Sports fandoms, historically, have been categorized as a male domain, even in academic studies. Therefore, as Formula 1 has been a sport with a remarkable increase in digital engagement and women are one of their main target audiences, I study Spanish F1 female fans’ behaviours, attitudes, and motivations towards F1 and Twitter as part of their fan experience. Through nethnographic methods, where semi-structured interviews and participant observations have been central, I try to gain knowledge about individual experiences as well as the functionality of the F1 Twitter community. It is illustrated that F1 female fans cannot be considered a homogeneous group by applying a postmodern feminist approach where identities are considered to be fluid, fractured, and in constant flux, distancing from previous feminist ideals that promoted binary and determinate gender concepts. Raney’s affective, cognitive and social/behavioural sets of motivations are employed in order to contemplate F1 female fans' motivation for consuming F1 and choosing Twitter as the social network to follow the sport. Moreover, Jenkin’s participatory culture is taken into account to analyse the F1 Twitter community. Patterns regarding becoming a fan due to Alonso's success and family ties, common interests in information and shared F1 popular knowledge are encountered. However, diverse usage of Twitter and different levels of sense of belonging to TwF1 are also displayed. Hence, I conclude that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of them because despite displaying different facets, F1 female fans are ‘authentic’ fans who should be taken into consideration by sports, media and fan studies in addition to sports organizations and fellow fans.

This analysis of the professional wrestling genre attempts to understand the complex reading practices employed by wrestling’s fan community. I argue that wrestling fans consume these texts in the context of both the official narratives of media producers and the meta-narratives that exist independently of the official texts. In addition, I argue that wrestling fans display characteristics normally reserved for traditional media producers, collaborating with those producers over the direction of the official narratives. This process of collaboration is indicative of the blurring of the boundaries between textual producers and consumers and necessitates a theoretical conception of the audience that accounts for these unique fan practices. I have called this audience conception the productive audience model.

The thesis examines the subcultural activities and online fan community of Drainers (fans of the music collective Drain Gang) through TikTok. A netnographic analysis of fans’ engagement and community cultivation through prosumption is done through participation observation.  Samples taken using a non-probability purposive sampling method are analyzed, categorized, and coded. By using theories of prosumption, uses and gratifications and a contemporary online take on subcultural theory from Bennet (2004) as well as Genova et al. (2022), the samples provide an insight into Drainers and their subculture.  Results from the study suggest that community within TikTok is easy to find, yet difficult to regulate. It can thus be both a space for creative participation and opportunity for exploring identity as much as it can be for receiving negative comments and further stigmatization. Regardless of the app’s implications and limitations, it does successfully provide a platform for fans to connect, bond, share ideas and create authentic identity and a subcultural status.  While plenty of previous research concerning fans and their communities exist, this study is through researcher’s immersion opening up a discussion about Drain Gang’s subculture and fans, which is essentially an untouched area of research. Although limitations are present such as lack of possibility to pick samples on TikTok based on publication date, as well as bias while collecting samples, it provides an insight into the online community and subculture which can be used to further explore the topic.

Syftet med det här examensprojektet var att undersöka och diskutera hur fanidentiteten konstrueras och uttrycks av medlemmarna av fan communityn prince.org. Syftet med kortfilmsfilmmanuset var att sätta mig i kontext till hur fans framställs i film och TV och ge en mer mänsklig och underhållande bild av analysen.Det teoretiska perspektiv som arbetet utgått från är Cultural Studies där mediepubliken ses som aktiv med förmågan att vara kritisk.För att samla in data användes netnografi som metod, det vill säga etnografiska studier på Internet. Förutom observationer utfördes även intervjuer med sju medlemmar av prince.org. För att hitta en bra struktur för filmmanuset kombinerades Thurlows (2008) åtta punkter med Raskins (1998) fem parametrar.Resultaten av studien visar att fanidentiteten är komplex och att det inte går att ge ett enhetligt svar på frågan vad ett fan är. Även om en del akademiker starkt framhäver fandoms positiva sidor är det ändå problematiskt då även det kan vara stereotyperande och utesluta de fans som inte passar in. Problematiken återfinns även på prince.org där medlemmarna stereotyperar och har olika uppfattning om vad fanidentiteten innebär vilket ibland leder till kraftiga argumentationer. / The purpose of this examproject was to study and discuss how then fan identity was constructed and expressed by the members of the online fan community prince.org. The purpose of the practical work was to create a short film script in order to put my work in relation to how fans are pictured on film and television and to give a more concrete and entertaining picture of my analysis.The theoretical framework for this study was Cultural Studies where the media audience is seen as active and capable of criticism.Netnography, i.e. online ethnography, was the research method chosen for this project. A number of threads were being observed and seven members were interviewed. In order to give the film a good structure Thurlow's (2008) eight point guide was combined with Raskin's (1998) five parameters.The results of my study show that the fan identity is complex and that it is not possible to give one uniform answer to the question of what a fan is. Even if some academics strongly argue for the positive aspects of fandom, it is still problematic since even that is a way of stereotyping and excludes those that do not fit in. This problem is also found at prince.org where members stereotype and have different opinions about what it means to be a fan, something that sometimes leads to big arguments.

The advent of social media has witnessed a transformation in how audiences interact with marketers online. While previous research has shown that media consumers generally hold a negative view of advertising, today’s media consumers are engaging with brands more than ever. This study examines what it means to be an active fan of marketers in social media to the modern media consumer through an investigation of how audiences relate to brands in the social media space. Centered around audiences’ uses and gratifications of three successful brand communities within Facebook through qualitative (field observations and individual interviews) and quantitative (surveys) methods, this study intends to gain further knowledge about the role of social media and its impact on forming new cultural trends. The findings suggest that while the uses and gratifications of Facebook brand pages and what becoming a fan of a brand on Facebook signifies to social media users vary, the prevailing motivation for and function of brand community membership is the construction of one’s digital identity in association with the brands of one’s choosing. Furthermore, despite being aware that Facebook brand communities are marketing platforms, fans were largely receptive to and held a positive attitude towards the brands. This critical study of brand fans on Facebook presents the importance of studying social media’s uses and implications in order to better understand new audience cultures within the interactive media landscape.

This thesis examines the online fan community of the HBO series The Last of Us on the social media platform Reddit. Within this study, the fans’ communication practices on the subreddit r/ThelastofusHBOseries are researched and analyzed from a community-building perspective. The subreddit was observed employing a netnographic approach. The observed communicational behavior was divided into categories. The patterns arising from this process were analyzed using discourse analysis and a theoretical framework rooted in fandom, knowledge communities, and uses and gratifications theory.  The research’s results show that the community on r/ThelastofusHBOseries provides a space for fans to connect, share their passion, and engage in meaningful discussions about the show. It embodies convergence culture, the value of mutual knowledge, and participatory practices. The use of insider language, adherence to spoiler etiquette, and organization of regular events further contribute to community building. The subreddit is a valuable platform for fans to exchange interpretations, enrich their reception experience, and foster community belonging. While extensive research has explored fan communities, there is a lack of studies on their online community-building practices. Notably, the subreddit r/ThelastofusHBOseries remains unexplored due to its novelty, alluding to the study’s relevance. Despite the limitations concerning its time frame, missing complementary methods like interviews, and possible sampling bias, the research is still a valuable snapshot, providing significant insights and findings. Future research could thus observe the community’s development over time to examine evolving communication and community building, paying a particular focus to regular events or insider language. Future research would also benefit from complementary methods.

韓國的文化工業發展興盛，「韓流」以韓劇的出口為開端，近年來隨著韓國流行音樂 (K-Pop) 不斷向海外擴張，韓流不僅影響亞洲各國，在歐美各國也掀起一股潮流，而社群媒體可說是這股風潮的重要推手。藉著社群媒體，K-Pop觸及了更廣大的聽眾群，歌迷也可藉著社群媒體直接表達對於偶像的喜愛及忠誠。 隨著網路及新科技發展，音樂本身對於消費者將越來越便宜，實體唱片的銷量註定會持續下降；在這情況下，消費者在演唱會以及非音樂性衍生商品的消費，對音樂產業的重要性上升。因此了解願意付費觀賞演唱會以及購買衍生商品的樂迷，對音樂產業日趨重要。 檢視過去對於迷社群的研究，多從社會學及心理學的角度出發，缺乏從商學的角度切入的觀點，本研究旨在瞭解在數位音樂時代，社群媒體以及利用社群媒體串聯的迷社群，對於迷群音樂消費的影響。本研究以韓國偶像團體Super Junior的迷群為研究對象，以深度訪談方式，訪談11位Super Junior迷，了解迷的社群媒體使用習慣，以及社群媒體上的互動跟迷的音樂消費之間的關聯性。 經過深度訪談及資料分析，本研究得出以下三點結論：(1) 透過社群媒體集結的迷群，相較傳統的迷社群，雖然信任關係發展較慢，但社群媒體的人際關係發展與真實生活較貼近，在社群媒體的上的互動，對社群內部成員有較高的影響力；(2) 社群媒體對於迷群而言具有多重的功能：與Super Junior成員直接互動的工具、獲取最新資訊的管道、擴散有時效性訊息的媒介、和其他迷互動的媒介。在音樂消費的過程中，社群媒體除了是消費資訊來源地，也是買家跟賣家的媒合地，迷對於來自於社群內部的消費資訊有較高的信任感，因此雖然社群媒體上的迷群互動不會直接將使用者變成消費者，卻可以促成消費的完成，對於音樂消費有重要影響；(3) 社群媒體在音樂產業中扮演三個角色：音樂消費與擴散的媒介、音樂相關資訊的集中地、促成產業內各角色 (迷、歌手、唱片公司) 之間的交換 (exchange)。 / Korea’s cultural industry has enjoyed rapid growth due to the rise of “Korean wave (hallyu)”, which is led by Korean drama since 1990s. Korean wave has conquered Asia, but now with the rise of K-Pop, Korean wave reaches a wider audience in the West. Social media plays a crucial role for Hallyu’s success in the global level. Social networking media make K-Pop brands easier to reach global audience, and those fans use these media tools to proclaim their devotion and to promote K-Pop to their friends. This research categorizes music products into musical product, including records and live concert, and non-musical associated product, including concert paraphernalia. New digital technologies have transformed the ways of music consumption which results in decline in sales of musical products. However, fans tend to engage with a variety of products related to their interests, and their consumption on live concerts and non-musical associated product is getting important for music industry. Existing research on fan culture mainly comes from sociology or psychology viewpoint. This research discusses fan music consumption from management perspective and tries to explore the role social media plays to influence music consumption. This research uses the most popular K-Pop group, “Super Junior,” as a case. Through interviewing 11 Super Junior fans, this research examines how fans use social media to communicate and interacts with other fans in the fan community. Through in-depth interviews and data analysis, there are three main findings concluded by this research. First, compared to traditional virtual fan community, in terms of virtual fan community, it takes longer to develop the trust relationship on social media. However, the way fans communicate on social media is closer to the real life. As a result, interactions on social media influence members much greatly. Second, social media is a multi-function tool for fans, which allows them to directly communicate with Super Junior members, to quickly receive the latest information from other countries, to quickly spread timeliness information, and to communicate with other fans. Therefore, social media and fan community do contribute to fulfillment of music consumption. Last, social media plays three roles in music industry: the platform of media of music consumption and diffusion, a place where all music-related information are collected, a contributor to exchange between different players (fans, singers, music companies) in the music industry.

Fans and fandoms are ever more salient aspects of our everyday lives offline and linked to the Internet's growing influence also online, particularly on social media. While fans have generally been pathologized via mass media but also early academic representations especially prior to the founding of the interdisciplinary Fan Studies in the 1970s/1980s, which sought to actively counter negative fan representations and foreground fans' creative productivity, nowadays, even though many types of fans have been 'mainstreamed' and are generally accepted, specific fan types are still systematically discriminated against - even within Fan Studies - along the lines of socio-demographic variables. These marginalised fans are predominantly female, young, queer and non-white. Moreover, even though Fan Studies define fan identity as one of their focal concerns, linguistic research on fan identity, particularly regarding its narrative and interactive construction, has widely been neglected. However, as narrative interaction and specifically small stories (as propsed within the small story paradigm by Bamberg & Georgakopoulou, 2007/8) have been found to play a very important role in the construction of identity, the investigation of how fan identity is constructed via small stories and - given the centrality of collective fandoms for fans - specifically shared (group) stories can severely contribute to fan (identity) research. Thus, combining decidedly linguistic research on narrative fan identity construction and the inclusion of previously marginalised fan communities, this thesis focuses on the construction of fan identity of Taylor Swift fans (Swifties) - a predominantly female and young fandom that has been ridiculed by mass media and dominant discourses - via shared stories. More specifically this study analyses the construction of Swiftie fan identity via shared stories both online in nicknames on Tumblr and Twitter and face to face in the form of a positioning analysis investigating the interactions of a Zoom focus group made up of five German Swifties. This research finds that within Swiftie nicknames Swiftie fan identity is centrally constructed by means of variously highly condensed, combined and/or personalised references (to shared stories of the overarching Swiftie community). The focus group interactions then reveal various positioning practices that are strongly intertwined with (often) more elaborate shared stories, which are 'shared' by the Swiftie participants both with regards to experiences on the story level and their interactive co-construction on the level of interaction. Despite their diverging local manifestations both within the investigated Swiftie nicknames and focus group interactions shared stories are centrally utilised to construct and communicate Swiftie fan identity as a particularly collectively experienced and defined ingroup identity that confers belonging and further functions as a shield against outgroup discrimination. Further research should then enlarge the present investigative focus to include also other online platforms and fan communicative acts, supplementary and also offline implemented focus groups and field studies, more heterogenous participants with regard to often neglected socio-demographic variables (next to age and gender) as well as other (marginalised) fandoms outside of the Swiftie community.