User:Kenirwin/FanLib

Multichannel News

Internet Goes Nova Over Showtime, Starz, Moonves Partnered FanLib.com by Mary McNamara on MultiChannel News

"Business Week touted the project last March. “The genius of FanLib is realizing that fans can be happy just being recognized.”

Actually, this patronizing theory is FanLib’s Achilles Heel.

Instead of creating the Myspace of fanfic since the launch two weeks ago, FanLib.com sparked a white-hot Internet firestorm.The meltdown is a hard lesson in how not to conduct business on the Internet.But it’s a firestorm of FanLib’s own making because, in spite of the Yahoo pedigree (or maybe because of it), they plowed in like china shop bulls.

They distributed ads with adolescent boy appeal that the women hated. And they behaved badly.FanLib emailed (spammed?) form letters and joined at least one online fanfic community to rccruit (steal?) users.

Worse, a marketing pdf., posted prominently on the Web site of parent company my2centences, seemed far more exploitative than

LJ Summary

Article summing up FanLib by icarusancalion

Making Light

Fanfiction, monetized by Jim Macdonald

Business Week

"a very postmodern form of mainstream entertainment in which a show's content, its fans, and its marketing intertwine"

"FanLib is the most current example of marketers harnessing their fans' do-it-yourself efforts to build buzz and cut marketing costs. In late 2004, sneaker titan Converse solicited its customers to make ads and ultimately ran 30 of them on TV. This move made much noise and saved on production fees, since there were none." Fine, Jon. "Putting The Fans To Work: The media are trying to cash in on viewers' obsessions." Business Week. March 13, 2006

Harry Jenkins

Jenkins, Harry. "Transforming Fan Culture into User-Generated Content: The Case of FanLib." Confessions of an Aca/Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins: Transforming Fan Culture into User-Generated Content: The Case of FanLib. blog May 22, 2007

TV Week in 2003

Broadcast network programming and marketing executives are being heavily pitched a new technology called FanLib, which allows fans of TV shows to jointly write scripts for a particular episode. However, standing in FanLib's way are key hurdles, including resistance from the writers union.

FanLib is an Internet-based software developed by a New York-based company, My2centences, in response to the growing online activity of fan fiction, where people write screenplays or entire episodes of their favorite shows.

"We are looking to harness fan energy," said Chris Williams, cofounder and CEO of My2centences, a 3-year-old company that also produces theatrical movies. "We also want to harness this as a promotional vehicle."

Special fan episodes or perhaps even a fan night would be created for a network to pump up existing TV shows with a one-time special program--possibly during non-sweeps periods. FanLib is targeted to young people ages 13 to 20.

High-rated "CSI" and "Friends" are two of the most active shows on fan fiction Web sites, Mr. Williams said. But he added that network executives are specifically looking at FanLib to bolster newer shows that have a strong core young audience but aren't pulling in big ratings yet.

... Earlier this year, FanLib did a beta test with a Harry Potter Web site called Snitchseeker.com, working on a seven-scene effort for a new Harry Potter adventure. Some 6,000 people submitted scenes, and some 125,000 visited the site during the test.

... Investors in My2centences include Christopher Birch, founder of the Internet Capital Group; Mike Rubin, founder of Global Sports; Jeff Morris, former senior VP of new media for Showtime Networks, and CEO of Yack!; Adam Stein, executive VP of iFilm Networks; Bill Miltenberger, president of the Promotional Marketing Association; and Kamie Cicinelli, VP and general manager of Yahoo! Travel.

• Fan Scripts Touted as New Force in TV., By: Friedman, Wayne, Television Week, 07450311, 12/15/2003, Vol. 22, Issue 50

WSJ

HarperCollins Turns to Web, In a Search for More Romance. By: Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.; Steinberg, Brian. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 7/26/2006, Vol. 248 Issue 21, pB3

• abstract: "Reports on the decision of HarperCollins to team up with FanLib in order to launch an online writing contest for fans of romance novels."

Book Publishing Report - July 31, 2006

• News Briefs. Book Publishing Report, 7/31/2006, Vol. 31 Issue 29, p6

HarperCollins Publishers (New York) and FanLib (Los Angeles), an online entertainment company, announced a partnership last week to create a series of online events. The first project begins with the AvonFanLit "Express Your Desires" contest, an online event inviting fans of romance fiction to work together to create an original story.

Book Publishing Report - December 18, 2006

• "Avon Books' e-book a Test of Viral Marketing"
• Book Publishing Report, 12/18/2006, Vol. 31 Issue 49, p4

Avon Romance, the women's fiction division of HarperCollins (New York) released the first title from its alliance with fan entertainment company FanLib (West Hollywood, Calif.) last week. The original e-book. These Wicked Games, was created by a variety of amateur authors through the Avon partnership that was rolled out last summer {BPR, July 31). An Avon spokesperson told BPR that the Avon FanLit members can access These Wicked Games for free through the FanLit Web site, and a link can be forwarded to their friends who can buy the book for $2,99. The number of people who have elected to buy the book was unavailable at press time. Since the summer, the Avon FanLit site has received about 20,000 posts and has attracted about 4 million page views.