I'm taking a course on pop culture this semester, and last week, we talked about fandom. For the purpose of discussion, we defined fandom as activity besides simply watching every episode of a show or reading every book in a series. To be considered a fan, a person must participate in something greater than whatever they're a fan of. So joining messageboards or fan sites; creating fanfiction, fanart, videos, or blogs; attending conventions, or serious discussion with other fans; buying related merchandise.
We read about Star Trek and while it continues to have a huge following, the original series is a dated example for today's college students. If you want to talk about great examples of fandom where people come together because of a shared interest in something fictional, talk about Firefly fans' increasing presence at conventions eight years after FOX gave them 13 episodes and then canceled their beloved show. Talk about what the Harry Potter series has done for children's reading, or the HP Alliance's success in raising $110,000 for Haiti.
You can still talk about dressing like characters if you want but we've had better examples of fandom since Star Trek.
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