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threemonkeysThe success of Continuum 3 as a way of bringing new people along to a fan event raises a nice to have problem. How do you hold on to these fans? How do you get them along to other conventions, clubs or keep them writing?
Clearly this isn't my problem for C3 specifically, but it is a general thing to think about. There are not enough Neil Gaimans in the world to just use guest charisma to pull people in the way they were pulled into C3 - most guests are a more modest draw. But there is a flow on effect from a major drawcard which will pull along people for another event or two. But to keep people for a longer period you need another draw - that of the fan community. It is the sense of community - the tribe instinct - which sells people long term and keeps them around in fandom for lifetimes.
So far so obvious. The thing that keeps rattling around my mind is whether it is possible to sell the community without the hook of the big name. This is what we seem to be faced with when we don't have a local convention or have one that does not draw from further than the entrenched community. The thing is I don't think it works. I really believe you need the genre hook and genre followup for a while until community takes over.
This is old ground, I have been over it before. It is just prompted by the thought that I hope that with all the new people at C3 that enough are kept in the community. It is a big plus for Aussie fandom to have an event like this. I wonder if we can get Neil back over this side of the ditch? Failing that who else has that type of charisma?
A final thought. You can get too big. A J K Rowling con would not be a fan event - it would be a big scrum that wouldn't bring anybody into anything. Much like Armageddon.
Clearly this isn't my problem for C3 specifically, but it is a general thing to think about. There are not enough Neil Gaimans in the world to just use guest charisma to pull people in the way they were pulled into C3 - most guests are a more modest draw. But there is a flow on effect from a major drawcard which will pull along people for another event or two. But to keep people for a longer period you need another draw - that of the fan community. It is the sense of community - the tribe instinct - which sells people long term and keeps them around in fandom for lifetimes.
So far so obvious. The thing that keeps rattling around my mind is whether it is possible to sell the community without the hook of the big name. This is what we seem to be faced with when we don't have a local convention or have one that does not draw from further than the entrenched community. The thing is I don't think it works. I really believe you need the genre hook and genre followup for a while until community takes over.
This is old ground, I have been over it before. It is just prompted by the thought that I hope that with all the new people at C3 that enough are kept in the community. It is a big plus for Aussie fandom to have an event like this. I wonder if we can get Neil back over this side of the ditch? Failing that who else has that type of charisma?
A final thought. You can get too big. A J K Rowling con would not be a fan event - it would be a big scrum that wouldn't bring anybody into anything. Much like Armageddon.