Are you a diehard fan? You know… someone who passionately supports the efforts of their favorite artist(s)? No matter which fandom you represent, you are no doubt very important to the artist(s) you support.
This passion that wells up inside each of us is no doubt the driving force behind the efforts made to support, promote and even protect. Many spend countless hours tweeting; posting comments on Facebook, blogs, responding to articles etc. to “help” promote and gain recognition for these artists in what is considered to be a very competitive industry. I’d bet these efforts do not go unnoticed.
What I’d like to ask you to ponder today is the netiquette you choose to “support” these artists. What kind of “support” is being noticed? On several occasions I have seen questionable posts by fans and ask myself, “Would these artists want us to represent them in this way?” What we need to remember is that we are a voice and sometimes the “face” of the artists. Our testimony of their talent is a representation of them in the cyber world to those who may or may not have heard of them. What kind of message do we want to send to these potential new fans? Better yet, what message do we want to send to magazines, blogs and media that will be instrumental in the process of gaining radio play or publicity for our favorites?
I’m asking you today to think about each post, take every word captive and ask yourself… “Would (insert artist name here) want me to represent him/her in this way? We need to take into consideration the integrity and reputation of not only these artists, but of our fandom as a whole. What do we want to be known for? Being rude, obnoxious, sore losers, entitled? Hardly… we want the focus to be on the talent of these artists, not the actions and behavior of the fandom… sometimes referred to as “friends” of the artists.
The hard truth is, they won’t be loved by everyone. People have different tastes in music and that’s just fine. Allow them to love who/what they love and you continue to be a positive voice for who/what you love.
Musical Sentiments 