how to put the social back in social media: tumblr edition
upon request i'm publishing a fandom-neutral version of this post that i wrote about the results of this survey about reblog culture. the findings were gathered within spn fandom but, as with most things, seem applicable across multiple fandoms.
to keep it simple and not too wordy, i will try to stick to a “challenge - possible solutions” format for this post.
disclaimer: any and all suggestions are just that: suggestions. they won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. they’re comprised of survey responses and my own thoughts/ideas.
unfortunately there is still a significant number of people who say they feel like there’s a clique culture in fandom. while they acknowledge that friend groups will always form and there’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, it can still feel exclusive sometimes and not welcoming.
> tagging newbies/new followers in tag games and not just long-time mutuals -> they start to feel less like strangers cause you’re learning more about them and they feel more welcome
> “looking for new people to follow” posts -> either make one yourself stating your interests or share someone else’s and look in the notes for blogs you might vibe with
> ask games / sending people random asks (if someone’s ask box is open, it’s safe to assume they welcome this - but perhaps if you like receiving them, you can put it in your pinned post or bio to encourage that)
the vicious cycle of silence
the survey revealed that there are a lot of long-time fans who don’t have a lot of followers and some of them admit this is one of the reasons they feel less inclined to reblog things, since it won’t get seen by many people. this can be a vicious cycle, because when you rarely reblog things, people don’t get a chance to notice you popping up in their notes etc.
> reblog and yap like nobody’s watching -> eventually community will find you
> follow more people yourself -> this creates a busier dash and more interesting posts to rb
> write your own comments/jokes/musings in the tags when you reblog or add them to a post -> fun interactions can lead to feeling more part of the fandom
blogs as a highly curated archive
a not insignificant number of people shared that they’re very picky about the posts they reblog because they want to be able to retrieve these posts very quickly. if you identify with this description and you still want to contribute more to keeping fandom alive, there are some very simple solutions:
> a better tagging system
the age-old set of ethics around “ship and let ship” and “fiction ≠ real life” is something that works and worked great in the past. in the last 5 ish years there’s been a shift in a lot of fandoms towards intolerance and gatekeeping. not that it didn’t exist before, but it’s more prevalent now and it’s concerning. none of this negates your right to create a safe space in fandom for yourself and set your own boundaries. you are capable of being responsible for that without dictating how other fans engage with the source material.
> educate yourself on the Three Laws of Fandom** and its importance
> if you need to avoid specific triggers, block those specific tags or phrases. remember that if you use a DNI list, it's not realistic to expect everyone to check every blog's list before interacting. ultimately you are the only person responsible for curating your online experience in this way. use the block button where needed
some people expressed that it took them a long time to figure out how tumblr culture works.
> this is a decent survival kit for the basics and should improve your experience here
*general note about the clique culture issue: there were some people who mentioned there being a strict view on canon/interpretations/headcanons among certain groups that is perpetuated in a way that makes it feel hostile to different ideas. sometimes vagueblogging is something that exacerbates this and i see this happen in every fandom. we can do better and have to take responsibility in creating a space where people aren’t made to feel stupid or lame for having headcanons or takes that aren’t the most mainstream (or subversive in the “right” way)
adding also a general call to action to be open to newer people in fandom or just blogs you hadn’t checked out yet, interact with their posts/reblogs and give them a follow. it has the added advantage of making your dash feel more alive
**archived link in case fanlore is in maintenance mode
