Glee Fandom and Twitter

            I have only seen the show a few times and though I do find it creative. I just don’t understand how viewers can get so attached to characters from the show that would compel them to create twitter character accounts of the shows main characters, and create their own personal narratives separate from the show. I guess that is because I have only been recently introduced to twitter and the social environment it creates for users. I find it honestly puzzling that some users post anything that is on their mind and having that info assessable to fellow friends and followers at any moment. With that being said. Society can see that producers and other television shows are taking advantage of this media tool to bring viewers back to the television set to keep ratings from falling to sites such as: Netflix, Hulu, and Couchtuner that allow viewers to watch their favorite shows at any given time.

            The article, “Glee Fandom and Twitter: Something New, or More of the Same Old Thing”, by Wood and Baughman talks about the ups and downs with fandom in media. In the article it is explained that this new idea of social role-playing is helping television broadcast ratings by motivating viewers to watch their favorite shows the day they air, in order to participate with their fellow role playing twitter members. Another plus for fandom is that even after shows have stopped airing the fan base can still continually grow from one generation to the next just by users seeing others members role playing post on social media. This brings a whole new group of viewers and possible money making opportunities for shows that have been off the air for years. One of the most popular examples of this in my opinion is the Trekkies. Even years after the show has stopped airing there are yearly Star Trek conventions and that thousands of fans attend connecting with fellow Star Trek fans around the world.

            Now the main issue with Fandom is that with millions of users posting their own thoughts and narrative stories, it causes a lot of confusion and anger between fans and new follower.  For instance, say someone who has never seen the show before decides that they want to join the new television crazes. By the time they decide to start watching so many spoilers are on the web that the new viewer can’t enjoy what they are watching thus, resulting the new viewer to move on to another show. So, even though many viewers like taking part in Internet communities does Fandom help television shows gain more viewership or hurt them?