The way I see it, for certain individuals like me, we have three separate but sometimes linked sides of life - personal life, professional life, and fandom life.
I'm sure many of you already know that personal life refers to matters that are close to us like family, friends, hobbies, interests, me-time, etc. As for professional life, it obviously involves our formal learning, career, and other professional endeavours.
So.....what about fandom life?
I'll tell you what it's about. As the name suggests, it revolves around the things that a "fan" typically does in an effort to support his or her favourite singers, actors, actresses, models, hosts, or any celebrity, and to keep himself or herself updated with what the stars are up to. Some people often mislabel fangirls and fanboys who are active in their fandom activities as being "obsessed" or "delusional".
My response to that is: -
No no no... We're not all like that. Yes, there are some fans who tend to show their annoyingly obsessive side every now and then. However, that doesn't mean that it's fair for anyone to jump into conclusion and assume that every
Now, I hope that you have an idea of what fandom life is basically about.
To hardcore** fans, being part of the fandom movement is a joyful and fulfilling thing. It can get stressful or tensed sometimes, but at the end of the day, it's all worth it as long as each fan knows how to 'mengukur baju di badan sendiri'. If a new album comes out or if the artists are coming to town for a performance, it's great if many fans can purchase the original album or buy the performance tickets as a sign of support, but for fans who cannot afford it in terms of money, time, or energy, it's okay to be supportive in a different way - cheering from the sidelines, watching music shows, promoting the new album or event, etc.
(**P/S - Being hardcore in this context doesn't mean being insanely over-the-top. I'm trying to refer to fans who always try their best to be supportive and participative by joining fanclubs, buying albums and merchandises, attending concerts or showcases or fanmeets, going to fans-only gatherings, and such. I feel that "hardcore" is still quite an appropriate word here, but it's hardcore in a good way, you know?)
I feel fortunate to have the chance to become part of the staff members of a couple of voluntary K-pop fanclubs in Malaysia. The 2 Malaysian fanclubs that I'm happily part of are MYB2UTY and MYBTOB. Both MYB2UTY and MYBTOB are under Cube Global Official Fansites, assigned by Cube Entertainment some time ago. MYB2UTY is a Malaysian fanclub for BEAST, whereby MYBTOB is a Malaysian fanclub for BTOB. Check them out if you haven't.
Some of you might be wondering, what exactly do fanclub admins (staff members) do?
To answer that, I would like to first point out that being a fanclub admin is a voluntary and for-pure-fun thing. We don't get paid for managing or updating fanclub sites, but we still do it anyway, for the sake of keeping other fans and ourselves updated with what our favourite stars are up to. Apart from updating fans with news and information about the artists, fanclub admins also arrange preorders of the artists' albums and official merchandises, imported directly from South Korea (in the case of K-pop fanclubs). Fanclub admins also organise meet-ups or gatherings with other fans in the same area or country. Another important role of fanclub admins is to become the liaison personnel between fans and the organiser whenever there is an event (concert, showcase, fanmeet, festival, etc.) going on in the country, involving the relevant artists. Not all organisers include fanclubs as part of their public relations (PR) engine. Some organisers prefer to rely solely on their own PR team when it comes to promoting a specific event. In my opinion, it's a wise move for organisers to directly involve fanclubs, especially official ones, in their marketing plan. This is because existing members or followers of fanclubs already feel bonded and comfortable with the particular fanclubs, therefore, the organisers can reach out to the fans in a more effective and relevant manner. Of course, constant, professional communication between the organisers and the fanclubs is essential in order for this to work.
So, what are the valuable things that I have learned so far as a fanclub admin?
1) Other things are first, not fanclub.
This may sound ironic after what I've written about how it's such a joyful thing for me to become a fangirl. Don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy being a fangirl even if it can get costly at times. Despite that, my sanity ensures that I get my priorities straight. Other matters like study, career, family and friends, are still above this whole fandom thingy. There are times for work, there are times for winding down, and there are times for fangirling. That's why being a fangirl (or a fanboy) is such a special thing. As much as fans give their all in cheering for their favourite stars, we also keep ourselves grounded by making an effort in other non-fandom things. It's important for fans to distinguish between being truly passionate and being carried away.
2) Don't ever jump into conclusion.
I really don't favour those who always jump into conclusion. I, myself, am constantly trying to become someone who doesn't jump into conclusion until I'm very sure of a certain matter. A fandom-related example of this is when there's a rumour circulating about a particular artist, fan, or company. Because of the advanced technology and telecommunication system these days, a mere word of mouth can be known by the whole world in a blink of an eye. Sometimes, that certain "word of mouth" is pretty controversial and shocking. It's normal to feel surprised or dumbfounded when we hear or read something, but until it's official and confirmed by relevant individuals, it remains as a rumour. It can be a little complicated, though. Sometimes, even 'official' statements aren't that genuine. Hmm...
3) Guide others the way you would want to be guided.
Fanclub admins don't know everything. A lot of fanclub admins know a lot of things, but still, we don't know everything. There are things that we may not be aware of. That's why we do our little researches and information-digging from time to time. We certainly don't want to intentionally spread wrong information. Even though there may be things that we may not know much about yet, it's still important to do our best to be as informative and helpful as possible. Different fans have different level of awareness towards certain matters. Some are quite independent and don't ask much unless very necessary. On the other flip of the coin, some are a little bit clueless (which isn't really a bad thing) and tend to ask more questions even if the same questions have been asked and responded to before. If time is available, make an effort to properly answer the questions, even repeated ones. Fans just want to know. So, let them know.
4) Always be transparent.
Being transparent means that you don't hide anything unless it's very personal and it's none of other people's business. If there's a piece of information that can possibly be helpful or interesting to fans, share it. It's good to be specific enough so that the possibility of a misunderstanding can be minimised.
5) Sometimes, just let antis be antis.
Dealing with antis (or haters or skeptics or trolls) is one of the things that can very much be a pain in the neck for fans. So, what should we do about it? We simply don't deal with these
