As I say goodbye to Glee for its 8 week winter hiatus, I am also saying goodbye to our practicum project for the semester! Afterobserving the fans on the forum over the past couple of months, I've come to understand exactly WHY people enjoy participating in online forums. In real life, we are drawn to friends who share common interests, goals, and activities, and the gleeforum isn't any different. All the members on the forum have come together in an online community in order to unite will fellow Glee fans who share this common identity. In the world of Web 2.0, we're offered a participatory culture where we can find others who are interested in the same things as us, and therein lies the appeal. I've really enjoyed spending the semester on a project that has allowed me to reevaluate how I watch my favorite programming. It's been so much fun keeping up with the many different opinions of the Glee fans on the forum, before and after the aired episodes each week, and while I never really felt comfortable adding to the conversation (I like being a silent observer), it was fun to type out of my feelings about the show to people who actually cared (as opposed to my roommates lol)! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading about how media fandom works, and best of luck to everybody with their final exams!
Natalie (aka Gleek Badger)
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