Sonya Sinkula, “Fandoms and Digital Communities”
Mentor: Marc Tasman, Journalism, Advertising, & Media Studies
Poster #184
Fandoms are a collective of people with a common interest in specific cultural artifacts, such as pieces of art, music, literature, videos games, or entertainment media. Individuals who identify with a fandom find there are many ways they can express not only themselves, but their enjoyment and pleasure in a specific cultural artifact. “Wiki’s” have become a source for expression and education within these communities. “Wikis” are websites created that resemble the original online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Internet creators and fandom experts rely on “Wikis” as not only a source, but as a creative outlet where they can indulge in their interests with like-minded people within the fandom. Academic works exploring fandom culture explain how and why fans engage in participatory culture, but much less work provides reasoning behind contributing and editing Wikipedia. The Wiki phenomena is one that has yet to be properly explored, and the goal of this research is to fill in the gaps of previously done works on participatory culture and Wikipedia. The aim of this research is to explore how the Wiki as a digital medium might facilitate the expansion or deepening of fandom cultures. Real life examples of participatory culture are observed and surveyed, to gain a deeper understanding of how fans find satisfaction and/or fulfil desire in engaging with their fandoms online. Anticipated research shows that, while some fans engage with Wikis because they have a specific interest in documenting/indexing specific types of cultural artifacts, others who are immersed in fandom cultures modify or build off existing canon or lore. Overarchingly, fans have a desire for their content to be read and recognized. They do not want their work to fall into obscurity and posting it on Wikis facilitates its circulation as a legitimate contribution to the canonical representation that sustains a fandom culture.