Trekkies, geeks and furries oh my! Vote for my SXSW panel

photo by Tommy Bruce

(To skip the spiel and go directly to voting, click here!)

It’s been two weeks now since I started working at The Daily Dot. I’ve written about Bronies, Second Life, and Warren Buffett. And if you’re following really closely, you’ll notice that I’ve written a lot about communities but not a lot about particular fandoms.

This is where the shift to becoming a mainstream reporter (or at least closer to mainstream than I’ve ever been) has been the hardest. My fandom articles would need to resonate with people who have never even heard of the fandom I’m discussing. And, because of who I am, I’d want to make that same story something hardcore fans can relate to.

It’s an enormous task.

I think this is why we constantly see two narratives about fandom in mainstream reporting. First, “Look at this unusual phenomenon,” and second, “This phenomenon is on the fringe so it is probably bad in some way.” They’re the simplest ways to package up an entire fandom.

Obviously, my goal is to avoid these narratives. I’ve come up with a third way to talk about fandom communities: “This subculture is legitimate and this is why.” It’s a new way of writing for me since, on this blog, I assume readers already acknowledge the legitimacy of various fandoms.

It’s not that my editor isn’t a huge nerd (he is) or that several of my coworkers don’t play D&D weekly (they do), it’s that we can’t assume everyone on the Internet is already in the know. So I know that when I’m asked to provide more context, it’s not busywork. I just need to find the happy medium that 1) doesn’t treat people inside the culture like freaks and 2) doesn’t treat people outside the culture like morons.

Encouraged by my editor and my coworkers, I have decided to submit a SXSW panel on the topic — “Trekkies, Geeks and Furries Oh My! Covering Fandom.” Taken from the description:

Fandom is, in a many ways, an illogical devotion, but also one of the most important aspects of all our lives and interests. We’ll take a look inside fandom communities and examine the multitude of storylines available. How can journalists responsibly cover fan communities with integrity and seriousness? Are subcultures inherently resistant to outside scrutiny, and what happens as the communities grow and become more mainstream and accepted?

I’ve invited two excellent speakers to help me expand on this topic, Steven Savage and Charles Dunbar. I think Steven, as a geek community leader, and Charles, as an anthropological scholar, can fill in the blanks that my (lack of) experience leaves empty. I think it’ll be a pretty illuminating panel… if I can get enough votes.

Click here to vote for my panel. Votes count for 30% of SXSW’s panel consideration, and that could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.

Finally, if my panel gets selected, I’ll start working on making a podcast or videocast of the presentation possible. So even if you can’t come to SXSW, your vote will help me share my presentation with the Internet. Thanks in advance!