Fanpage – the opportunity to speak, not only to listen
Place of fanpage in the new media
Fanpage is a tool of Facebook, Facebook is one of social networking sites, social networking sites are a kind of social media, social media exist on the Internet and the Internet is the largest representative of new media. It sounds simple, but we have to remember about this dependence.
Why I used this type of description? Because, in a big nutshell, it means that a communication between users on fanpages acquires the same features as social media, so as new media too.
Which features ?
-the clarity
-the interaction and the integration - relations between people
-the involvement
-the deomcracy
-the authenticity
-being yourself and being human
-unlimited sharing of a knowledge
Why people use them?
• to support activities on blogs or on channels on YouTube
• to support official websites
• to promote companies/places as restaurants or hotels/the people
• because fanpage can be the source of truth
Examples
The first example concerns Kasia Szymków fanpage. She is polish blogger from Warsaw. When she founded her fanpage, she wrote: hello everyone!I decided to found a facebook to support my blog, especially for people, who want to know how is going in my fashion world, but they do not have profile on the blogger. My fanpage will be a place where you let know about blog entries. Greetings!
Her facebook website fulfil each of social media features. You can write to her a private or public message (the authenticity), you can ask about what interested you (the interaction), you can write to her what, in your opinion, is good on her blogs or what is wrong (the democracy). In many cases followers get answers from Kasia and she bear in mind what she should changes in her behavior in social media (being yourself and being human).
Next example is Mateusz Grzesiak fanpage. He is an educator, a psychologist, a writer and a personal coach from Poland. His profile on Facebook serve him to support his official website. But the difference between these two things – fanpage and official website is that the first one is more human. You can find there pictures of Mateusz Grzesiak with his wife or with his doughter. He adds a lot of content about his private life concerning to what he talk about during his training. He shows people his way to be happy in life (in a work, in a school, in a relationships and so on). He shares his knowledge almost without limits. He has an big involvement in motivating people. Every day, due to contents containing tips, which he adds - he helps a lot of people to be better than they are.
Third example is about promoting places on fanpages. Dolce Vita Residence is a hotel and restaurant, which is located in the touristic and charming town in Poland – Ustroń. On their fanpage you can find information about a daily menu, a standard of hotel rooms, about events which are organized there and more useful news. The most important feature of social media on this type of fanpages is the clarity. Statuses are updated daily so you have the most recent knowledge. If you want to eat something, you do not have to search their official website. You can check a current menu on their fanpage. It is very easy to click ‘like it’ and wait what they add. Maybe some offers will interested me?
Fanpages are a phenomenon of new media because they are sources of truth. They give you a breath of fresh air in the mainstream world. Every time, when you have some doubt concerning what you have seen on the television, what you have read on the newspaper or what you have heard on the radio you can check these information on a reasonable fanpage.
The last example is a fanpage of Janusz Korwin-Mikke – a very popular politician from Poland. His is a leader of right-libertarian, conservative and eurosceptic political party that is called KORWiN (Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic – Liberyty and Hope). He is 73 years old and he has believed in the same set of politics for 25 years. He do not change his point of view like other politicians who do that in order to achieve some profits.
Janusz Kowin-Mikke added his first post on Facebook in year 2010. Now, more than seven hundred thousand people like his fanpage. What they look for? Of course, the truth. He is a very controversial person, he always says what he think and he does not care what people will think about him. In the mainstream media (or in ‘the regime media’ as JKM often repeats) people can hear only some pieces of his statements. Mostly, these pieces are the hardest part of his speeches, so if journalists take it out of context people can think something completely different about him. The biggest absurds were: that he want to violate women, deprive the rights of the disabled or that he is a protector of Adolf Hitler. And a lot of people had been thinking so until year 2010.
Then, something has changed. Janusz Korwin-Mikke discovered the power of convergence culture. He has started to add the whole contents of his speeches from the television, radio or contents from newspaper on his fanpage. People has started compare these news and they have seen the degree of distort these information . A lot of people understood his point of view. As JKM admitted: a lot of people give acknowledgement him for opening their eyes to basic problems.
Summary
Henry Jankins said that convergence culture is the relationship between three concepts: media convergence, participatory culture and collective intelligence . In respect to his statements it can be stated that fanpages are a very important manifestation of convergence culture. Why? Because the content flow across multiple media platforms – people can compare the authenticity of news which they have heard on mainstream media and discuss about that with other users on reasonable fanpages.
It means that people are not passive media spectators like in the old days. They participate in the convergence culture every day when they check their Facebook and generate some contents. Consumers and producers started occupying the same roles and now people can be one and the other at the same time. You can found your own fanpage whenever you want. You just have to invent something which would be interested for other people.
Activity on fanpages is the collective process. People share their piece of knowledge with others – they can correct some false information, give ideas how to do something better, add something new to existing content (in comments or private messages to webmaster) thereby improve this.
Fanpages are a big power of new media – you have to know how use this power. If you do not know how to do that, people can destroy you.