This document discusses the rise of fan-powered media and how audiences are now actively engaged with the content they consume. It argues we have entered an "Era of Fan-centric Media" where fans have the ability and desire to deeply engage with each other around TV shows and popular franchises through social networks and user-generated content. This level of engagement has transformed passive audiences into active communities that help drive discussion and shape narratives through unofficial sites and derivative works. It uses the example of The Walking Dead TV show to illustrate how fans can engage across official and unofficial sites to immerse themselves more fully in the story world.

1. FAN-­‐POWERED
MEDIA:
AUDIENCE
AS
ENGAGEMENT
ENGINE
11/6/13
Nick
DeMar:no,
President
-­‐
Nick
DeMar:no
Consul:ng
Business
Development,
Theatrics.com
Nick@theatrics.com
@nickdemar:no
@theatrics
I’m
Nick
DeMar.no,
a
consultant
in
media
&
technology,
today
represen.ng
my
client
Theatrics.com,
a
collabora.ve
storytelling
pla@orm
that
invites
fans
to
co-­‐create
content.
This
fan-­‐powered
model
for
content
leverages
many
of
the
trends
we
see
in
the
industry
–
a
kind
of
rethinking
of
what
a
“ TV
show”
actually
is
in
the
context
of
its
audience.
You
can
learn
more
about
me
and
my
consul.ng
prac.ce
at
hJp://
www.nickdemar.no.net
and
try
the
Theatrics
pla@orm
for
yourself
at
hJp://www.theatrics.com

2. THE
ERA
OF
FAN-­‐CENTRIC
MEDIA
• Fans
have
the
desire
&
means
to
engage
others
–
–
–
–
–
–
Show
is
hub
for
vast
fan
networks
Shareable
and
viral
across
the
social
graph
Authorized
and
unofficial
plaRorms
Content
takes
many
forms
&
depth
User-­‐generated
content
–
deep,
deep
engagement
Deriva:ve
UGC
–
the
ul:mate
fandom
• Important
lens
to
view
audience
-­‐
Fanthropology
–
–
–
–
Ac:ve
(10%)
vs
Inac:ve
(90%)
Fans
Fans
/
Superfans
/
Ambassadors
Curators
/
Collectors
/
Producers
Fan
engagement
&
content
is
part
of
the
TV
experience
My
hypothesis
today
is
the
“Era
of
Fan-­‐centric
Media.”
As
the
mobile/social/networked
web
has
become
ubiquitous,
fans
now
have
both
the
means
(and
the
desire)
to
engage
with
each
other
about
the
things
they
are
passionate
about
–
especially
popular
TV
shows.
The
result
is
that
TV
shows
are
essen.ally
the
hub
of
a
vast
fan
network
which
enables
massive
sharing
and
content
interconnec.on
across
the
web.
This
is
for
both
official
web
proper.es
from
the
TV
show
and
network,
but
much
more
these
days
on
unofficial
sites.
Experts
like
Kris
Longfield
(@fanthropologist
on
TwiJer)
segment
the
audience
by
ac.ve
vs
inac.ve.
There
are
superfans
and
ambassadors,
and
they
tend
to
curate,
collect
and
produce,
depending
upon
where
on
the
spectrum
of
fan
engagement
they
fall.

3. THE
INFLUENCE
OF
FANS
• Fan
content
is
fragmented
– Many
pla@orms,
owners,
metrics
– Engagement
metrics
is
a
start
– Quan.ta.ve
vs.
Qualita.ve
– Superfans
as
Influencers
• Mone.za.on
is
fragmented
– Many
players
seeking
to
exploit
the
fans
• Unified
measurement
is
a
pain
point
Whereas
once
we
were
an
“audience”
that
was
passively
consuming
what
others
provided,
we
now
have
a
very
different
engagement
model
with
fans
who
demand
the
chance
to
leave
their
mark
on
the
story
universes
they
love,
not
only
via
opportuni.es
enabled
by
the
distributors
and
creators,
but
en.rely
on
their
own.
There
are
many
pla@orms
out
there
seeking
to
tap
into
this
frenzy
of
fan-­‐engagement
demand,
and
as
a
result,
there
are
many
different
touchpoints
and
ways
of
measuring
this
engagement.
We
see
major
pla@orms
offering
“Engagement
Rates”
and
other
metrics
(hJp://simplymeasured.com/blog/2013/08/14/facebook-­‐metrics-­‐defined-­‐engagement-­‐rate/)
but
the
places
that
need
to
be
measured,
and
therefore
the
mone.za.on
opportuni.es
are
fragmented
and
frequently
unmeasured.
This
is
a
pain
point
that
somebody
will
solve,
and
when
they
do,
fan
engagement
will
enter
the
mainstream.

4. THE
JOURNEY
OF
A
FAN
–
WALKING
DEAD
AMC’s
Walking
Dead
is
an
iconic
show,
now
in
its
fihh
season.
I’d
like
to
use
the
show
as
an
example
of
the
fan’s
journey
of
engagement
in
the
story
world
created
by
a
contemporary
(and
very
popular)
television
series.
Note:
the
image
I’ve
selected
is
not
on
a
TV
set,
but
a
computer
screen.
So
from
the
outset,
the
linear
TV
series
is
now
rou.nely
being
consumed
across
a
variety
of
screens.
And
it’s
digital.
This
is
our
star.ng
point
for
fan
engagement.
(For
a
deeper
dive
into
the
marke.ng
world
of
Walking
Dead,
check
out
this
panel
from
the
PGA’s
“Produced
by”
Conference
hJp://youtu.be/de5hfc7JSs0
..
Thanks
to
Nicholas
DeWolff.

5. OFFICIAL:
WEBSITE
Every
program
and
network
now
has
a
website,
and
like
this
one
from
AMC,
shows
can
be
streamed
in
their
en.rety
on
whatever
device
is
used
to
access
the
Internet.
In
addi.on,
the
site
offers
the
kind
of
bonus
materials
we
used
to
see
on
DVDs
–
video
extras,
etc....

6. OH
YES,
AND
SHOPPING
TOO
...
And
of
course,
swag
and
products,
including
the
DVDs
of
prior
seasons,
game
and
much
more.
The
most
successful
mul.-­‐season
shows
offer
a
wide
range
of
merchandise.
I’m
a
fan
of
Sons
of
Anarchy
and
their
story
is
a
full
retail
experience,
for
example.

7. AMC
BLOG
(
AND
FAN
COMMENTS)
Like
most
websites,
the
official
AMC
site
offes
a
blog
with
produc.on
.dbits
and
the
like,
and
fan
comments.
Fans
use
this
forum
to
express
their
opinions,
and
also
to
give
direct
feedback
to
the
produc.on
team
and
the
network.
Once
was
a
.me
when
TV
did
not
like
fans
who
talked
back.
Now
they
enable
it.

8. FAN
FICTION
SITES
Popular
fic.onal
worlds
like
Walking
Dead
s.mulate
fans
to
create
their
own
fic.onal
extensions
that
are
inspired
by
the
story
world.
Fans
create
their
own
characters
who
co-­‐inhabit
the
world
with
characters
from
the
‘canon’
as
well
as
to
spin
out
subplots,
back
stories
and
much
more.
hJp://www.fanfic.on.net/tv/Walking-­‐Dead/

9. FAN
FICTION
SITE
Hdere’s
a
fan
fic.on
site
completely
devoted
to
The
Walking
Dead:
hJp://www.walkingdeadfanfic.on.com/

10. FAN
FICTION
-­‐
WATTPAD
WaJpad
is
a
publishing
pla@orm
in
which
authors
connect
with
their
readers
and
in
some
cases
co
create.
Here’s
how
one
author/fan
of
TWD
uses
the
pla@orm.
hJp://www.waJpad.com/story/4180042-­‐something-­‐to-­‐live-­‐for-­‐the-­‐walking-­‐dead-­‐fanfic.on

11. WALKING
DEAD
FAN
LOCATION
BLOG
There
are
many
fan-­‐created
blogs,
too
numerous
to
include
in
this
presenta.on.
I
like
this
one,
completely
devoted
to
the
loca.ons
used
in
the
TV
series.
hJp://walkingdeadloca.ons.com/
You
can
see
in
the
menu
that
the
authors
of
the
blog
solicit
help
from
readers
to
help
build
the
database
of
loca.ons
which
other
fans
can
then
access
on
the
site,
as
well
as
links
to
many
many
other
fan-­‐type
sites.

12. UNOFFICIAL
RECAP
BLOG
Recap
sites
are
also
endemic
on
the
web
–
the
audience
interested
in
reading
summaries
of
recently
aired
episodes
may
include
folks
who
don’t
want
but
want
to
know
more,
but
typically,
they
are
viewers
who
have
already
watched
the
episode,
but
want
to
make
sure
they
got
everything.
Unlike
short
tweets
or
comments,
the
recap
blogs,
which
include
many
mainstream
publica.ons
like
Entertainment
Weekly,
offer
a
voice,
a
point
of
view,
indeed,
a
review
of
sorts,
ohen
on
a
very
granular
level.
We
live
in
an
age
where,
indeed,
everyone
is
a
cri.c.

13. OFFICIAL:
SECOND
SCREEN
APP
Throughout
this
conference
weve
discussed
the
rise
and
evolu.on
of
so-­‐called
Second
Screen
apps,
and
AMC
offer
one
for
The
Walking
Dead
as
it
does
for
most
of
its
programming.
The
audio
of
an
episode
being
played
(live,
DVR,
DVD)
is
detected
by
the
tablet
or
other
mobile
device
running
the
app
and
generate
ancillary
content
in
real
.me
for
the
user.
Many
commercial
broadcasters
like
this
approach
because
it
provides
content
for
their
superfans,
and
encourages
fans
to
sit
through
the
commercials
or
otherwise
experience
marke.ng
messages
that
generate
revenue.
Synchronized
content
is
also
being
delivered
via
broad-­‐based
second
screen
apps
like
Zeebox.

14. COMPANION
APP
–
U.K.
Second
screen
apps
are
typically
created
by
the
distributors,
and
so
we
see
en.rely
new
companion
apps
for
The
Walking
Dead
for
interna.onal
markets
where
the
show
is
seen
on
other
channels.
Here’s
one
created
for
the
UK
broadcast
on
FX
Network
(owned
by
Fox),
and
created
by
Red
Bee,
a
digital
agency,
hJp://www.redbeemedia.com/work/walking-­‐dead-­‐companion-­‐app

15. OFFICIAL:
FACEBOOK
PAGE
AMC
builds
and
operates
a
slew
of
des.na.ons
on
popular
social
media
pla@orms,
like
this
one
on
Facebook
hJps://www.facebook.com/
TheWalkingDeadAMC.

16. FAN-­‐CREATED
FACEBOOK
PAGES
But
there
are
many
more
Walking
Dead
fan-­‐created
sites,
just
run
a
search
on
Facebook.
Here’s
one
devoted
to
“memes”
which
has
aJracted
134,000
“Likes”.
hJps://www.facebook.com/walkingdeadmemes
The
fan-­‐powered
meme
phenomenon
is
all
over
the
web
for
shows
like
Walking
Dead;
indeed,
this
creator
has
a
chat
room,
website
and
Tumblr
blog
extending
their
interest
in
TWD
meme.
A
meme
is
an
idea
that
spreads
organically
through
the
culture,
ohen
sa.rical
or
outrageous.
A
more
formal
defini.on
is
here
at
Wikipedia:
hJp://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Meme

17. UNOFFICIAL
FACEBOOK
PAGES
This
is
just
one
page
of
my
Google
search
for
“Unofficial
Walking
Dead
Facebook
pages”.
There
are
351,000
results!

18. OFFICIAL:
TWITTER
ACCOUNT
@WalkingDead_AMC
is
the
official
TwiJer
account
from
the
network.
But
the
fan-­‐powered
use
of
this
popular
micro-­‐blogging
site
is
massive.

19. OFFICIAL:
TWITTER
MARKETING
For
instance,
AMC
released
a
series
of
hashtags
like
this
one:
#oneleggedhershal
which
were
picked
up
and
used
by
fans.
Hashtags
enable
anyone
to
foster
searchability
on
TwiJer
(and
now
across
the
web)
by
inven.ng
tags
that
others
use
in
their
posts.

20. OFFICIAL:
TWITTER
MARKETING
This
AdWeek
story
details
another
hashtag-­‐driven
marke.ng
campaign
in
France.
hJp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/zombies-­‐swarm-­‐around-­‐
infected-­‐hashtag-­‐clever-­‐campaign-­‐walking-­‐dead-­‐147702

21. OFFICIAL:
INSTAGRAM
Other
official
TWD
social
pla@orm
sites
include
this
one
on
Instagram
hJp://instagram.com/amcthewalkingdead.
Naturally,
there
are
many
more
unofficial
sites.

22. OFFICIAL:
TUMBLR
Here’s
the
official
Tumblr
blog
for
the
series.
hJp://walkingdeadamc.tumblr.com/
(
launched
during
Season
4
in
the
US)

23. TUMBLR:
UNOFFICIAL
Tumblr
has
thousands
of
Walking
Dead
fan
blogs.
Being
Tumblr,
many
of
these
are
naughty.

24. UNOFFICIAL:
PINTEREST
Here’s
a
fan
site
on
Pinterest.

25. CASUAL
GAMES
–
IOS
&
ANDROID
There
are
official
and
unofficial
casual
games
available
to
consumers
side-­‐by-­‐side
on
both
the
iOS
and
Android
app
stores.

26. WALKING
DEAD
-­‐
GAMES
There
are
official
licensed
console
games
as
well,
like
this
ad
for
the
Ac.vision
release
for
the
X-­‐Box.

27. FAN-­‐MADE
GAME
MOVIES
(MACHINIMA)
Fans
use
the
built-­‐in
video-­‐out
capture
capabili.es
of
the
game
engines
to
create
their
own
“movies”
set
inside
the
story
world.
They
can
add
their
own
dialog
and
sub.tles,
edit
scenes
to
go
places
that
the
series
never
went.
This
“machinima’
phenomenon
I
massive
on
YouTube,
where
this
example
was
found,
and
spawned
an
eponymous
network
as
well
(Machinima.com).
Note,
this
single
Walking
Dead
machinima
video
has
amassed
1.14
million
view
and
17,000
“likes”..
And
of
course,
many
comments
in
the
thread
below
the
video.

28. OFFICIAL:
YOUTUBE
CHANNEL
AMC
offers
video
clips
on
its
official
YouTube
Channel.

29. FAN-­‐CREATED
YOUTUBE
CHANNELS
But
fans
have
created
their
own
channels
that
riff
on
The
Walking
Dead,
ohen,
like
this
one,
blatantly
ripping
off
the
video
of
the
show
to
create
“mash-­‐ups”
that
are,
in
essence,
fully
viewable
deriva.ve
works.
Once
upon
a
.me,
AMC
fought
fan
mash-­‐up
and
expropria.on
(in
the
first
season
of
Mad
Men).
Now,
they
and
other
broadcasters
understand
that
this
of
fan
crea.vity
spreads
the
value
of
the
core
brand
very
effec.vely.
This
channel
replaces
dialog
with
“bad
lip
reading”
–
essen.ally
new
dialog.
This
single
video
example
has
12
million
views,
exceeding
the
primary
show’s
ra.ng.

30. WALKING
DEAD
-­‐
TORRENTS
Every
broadcaster
lives
with
piracy
and
the
peer-­‐to-­‐peer
networks,
called
Torrents,
offer
a
way
for
fans
to
easily
find,
download,
watch
and
then,
should
they
wish,
re-­‐edit
every
episode
of
every
show
released
in
the
world.
These
viewings
are
rarely
counted,
much
less
mone.zed,
but
they
are
a
common
part
of
many
fan’s
experience,
and
enable
much
of
the
“spreadable
media,”
to
use
scholar
Henry
Jenkin’s
phrase.
hJp://
spreadablemedia.org/

31. ORIGINAL
COMIC
BOOK
BRAND,
TOO
Though
my
focus
has
been
the
Walking
Dead
TV
series,
it’s
important
to
remember
that
the
show
itself
is
deriva.ve
of
a
prior
work,
namely
a
very
popular
indie
comic
book
series.
Most
of
the
brand
extensions,
fandom
explora.ons,
mashups,
engagement
experiences,
etc.
that
we
are
seeing
with
the
TV
series
can
be
seen
with
the
comic
book
fandom,
as
well,
especially
since
the
comic
book
was
around
for
five
years
before
the
broadcast
launch.

32. LIVE
FAN
EVENTS
–
COMIC
CON
Fandom
lifestyles
exist
on
a
massive
scale
across
popular
culture,
which
has
propelled
the
popularity,
and
in
turn,
the
influence,
of
fan-­‐driven
live
events
like
Comic-­‐Con
in
San
Diego.
This
and
other
events
give
marketers
eager
to
reach
and
cul.vate
superfans
of
their
proper.es
a
direct
channel
of
engagement
which
radiates
out
into
the
digital
world
and
helps
build
digital
word-­‐of-­‐mouth.
AMC
had
8
different
Walking
Dead
engagement
points
at
the
2013
ComicCon
San
Diego.

33. WALKING
DEAD
FORUMS

34. WALKING
DEAD
–
WIKIA
SITE
Wikia.com
is
a
hugely
popular
website
hos.ng
300,000
fan
communi.es,
an
ad-­‐supported
site
that
harnesses
the
superfan
phenomenon
by
using
the
same
underlying
sohware
that
powers
Wikipedia.
Fans
contribute
to
gigan.c
“wiki”
sites
devoted
to
their
favorite
pop
culture
products
(TV,
movies,
games)
and
many
other
interests.
Fans
upload
s.lls,
curate
videos
from
YouTube,
document
and
extend
the
characters,
plots,
and
other
elements
of
the
story,
and
build
their
own
fan
fic.on,
roleplaying
and
other
extensions
of
their
most
beloved
entertainment
proper.es.
This
month
Wikia.com
hit
over
100
million
monthly
unique
visitors
–
and
it
is
growing
fast,
with
site
visits
up
more
than
50%
in
the
last
six
months
alone.

35. WALKING
DEAD
–
DEVIANT
ART
Deviant
Art
(www.hJp://www.deviantart.com)
is
a
site
for
ar.sts
to
showcase
their
work
in
many
different
media
and
genres,
and
for
fans
to
follow
ar.sts
and
work
they
like.
A
search
on
the
site
returns
more
than
100,000
relevant
results.

36. THE
DARK
WEB
• Web
content
that
is
not
indexed
• Private
and
restricted
content
• Email
and
text
messaging
Finally,
we
have
the
so-­‐called
“Dark
Web”
–
the
hidden
part
of
the
internet
which
is
not
indexed
by
Google
and
other
search
engines.
This
includes
databases
and
proprietary
content
that
is
hidden
behind
paywalls
and
other
authen.ca.on
schemes,
but
it
also
includes
private
messaging
like
emails
and
text
messaging
that
consumers
may
use
to
comment
and
spread
their
fandom
excitement
about
a
property.

37. HOW
FAN
CENTRIC
IS
YOUR
MEDIA?
• YOURS
– Digital
(Mostly)
– Mul.pla@orm
(Maybe)
– Interac.ve
(Low
vs.
High)
– Social
(Shareable)
– Media
Dense
(Video)
– Contextual
(Story)
• THEIRS
The
slides
I’ve
presented
on
The
Walking
Dead
are,
as
I’ve
tried
to
convey,
only
the
.p
of
the
iceberg
of
fan
engagement
of
this
very
popular
property.
Clearly,
the
network
has
done
much
to
generate
this
kind
of
fan
engagement.
Would
the
ra.ngs
have
been
so
high
without
the
perfect
storm
of
genre,
fanboy
excitement,
content
which
is
extreme
and
worthy
of
parody
and
mashup?
Who
knows.
Other
shows
haven’t
seen
this
level
of
fan
engagement.
But,
make
no
assump.ons.
If
your
program
seeds
the
digital
content
across
many
pla@orms
in
a
way
which
enables
interac.vity,
shareabiity,
media
density,
and
provides
story
context
for
the
engagement,
they
fans
themselves
will
do
the
rest.

38. Always
keeping
in
mind,
of
course,
that
the
social
TV
ecosystem
is
growing
in
all
direc.ons
and
that
experiments
in
fan
powered
media
will
necessarily
evolve
as
the
tools,
pla@orms,
and
enabling
technologies
come
and
go.
This
is
the
2013
version
of
an
infographic
depic.ng
all
of
the
sectors
of
the
social
TV
ecosystem
provided
by
Trendrr
for
Adver.sing
Age.

39. SECOND
LIFE
I
want
to
close
by
focusing
upon
what
I
referred
to
as
“media
dense”
fan
engagement,
that
is
examples
of
stories,
not
necessarily
exis.ng
TV
shows,
movies
or
other
commercial
proper.es,
which
are
built
around
the
premise
that
fans
want
to
contribute
significantly
to
the
expansion
of
a
story
world.
I’ve
given
many
presenta.ons
on
this
subject,
some.mes
called
transmedia,
but
this
is
a
bit
different
–
let’s
call
it
the
Media
Density
scale.
One
of
the
best
examples
of
a
rich
engagement
pla@orm
is
Second
Life,
which
is
s.ll
going
strong,
even
though
it’s
not
the
cri.cal
darling
it
once
was.
Fans
create
avatars
inside
story
worlds,
navigate
through
virtual
environments,
engage
with
others
through
ac.on
and
type-­‐
wriJen
dialog
in
real
.me.
Many
people
are
devoted
to
this
form
of
co-­‐crea.on.

40. LONELY
GIRL
15
In
2008,
at
the
dawn
of
YouTube’s
amazing
journey,
one
property
stood
out
as
illustra.ng
many
of
the
exci.ng
possibili.es
of
fan
co-­‐crea.on,
and
that
was
Lonely
Girl
15.
This
was
a
completely
fic.onal
story,
told
through
the
modality
of
YouTube,
i.e.,
the
direct
address
into
a
webcam
known
as
video
blogging.
The
characters
shared
their
lives
using
the
same
methods
that
the
audience
used
to
create
their
own
YouTube
videos.
This
was
audience
as
content,
and
actors
As
audience.
It
took
months
before
the
fans
learned
that
Lonely
Girl
was
en.rely
fic.onalized,
the
work
of
actors,
writers
and
an
inven.ve
talent
agency.
Meanwhile,
fans
uploaded
their
own
videos
in
reponse
to
the
“official”
videos
in
the
story.
The
line
between
“reality,”
“fic.on”
and
“hoax”
were
blurred.

41. THE
LIZZIE
BENNET
DIARIES
One
of
this
year’s
Emmy
winner
for
best
interac.vity
was
THE
LIZZIE
BENNET
DIARIES,
a
moderniza.on
of
the
Jane
Austen
novel
Pride
&
Prejudice.
The
crea.ve
team
placed
characters
in
front
of
webcams
as
contemporary
young
people
who
of
course,
used
YouTube,
Tumbler,
TwiJer,
Facebook
and
other
social
networks
to
expand
the
loca.on
of
the
story.
Fans
followed
and
interacted
with
content
that
was
“wriJen”
and
“posted”
by
the
story’s
characters,
which
of
course,
was
wriJen
by
the
wri.ng
staff.
The
genius
of
the
property
is
the
inven.on
of
a
new
set
of
rules
for
this
kind
of
mul.plla@orm
story.

42. WELCOME
TO
SANDITON
The
team
from
Pemberley
Digital,
the
group
behind
LIZZIE
BENNET,
launched
another
series
in
the
summer
of
2013
based
upon
the
unfinished
Jane
Austen
novel
SANDITON.
In
this
instance,
in
addi.on
to
all
of
the
various
social
pla@orms
in
the
original
format,
they
added
added
a
subplot
powered
by
the
Theatrics
pla@orm
to
allow
fans
to
create
characters
and
perform
in
the
series.
This
is
very
media
dense
fan
engagement.
As
men.oned
in
the
“fanthropology”
analysis,
only
a
frac.on
of
the
fans
actually
created
accounts,
and
only
a
smaller
group
created
and
performed
characters.
But
this
fan-­‐powered
dimension
generated
addi.onal
content
that
was
edited
by
the
team
and
integrated
into
the
professional
content
produced
in
the
original
format.
The
site
is
s.ll
live.
hJp://domino.pemberleydigital.com/sanditon

43. DIRTY
WORK
Another
Emmy
winner
was“
Dirty
Work“
built
using
the
RIDES.tv
pla@orm
from
Fourth
Wall
Studios.
The
story
integrates
Video,
SMS,
phone
calls
that
directly
involve
the
viewer
in
the
story.
This
is
a
high
degree
of
engagement
by
the
story
engine,
but
not
much
in
the
way
of
fan
contribu.on.

44. THE
S#CIAL
SECTOR
(USA
NETWORK.
PSYCH)
USA
Network
worked
with
third-­‐party
pla@orms
Social
Samba
&
Theatrics
to
build
“ The
Social
Sector”
as
an
8
week
web-­‐original
game
and
interac.ve
murder
mystery
story.
Fans
could
par.cipate
in
helping
to
solve
the
crime
by
actually
uploading
video
with
their
own
theories
each
week
as
to
who
might
be
the
killer.
Thousands
of
fans
were
engaged.
The
project
can
s.ll
be
played
at
hJp://socialsector.usanetwork.com/

45. AURELIA
Aurelia
is
a
steampunk
adventure
show
built
with
the
Theatrics
pla@orm
that
allows
viewers
to
become
performers.
hJp://www.theatrics.com/
aurelia/welcome
The
Theatrics
Gallery
offers
video
introduc.ons
of
Aurelia
and
other
proper.es
on
the
site.
hJp://www.theatrics.com/hub/
gallery
AURELIA
is
the
densest
example
of
fan
interac.on
because
the
performers
write
and
create
their
own
characters,
including
sets
and
costumes.
Many
of
the
par.cipants
came
from
the
so-­‐called
Live
Ac.on
Role
Playing
community,
which
offers
face-­‐to-­‐face
story-­‐based
experiences
in
which
par.cipants
become
immersed
as
characters.
This
is
a
world
that
is
going
to
impact
mainstream
media
in
a
big
way
in
the
coming
years
as
Fans
exert
their
power
and
become
more
central
to
the
storytelling
offered
by
mainstream
outlets.

46. THANK
YOU
VERY
MUCH
• Contact
me
to
learn
more
about
Theatrics’s
powerful
storytelling
pla@orm
• Nick@theatrics.com
46