Publishing platform Wattpad sees rise in Facebook fan fiction

keyboard

The Internet isnt just transforming the world of professional publishing, its opening up a whole new world of self publishing, too. Sites like Wattpad have become hubs for people wanting to share their homespun fiction.

One of the benefits of so much fiction being shared digitally (Wattpad says it sees over 150,000 new works uploaded each month) is that trends can be spotted, telling us about whats on the minds of creative people out there.

One of the most interesting trends Wattpad has spotted in recent months is Facebook fan fiction. Although not a dedicated fan fiction site, Wattpad says that it began to notice the a rise in fiction inspired by Facebook shortly after the release of the movie The Social Network.

As critical and mainstream buzz for the film continued to build, a curious ground level activity began to develop; users began creating stories that incorporate Facebook as a character, explains Wattpads Nina Lassam.

However, rather than use the people portrayed in The Social Network as a starting point for a story, writers appear to be using Facebook itself in stories. Lassam gives Youve Been Tagged as an example. In this story by a 15 year-old author, the narrator is tagged in an ominous photo, forcing the characters to uncover clues via Facebook. Through out the story, Facebook behaves like a stubborn guardian, revealing its secrets with characterized or human-like irrationality, says Lassam.

Another example is the story Wait! Hes Real?!, in which a teenage protagonist tells everyone at school she met a boy over the summer. To maintain the illusion, she creates a Facebook Profile and sets her status to in a relationship with Garrett Cross. S! oon, her wall and that of her friends is filled with Garretts newest friends and activities. To Averys delight, Facebook, in effect, becomes her imaginary boyfriend, explains Lassan, who notes that Wattpad carries around 500 stories that writers have given the metatag Facebook.

Right, Im off to write a story in which Google Buzz becomes my girlfriend and then cheats on me with Friendster the hussy!Image source


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 startup founders discuss working on Christmas Day

Image
Well, it would seem a trifle rude to not begin proceedings with a warm Merry Christmas. But I must askwhat the hell are you doing reading this when you should be playing your new Nintendo 3DS, or guzzling that tenth mince pie of the day? But then, you will probably ask what the hell am I doing here writing this piece on the holiest of holy-days. My excuse? I love what I do, so its not like Im really working per seplus, I actually prepped much of it yesterday. And your excuse is likely along the lines of I love all things tech, why would I switch off just because my calendar says December 25? Fair point. Confucius once said: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Nice sentiments for sure, but theres still the issue of a healthy work/life balance to contend with even for startup founders. So I asked a handful of founders and CEOs whether they would be working on Christmas Day this year, or whether theyd treat themselves to a day off. I mean, it is a...
Keep reading

Flipboard needs to branch its content out from US/UK, heres why

Image
Earlier this month, an eagerly anticipated iPhone app was finally launched as Flipboard took its highly acclaimed iPad app to the phone. The app has been out for a few weeks and, with the deafening chorus of cheers fading, Ive found myself shunning its beautiful and innovative design for the simple fact that its content isnt relevant enough for me. Compared to Zite , which may not be as aesthetically pleasing, Flipboard comes up wanting on content. Zite is, among others , an app which aggregates content from my social web Twitter, Google Reader and others giving it to me in a magazine style layout. Though it lacks the page flipping ingenuity of Flipboard, the reading is more varied, which is ultimately what Im looking for from a social magazine. There is credit to be given to Flipboard however, as it is addressing the issue by building an editorial team, as its founder told Robert Scoble recently . The company has also started curating content publicly too, with @flipboardtech cura...
Keep reading

Digitimes: Apples iPhone 5 to include smaller screen and metal chassis

Contray to previous reports that suggested Apples next-generation iPhone would include a 4.2-inch touch screen panel, Asian technology publication Digitimes reports that the device will feature a smaller 4-inch panel, adapting the rear of the device to ship with a metal chassis instead of reinforced glass. Digitimes points out that the many of the rumoured specifications expected to be featured in the iPhone 5 are the markets expectations, with sources indicating that the device will possibly adopt a significantly smaller screen than first imagined: The sources pointed out that the upcoming iPhone will not have many differences compared to iPhone 4 in terms of components and the panel will still be less than 4-inch. The iPhone 5 will adopt a 3.5- to 3.7-inch panel with a design to allow the bezel of the panel to become thinner and make the screen look larger. The inclusion of a metal back will divide opinion, given suggestions that Apple had intentionally utilised glass designs to boo...
Keep reading