Fansite Blogger – Sharing secrets, tips and tools for building a better Fansite
Launching a new fansite can be a daunting process – there are lots of considerations to make before going ahead with an idea that is filled with good intentions.
A couple of weeks ago I launched a new fansite – WeFlashForward.com; a forum (message board) for ABC’s new series FlashForward. I have quite a bit of experience with forums as well as being interested in the topic matter, so I’m confident that the site will be successful.
What do I mean by “successful”?
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Continuing our series on the 9 Most Popular Fansite Platforms, we turn our attention to Content Management Systems (or CMS).
Content Management Systems are computer application’s used to manage work flow needed to collaboratively create, edit, review, index, search, publish and archive various kinds of digital media and electronic text. In terms of fansite creation, CMS allow you to build and control rich content, including text, pictures, audio, video and more.
One of the most popular fansite-orientated content management systems is Joomla.
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I came across an interesting article on branding fansites. The article argues that fansites are themselves social networks where people with common interests come together to engage in fandom with others.
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In my experience blogs are effective and user-friendly platforms for creating and managing fansite content. Over the years blogs have incorporated many of the features that make other platforms successful – from social media integration tools, to threaded comments, to content management features – blogs can be argued to be the meta-platform for almost limitless site creation. When it comes to blogs, your imagination (and possibly your know-how) really is the limit in terms of what kind of site you can create.
There is plenty to talk about when it comes to creating a fansite using blogging platforms – I’m going to condense my knowledge and experience into bite-size posts which will be spread out over the weeks and months. First lets have a look at some of the most popular blog platforms.
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Creating a new fansite can be a great adventure.
I believe that there are three important considerations that should be made prior to creating your fansite.
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In an earlier post I gave a brief overview on 9 of the most popular platforms people use for their fansites.
In this post I’ll begin to look at these different platforms in a bit more detail, starting with…Forums & Message Boards!
Pros – Forums are great for community building – allowing members to contribute to threads and posts. Most of the modern forum options come with a plethora of moderation tools, social group features and additional enhancements.
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So you’re thinking of creating a fansite but you’re unsure of which platform will best suit your needs?
Let’s face it, there are multitudes of fansite platforms out there – choosing the right one for you can be confusing! The platform you go for may depend on the type of fansite you have in mind, how user-friendly the software is, or it may just come down to personal preference.
Let’s have a look at 9 of the most popular fansite platforms in use by today’s fandom leaders:
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There are countless definitions of a “fansite”, but I believe there are 6 that you need to understand before setting out to create your own fansite.
1. Gathering of like-minded people. This is where fans and admirers of a particular interest come together. A fansite is a DESTINATION, a sanctuary. This doesn’t mean that everyone will agree, on the contrary, sometimes people who share a common interest will have different perspectives. Often your sanctuary can turn into a battlefield or a wasteland, but there are plently of ways to ensure that your fansite remains the place of great value – more on that in future posts.
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Whenever I start a new blog (or any other site for that matter) I like to make an introductory post explaining what I intend the blog to be about. Whilst you can never be certain what paths your blog will eventually take it’s a good idea to set down a description of what you hope to offer. So here are my intentions for FansiteBlogger.com:
What is FansiteBlogger?
FansiteBlogger (or FB for short) is where I will be sharing my experience and knowledge of creating and maintaining fansites. I also hope to learn new methods and techniques with which to grow my current network of fansites by reflecting on my past experience. My hope is that other fansite owners or those who want to start their own fansite but are in need of advice and tips, will find FansiteBlogger useful and informative.
By no means do I know everything there is to know about fansites – I am still developing my own network of sites with a view to take them to the next level (it doesn’t happen overnight..often), so I’m still learning. But I do believe that in sharing my experience I will not only become a better fansite owner, blogger, administrator (etc), but I might help a few people along the way and build up a useful resource.
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To Disqus or not to Disqus?
by admin on September 1, 2009
I’m currently deliberating whether or not to move all of my WordPress blog comments over to a third-party comment system called Disqus. I have to admit, I was totally against such a thing a few months ago – I couldn’t understand why sites like Mashable, and many others, would choose Disqus over the perfectly functional native comments system in WordPress!
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