There is a crucial difference between mass, passive audience and fans, as fans are active and will actively participate in their consumption of media products beyond just watching something and coming up with an opinion
Examples of active participation include organising events, writing fan fiction, drawing fan art, purchasing merchandise, engaging in speculation in online fan communities, and many other diverse approaches
Producers have long sought to actively engage fans, who are powerful and useful audiences through their loyalty and commitment to certain franchises. However, fans can also be fickle, and can turn on producers if they feel that the franchise is not meeting their needs
Clay Shirky – The End of Audience (and now everyone is a producer)
Shirky argues that digital technology and its convergence has allowed audiences to produce media in much the same ways as producers
There is now a far greater number of quote unquote ‘amateur producers’ who are able to create news, podcasts, music, and even feature films with the most available of equipment
To differentiate this from Jenkin’s theory, Shirky argues that quote unquote ‘professional’ producers are now adopting a ‘publish then filter’ model, where ‘content’ is produced, quickly digitally distributed, then later edited or adjusted if it doesn’t meet expectations or is complained about
However, the idea that we are all producers on a level playing field is quite contentious
How can we sum up these theories so even a 12 year old could understand them?
Henry Jenkins - “If someone loves a film enough, they will do something to show it. That makes them a fan!”
Clay Shirky - “You have a phone: you can make whatever you want with it!”
