When I co-founded Supernatural.tv in 2005, I saw the difference between corporate-run and fan-run sites. Finding news and writing about Supernatural was a joy. The moderators in the forums were as passionate about the show as the visitors to the site. We had better discussions, more activity, and more fun than people were having in the CW's official Supernatural forum. Now BuddyTV owns Supernatural.tv and even though the forums remain fan-run, the community has suffered. We were better as a fan-run site. Running fansites takes a lot of time and effort, so finding ones that are well-run, organized, and updated is rare.
But that's changing with Hypable.
Andrew Sims (of MuggleNet and MuggleCast) started Hypable, a site that covers entertainment news for several shows and fandoms. He noticed that "general entertainment sites do not cover specific fandoms as good as individual fansites do" *, so he wanted to create a fan-run site that would offer great coverage for lots of fandoms.
Right now, Hypable writers cover Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, Doctor Who, Fringe, Supernatural, True Blood, Dexter, Mad Men, Saturday Night Live, Disney, The Office, X Factor, and more...the list is growing all the time. Registering on Hypable allows you to filter posts by fandom so that the news you see in "My Feed" is what interests you specifically. Columns and podcasts offer fan commentary on news and events. All around, it's a great setup.
The About Us page talks about the power of fans to cover topics that interest them without corporate influence. "Fan-powered" is good. Fan-driven is better.
A core group of writers is necessary for Hypable: fans rely on frequent updates, so Hypable needs a dedicated writing staff. But as a fan of fantasy and sci-fi shows, more than news interests me.
I want a place where I can read news about my favorite shows, but I also want to read theories and commentary by fans. Right now, when I want to see what people thought of the latest episode of Doctor Who, I search tags on Tumblr. It's not ideal, but it works.
I can't help thinking about the diversity of content Hypable could have if they accepted writing from visitors to the site.
The Write for Hypable page states writers must be able to post at least five stories each day. That's the kind of dedication you need for a news site, but I'm sure there are people out there (like me) who would love to write for fan sites but can't dedicate that much time every day.
Why not take submissions? Submissions allow people to make less of a commitment without lessening the quality of writing. Set guidelines for the kind of content you want. For example, episode commentary, theories about what will happen next in your favorite show, and character studies. All you need is a section on the site for non-news content and editors to review submissions. (I'd volunteer.) Post the quality writing and send explanations to writers when their submissions won't be used.
Accepting submissions does two things. First, it's an easy way to build content on the site. Second, submitting articles is a good way to test out potential staff writers. Frequent submitters can see what it's like to write for a fan site, and the Hypable staff has writing samples to review before they take on committed writers.
I don't know if Hypable wants to be strictly a news site. If it does, it's doing fine. But if Hypable wants to be a hub for fandoms, it needs to have more than news. It needs to offer more fan-written content.
But that's changing with Hypable.
Andrew Sims (of MuggleNet and MuggleCast) started Hypable, a site that covers entertainment news for several shows and fandoms. He noticed that "general entertainment sites do not cover specific fandoms as good as individual fansites do" *, so he wanted to create a fan-run site that would offer great coverage for lots of fandoms.
Right now, Hypable writers cover Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, Doctor Who, Fringe, Supernatural, True Blood, Dexter, Mad Men, Saturday Night Live, Disney, The Office, X Factor, and more...the list is growing all the time. Registering on Hypable allows you to filter posts by fandom so that the news you see in "My Feed" is what interests you specifically. Columns and podcasts offer fan commentary on news and events. All around, it's a great setup.
The About Us page talks about the power of fans to cover topics that interest them without corporate influence. "Fan-powered" is good. Fan-driven is better.
A core group of writers is necessary for Hypable: fans rely on frequent updates, so Hypable needs a dedicated writing staff. But as a fan of fantasy and sci-fi shows, more than news interests me.
I want a place where I can read news about my favorite shows, but I also want to read theories and commentary by fans. Right now, when I want to see what people thought of the latest episode of Doctor Who, I search tags on Tumblr. It's not ideal, but it works.
I can't help thinking about the diversity of content Hypable could have if they accepted writing from visitors to the site.
The Write for Hypable page states writers must be able to post at least five stories each day. That's the kind of dedication you need for a news site, but I'm sure there are people out there (like me) who would love to write for fan sites but can't dedicate that much time every day.
Why not take submissions? Submissions allow people to make less of a commitment without lessening the quality of writing. Set guidelines for the kind of content you want. For example, episode commentary, theories about what will happen next in your favorite show, and character studies. All you need is a section on the site for non-news content and editors to review submissions. (I'd volunteer.) Post the quality writing and send explanations to writers when their submissions won't be used.
Accepting submissions does two things. First, it's an easy way to build content on the site. Second, submitting articles is a good way to test out potential staff writers. Frequent submitters can see what it's like to write for a fan site, and the Hypable staff has writing samples to review before they take on committed writers.
I don't know if Hypable wants to be strictly a news site. If it does, it's doing fine. But if Hypable wants to be a hub for fandoms, it needs to have more than news. It needs to offer more fan-written content.
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