Abstract
This research investigated the fundamental change being brought about in the entertainment sector by the use of digital technology. It identifies how fans can develop a new entertainment product form - User-Created Content (UCC) constructed in Online Communities (OCs) – that is emergent, dynamic and unpredictable. UCC also directly satisfies the increasing preference of fans today to directly produce the content they want to create and consume.
Determining how UCC can be produced was achieved by analysing how greater immersion by fans in the new evaluative framework that OCs represent, has enabled fandoms to create the content they desire. To investigate this, Judge Dredd was chosen as an over-arching research Case Study. Netnographic research was then conducted in Facebook Judge Dredd OCs over a three-month period. Netnography was selected as the primary research methodology as it allowed online observation of fans who were congregating around a preferred shared interest and how they interacted, participated and collaborated collectively in OCs to develop their UCC. The results – drawn from three central themes (Story Interrogation, Character Development and Fan Story Ideas) - identified eight, key research findings, a new UCC Content Development process and associated Model (Figure 1). These explain the findings and utilise key subjects covered in the Literature Review.
This outcome satisfied the central research question by identifying the dynamics and content developmental patterns in OCs that fandoms use to construct UCC. Some research limitations are apparent: the focus on a single Intellectual Property (IP), researcher confirmation bias and selective data collection. The results however represent a significant contribution to knowledge by identifying how UCC around an entertainment IP can be created. This offers new cultural and product potential in the provision of entertainment content that provides the basis for further, future inquiry and UCC-product development.
Determining how UCC can be produced was achieved by analysing how greater immersion by fans in the new evaluative framework that OCs represent, has enabled fandoms to create the content they desire. To investigate this, Judge Dredd was chosen as an over-arching research Case Study. Netnographic research was then conducted in Facebook Judge Dredd OCs over a three-month period. Netnography was selected as the primary research methodology as it allowed online observation of fans who were congregating around a preferred shared interest and how they interacted, participated and collaborated collectively in OCs to develop their UCC. The results – drawn from three central themes (Story Interrogation, Character Development and Fan Story Ideas) - identified eight, key research findings, a new UCC Content Development process and associated Model (Figure 1). These explain the findings and utilise key subjects covered in the Literature Review.
This outcome satisfied the central research question by identifying the dynamics and content developmental patterns in OCs that fandoms use to construct UCC. Some research limitations are apparent: the focus on a single Intellectual Property (IP), researcher confirmation bias and selective data collection. The results however represent a significant contribution to knowledge by identifying how UCC around an entertainment IP can be created. This offers new cultural and product potential in the provision of entertainment content that provides the basis for further, future inquiry and UCC-product development.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2023 |