Pimp
| Synonyms: | pimping, plugging, promote, draft, pitch, hype, pump, recruiting tool |
| See also: | I Don't Need Another Fandom, Fannish Butterfly |
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Pimping is to promote, especially of a fandom one loves and hopes to induce new people to join. A fan may make a "pimp post" full of squee and screencaps, trying to show off the canon's high points and good features. They may also make a pimping vid or recruiter vid in order to show off how sparkly their fandom is. Another common form is to make a set of pimping recs to accessible works that highlight the best in fanworks without requiring too much canon knowledge.
It may also be said of spreading awareness generally, e.g., "Can you pimp my post on the new challenge? I want people to see it who aren't on my Friends list."
Unlike posting recs for other people's fanworks, the variant self-pimp is used ironically to diffuse disapproval at the slightly shameful act of promoting oneself.[1][2]
K-pop fandom makes liberal usage of pimp posts.
Fans have criticized this term for borrowing the language of trafficking and exploiting women. [3] Alternatives include plug, draft pitch, promote, hype and pump[4].
History of the Term
A 2000 reference is in Estrogen Brigades and "Big Tits" Threads: Media fandom on-line and off.
Fan Comments
[Responding to another fan's comment]:Saying that fans who recruit other fans into trying a new fandom don't care if those fans are happy where they are or are just trying to get them to try the "flavor of the month" is, IMO, a negative generalization about fans who recruit fans into a fandom. Being I do this for S&H, and make few bones about it, it's a generalization I wouldn't leave unchallenged. I'm not attempting to instigate a "brain drain" on Sentinel fandom or any other fandom, nor would I want to pressure or drag a fan out of another fandom to try S&H or TS, for that matter. It's more a matter of discovering something wonderful and sharing it with your friends. They can take it or leave it. For smaller, older fandoms, if people don't get out and beat the bushes and spread the word, it becomes a bit difficult to bring in new fans. And without new fans, a fandom could eventually shrivel like a spent dick. (I figured this group would like that analogy <g>.) We'll have our status quo for a while, but if no one new wanders in with that fresh enthusiasm and passion and drive to discuss all the old subjects again, I think we could become very stagnant. But that's strictly my opinion.
Fans are the best pool of people from which to draw, well, *fans* into a fandom. It's much harder to go out and convert mundanes to con-attending, list-subscribing, zine-buying fans. So if we don't "cross-pollinate", we've lost a huge chunk of the potential pool of S&H fans out there. [5]
Meta/Further Reading
- Huggy Bear's Guide to Getting More Feedback by rebelcat and Elizabeth Helena (mid-2000s)
References
- ^ filksong lyrics on the Nachos computer gaming BBS, 2000-12-13 (archive.org, accessed 2008-10-29)
- ^ Cleveland Browns (US Football) fan web site, dated 2000-02-06 (archive.org, accessed 2008-10-29)
- ^ Saeva, Fighting Words, 10 May 2008, (Accessed 23 October 2008)
- ^ Alternatives to Pimp poll by zvi_likes_tv on LiveJournal, 2008-5-14] (accessed 2008-10-14)
- ^ comments by a Sentinel and Starsky & Hutch fan on VenicePlace Mailing List, quoted anonymously (Aug 16, 2001)