoe Fraade-Blanar ’02, you write a book and call it Superfandom: How Our Obsessions Are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are.
The story begins in the years after Fraade-Blanar earned her degree in computer science from the Whiting School in 2002. She was traveling through Asia working as a freelance web coder. Her traveling companion was Aaron Glazer, KSAS ’02, a fellow Johns Hopkins alum with degrees in history.
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Fans create the world around us. And that’s even more so in the digital age where creators, athletes, companies – whoever – can communicate directly with their fanbase. It’s got to the point where fans opinions about their favourite things can change what the object of their fervour evolves into. Simon Morton spoke to the co-author of Superfandom, Zoe Fraade-Blanar.
[Listen]
Authors Zoe Fraade-Blanar and Aaron Glazer delve into the history, sociology and psychology of fan culture, and how it impacts business. In this episode, we talk about how the internet has changed the nature of fandom by making it a two-way conversation between fans and the people, brands, and stories that engage them. Without question, the case studies are the best part of the book.
Okay, yes, you might have a poster of your favorite band on your wall. But, do you follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook? Do you know all the lyrics to every song? Do you have a Google alert on for their tour dates, and have you already bought tickets?
Then, you might be a superfan.
Author and entrepreneur Zoe Fraade-Blanar explains the rise of superfans.
Full Interview:
In the good old days fans tended to adore from behind a barrier but now the lines between them and their adored subject have been blurred by the internet. On the show today we’re interested in why some people decide to devote themselves to a particular celebrity or brand and what their dedication does for them.
In a new book called ‘Superfandom: How Our Obsessions are Changing What We Buy and Who We Are’, authors Zoe Fraade-Blanar and Aaron M Glazer take a look at the current fan-based economy to examine its effects not just on culture but on business, too. Fraade-Blanar speaks to Robert Bound from our New York bureau.
