more learnings from becoming a mad man

January 22nd, 2009 • posts i've written

Flourish Klink is consumed. She co-founded one of the largest Harry Potter fan fiction sites, FictionAlley.org. She was one of the young fan fiction writers interviewed for Henry Jenkins’ Convergence Culture. Currently, she attends the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT, focusing on fan culture, and is co-chair of Formal Programming for Azkatraz 2009, a Harry Potter conference.

And she just interviewed me over at her new Fandom Blog.

In “Becoming a Mad Man,” you identify yourself as a fan, going so far as to defend that identity to Deep Focus, Mad Men’s digital marketing agency. How would you define that identity, “fan”?

I define a fan simply as someone whose enjoyment of something becomes part of their expressed identity.

I’m loathe to think of myself as a marketer first, or even a consumer first. It’s too convenient a trap to fall in to. Deep Focus didn’t know how else to treat me beyond the accusatory; but even your last post identified me as a marketer. In the digital space, I’m hired to help people think more like human beings; to rid themselves of the artifice of the Madison Avenue castle. Oversimplification is why we all feel insulted these days.

Go on and read the full post (and subscribe to the blog).

If you haven’t already, now’s a good time to read my full report on being a Mad Men character on Twitter.

Oh, and just a reminder, I want to write for your blog. Gratis. But you have to give me a great question or profound thought to ponder.

Related posts:

1. becoming a mad man, revisited
2. mad recognition
3. mad men on twitter at sxsw

Tags: bud caddell, bud melman, Fandom, flourish klink, interview, mad men, Twitter

Trackback URI.