The Art of the Fan-Based Blog

Meta
Title:	The Art of the Fan-Based Blog
Creator:	DB Ferguson
Date(s):	November 17 - December 23, 2008
Medium:	blog
Fandom:	multifandom
Topic:	fan-based blogging
External Links:	https://lorelle.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/the-art-of-the-fan-based-blog/
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The Art of the Fan-Based Blog is a series of blog posts on running a fan website

Creating a fan blog is easy. Sustaining it is hard work. When I met DB Ferguson of the No Fact Zone, the popular Stephen Colbert news and fan blog, in Dallas, Texas, last year at WordCamp Dallas, I interrogated her about how she runs her fan blog and what keeps her going day after day in honor of her favorite star. I’m not going to tell you what she said, I’m going to let her in her own article series on building a fan blog.

Series Topics

Table of contents

• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Cultivate Your Passion
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Competition Means Collaboration
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Create a Game Plan
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Content, Content, Content
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Content, Content, Content Part II
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Copyrights for You and Your Content Sources
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Community Wins
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Crazy Fans
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Connections Make the Blog and the Community
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Cash is Necessary
• The Art of the Fan-Based Blog: Continuing to Fight the Good Fight

Excerpts

With the passion driving you forward, what is your end goal for your fandom blog? You need to be clear to your core purpose or you will lose your way and get lost in the clutter of fan blogs.

Many of us go through phases of, shall we say, “enthusiastic focus” for our favorite movie stars, actors, television shows, musicians, and singers. The difference between a truly dedicated fan and just infatuation is similar to the difference between dating and marriage. Dating is infatuation. Marriage means you are in for the long haul, with all the good, bad, and ugly over time.

Starting a fandom blog with an eye on making it a success means making a marriage-style commitment for several years, not a few months. Make sure your intentions are honest and pure, and that you are ready for the commitment.

Reach out to other unrelated fandoms when you can. During the WGA Writer’s Strike of 2007, multiple television fandoms, including No Fact Zone for the Colbert fandom, got together and formed a group called Fans4Writers. We helped each other support the striking writers, and in the process got to know a lot more about how other fandoms operate on the web. Most fandoms tend to be rather isolated, so it’s energizing to see other groups and their passion and what it drives them to create. Another resource that I cannot stress enough is to reach out to other bloggers. It’s a great idea to get involved in the “blogging fandom”, blogs that specifically cater to bringing the newest knowledge to bloggers like you. It’s great to have sources officially connected to the source of your fandom to be able to bring questions and issues. Bringing a multitude of people from different situations to help expand your blogging knowledge is an enriching experience for all involved.