Table Of Content114
In this completely revised and updated version of Digital Fandom, Paul Booth
extends his analysis of fandom in the digital environment. With new chapters
that focus on the economics of crowdfunding, the playfulness of Tumblr, and
the hybridity of the fan experience, alongside revised chapters that
explore blogs, wikis, and social networking sites, Digital D
“…With this new
Fandom 2.0 continues to develop the “philosophy I
edition, Booth revisits
G
and revises his earlier work, of playfulness” of the contemporary fan. Booth’s
focusing attention onto newer I
analysis reveals the many facets of the digi-
T
forms of digital expression—from
Kickstarter to Tumblr. Booth’s tal fan experience, including hybrid fandom, A
characteristic concepts—such as
demediation, and the digi-gratis economy.
the digi-gratis economy and Hybrid L
fandom—stress the complex ways fans With a foreword from noted fan
have become entangled in, sometimes F
scholar Matt Hills, Digital “…Digital
empowered by, sometimes exploited A
Fandom 2.0
by, new media industry practices, Fandom 2.0 shows the
offers a perceptive
even as he holds onto the messiness N
power of the fan in reconsideration of S
and playfulness of these new E
fandom past and present, D
relationships.” the digital age. C
and of the evolving field of
O
—Henry Jenkins, Author of fan studies: its stakes, limits, O
N
Textual Poachers: Television
and potential.…a thought-
D
Fans and Participatory M
provoking work for fans, fan
Culture E
scholars, and everyone
D
in between.” I2
T
Paul Booth (Ph.D., Rensselaer —Louisa Stein, I.
O
Middlebury College 0
Polytechnic Institute) is Associ-
N
ate Professor of Communication at
DePaul University. He is the author of Game
B
Play (2015), Playing Fans (2015), and Time on TV (2012),
O
O
the editor of Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who (2013), and
T
H
a co-editor of Controversies in Digital Ethics (2016, with
Amber Davisson) and Seeing Fans (2016, with Lucy
www.peterlang.com
Cover design by Laura Bluett Bennett).
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G
114
In this completely revised and updated version of Digital Fandom, Paul Booth
extends his analysis of fandom in the digital environment. With new chapters
that focus on the economics of crowdfunding, the playfulness of Tumblr, and
the hybridity of the fan experience, alongside revised chapters that
explore blogs, wikis, and social networking sites, Digital D
“…With this new
Fandom 2.0 continues to develop the “philosophy I
edition, Booth revisits
G
and revises his earlier work, of playfulness” of the contemporary fan. Booth’s
focusing attention onto newer I
analysis reveals the many facets of the digi-
T
forms of digital expression—from
Kickstarter to Tumblr. Booth’s tal fan experience, including hybrid fandom, A
characteristic concepts—such as
demediation, and the digi-gratis economy.
the digi-gratis economy and Hybrid L
fandom—stress the complex ways fans With a foreword from noted fan
have become entangled in, sometimes F
scholar Matt Hills, Digital “…Digital
empowered by, sometimes exploited A
Fandom 2.0
by, new media industry practices, Fandom 2.0 shows the
offers a perceptive
even as he holds onto the messiness N
power of the fan in reconsideration of S
and playfulness of these new E
fandom past and present, D
relationships.” the digital age. C
and of the evolving field of
O
—Henry Jenkins, Author of fan studies: its stakes, limits, O
N
Textual Poachers: Television
and potential.…a thought-
D
Fans and Participatory M
provoking work for fans, fan
Culture E
scholars, and everyone
D
in between.” I2
T
Paul Booth (Ph.D., Rensselaer —Louisa Stein, I.
O
Middlebury College 0
Polytechnic Institute) is Associ-
N
ate Professor of Communication at
DePaul University. He is the author of Game
B
Play (2015), Playing Fans (2015), and Time on TV (2012),
O
O
the editor of Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who (2013), and
T
H
a co-editor of Controversies in Digital Ethics (2016, with
Amber Davisson) and Seeing Fans (2016, with Lucy
www.peterlang.com
Cover design by Laura Bluett Bennett).
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G
Digital Fandom 2.0
Advance praise for
“Paul Booth’s original Digital Fandom bridges between fandom studies, internet studies, and
game studies, to explore the ways that digital media has impacted the ways contemporary
audiences engage with popular texts. With this new edition, Booth revisits and revises his
earlier work, focusing attention onto newer forms of digital expression—from Kickstarter to
Tumblr. Booth’s characteristic concepts—such as the digi-gratis economy and Hybrid
fandom—stress the complex ways fans have become entangled in, sometimes empowered by,
sometimes exploited by, new media industry practices, even as he holds onto the messiness
and playfulness of these new relationships.”
—Henry Jenkins, Author of Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture
“The second edition of Paul Booth’s Digital Fandom [Digital Fandom 2.0] offers a perceptive
reconsideration of fandom past and present, and of the evolving field of fan studies: its
stakes, limits, and potential. Booth observes that contemporary digital fandom is multivocal,
and, by engaging with a wide range of perspectives on fandom, he succeeds in making Digital
Fandom 2.0 dynamically multivocal as well. Digital Fandom 2.0 is a thought-provoking work
for fans, fan scholars, and everyone in between.”
—Louisa Stein, Middlebury College
“Rather than attempting to definitively map the moving target of digital fan culture, Paul
Booth embraces its complexities to pose important questions about the future(s) of fan
studies. Booth’s ongoing applications of game studies to theorize the ‘playful’ nature of fan
culture, and his nuanced consideration of hybrid fan practices, make the second edition of
Digital Fandom [Digital Fandom 2.0] required reading.”
—Suzanne Scott, the University of Texas at Austin
“Fan scholars will squee for Paul Booth’s Digital Fandom 2.0! Digital Fandom (2010) is one of
the most important books in fan studies, and version 2.0 will be equally influential to
discussions of fan cultures. By significantly reworking old chapters and adding new ones, 2.0
is not just an update of the original, it’s an entirely new contribution to the field.”
—Casey McCormick, Co-founder, Fan and Audience Studies,
Society for Media and Cinema Studies
“Digital Fandom 2.0 resourcefully positions fandom as a means for interrogating notions of
hybridity and participatory culture. Situated within an important discussion of digital-era
media studies, Paul Booth illustrates that fan studies is not merely a specific area of
scholarship but a worthwhile frame for a broad examination of popular culture.”
—Candice Roberts, St. John's University
Digital Fandom 2.0
Steve Jones
General Editor
Vol. 114
The Digital Formations series is part of the Peter Lang Media and Communication list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.
PETER LANG
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Paul Booth
Digital Fandom 2.0
New Media Studies
SECOND EDITION
PETER LANG
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Brussels Vienna Oxford Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Booth, Paul, author.
Title: Digital fandom 2.0: new media studies / Paul Booth.
Other titles: Digital fandom.
Description: Second edition. | New York: Peter Lang, 2016.
Earlier edition published as: Digital fandom: new media studies.
Series: Digital formations, vol. 114 | ISSN 1526-3169
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016033979 | ISBN 978-1-4331-3150-9 (paperback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1654-4 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-3707-5 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-4331-3708-2 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Digital media—Social aspects. | Fans (Persons)—Psychology.
Online social networks—Social aspects. | Technological innovations—Social aspects.
Classification: LCC HM851 .B675 2017 | DDC 303.48/33—dc23
DOI: 10.3726/978-1-4539-1654-4
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016033979
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
© 2017 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
I dedicate this book to my past, present, and future students
in my fandom classes.
I also dedicate this book to Kate, again.
