How do people form communities on social media? This video uses the Harry Potter TikTok fandom as a case study, drawing on four theoretical frameworks (Boyd, Zhang, Gerbaudo, and Zulli & Zulli) to explain how platform affordances, algorithms, and participatory culture build fan communities online.
Hi Jodie, I really enjoyed your presentation about how Harry Potter fandom forms a networked community on TikTok. I have read and watched Harry Potter, but never knew these kinds of communities existed on TikTok. Here are my questions about your presentation:
I found your discussion about fandom publics and the Snape debate very interesting as it shows how to negotiate meaning collectively through comments on TikTok. I believe fan participation such as this can sometimes create divisions among fans just as much as it can create belonging. Did your research find examples where TikTok discussions created conflict within the Harry Potter fandom community, rather than strengthening it?
Your analysis of algorithmic discovery was really engaging because it showed how TikTok can expose users to Harry Potter fandom content unexpectedly. In relation to Gerbaudo’s idea of “clustered publics,” do you think TikTok’s algorithm puts users into specific interpretations of Harry Potter content, or does it encourage exposure to different viewpoints within the fandom? For either answer, do you think this is a good or bad thing for the Harry Potter community and why?
You briefly touched on how the Harry Potter fandom migrated from fan fiction sites to tumblr to Twitter and now TikTok. Through my experience on TikTok I know that one of the platforms key affordances is the short form video content allowing users to quickly consume content and the trend affordance which allow content to spread rapidly and be replicated, which you also touched on. Do you think TikTok encourages more performative participation compared to deeper fan engagement that may have been seen on Twitter or Tumblr communities? Are there still Harry Potter communities on other social media platforms because of this reason?
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