Furthermore, you don't even need to engage in 'fannish' activities (going to cons, etc) to get your fan-fix. You want some obscure anime or SF show? You can probably torrent it or get it from an import shop online. There's not much need to go to a store in person, much less a con, to get the goods you want, as has been discussed in the past. It's not helping cons or fandom as it exists, even if it's not a bad thing.
Of course, I know plenty of folks who go to Anime cons to get cheap DVDs, as opposed to paying the horrid import prices and waiting around for a while, or just to browse the options (the 'Ooo, $10 DVDs!' effect).
That leads into the popularity of Niche cons, too. Furry Cons, Anime Cons, Gaming Cons, all are serving the specific wants of certain aspects of 'fandom,' which means you can get the fix you really want by going to the con for it, as opposed to trying to get it in at a general SFF con. We've discussed all of this at VTSFFC meetings, as well.
There are still things an SF con can offer, even to folks who are primarily in to a fandom niche. For one, they can get you into other aspects of 'fandom' they'd not have thought about before ('Gee, that looks neat...'). Additionally, I believe SF cons can offer education and networking opportunities for budding creative-types, with things like 'learn how this person who does things really well does this thing' and 'here, listen to a well-published author and an editor discuss the getting-published process.' That's certainly how I was representing TCon to the Budget Board, and it's something really neat I think it can offer to the community that you don't see so much around here.
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Of course, I know plenty of folks who go to Anime cons to get cheap DVDs, as opposed to paying the horrid import prices and waiting around for a while, or just to browse the options (the 'Ooo, $10 DVDs!' effect).
That leads into the popularity of Niche cons, too. Furry Cons, Anime Cons, Gaming Cons, all are serving the specific wants of certain aspects of 'fandom,' which means you can get the fix you really want by going to the con for it, as opposed to trying to get it in at a general SFF con. We've discussed all of this at VTSFFC meetings, as well.
There are still things an SF con can offer, even to folks who are primarily in to a fandom niche. For one, they can get you into other aspects of 'fandom' they'd not have thought about before ('Gee, that looks neat...'). Additionally, I believe SF cons can offer education and networking opportunities for budding creative-types, with things like 'learn how this person who does things really well does this thing' and 'here, listen to a well-published author and an editor discuss the getting-published process.' That's certainly how I was representing TCon to the Budget Board, and it's something really neat I think it can offer to the community that you don't see so much around here.