There’s no denying that anime fandom could not have developed as much as it has, nor would it be what it’s been the past decade, without computers and the Internet. Because of this, it’s no surprise that the average anime fan is an active member on at least a few web sites. What would these online presences be, and what do they all add up to as far as our identity?…
I’m not big on visiting forums, chatting on IRC, or similar means of being in online fan communities. So I can narrow my list of top online presences to five.
5. Anime Nano: My blog here has been indexed on Anime Nano since late ’06 and I visit the site everyday to check out any new blog posts I’m interested in. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I don’t use RSS or anything similar, thus Anime Nano is my main window into the anime blogsphere. I also make sure and check that all of MAY’s posts appear on Anime Nano (there were instances a few years ago where some of my posts never showed up). I don’t really go on the Anime Nano forums (not that they’re that active to begin with), but for the most part it’s one of the best places for English-language anime blogs and bloggers to be!
4. Facebook: Facebook is my only online presence where I don’t emphasize my anime fandom. Even though a lot of my FB friends like anime, a lot don’t, and I figure I have plenty of other online means to express my fandom and should have at least one for non-anime stuff. I know FB has a ton of games, features, and what not, but I only use it to keep track of friends’ contact info and their statuses to see what they’re up to. I update my status once in a while with more personal things and keep anime to a minimum.
3. MyAnimeList.net: I know MAL isn’t perfect but it’s been one of the most handy and funnest anime sites for me. I’m diligent with updating my list and I even take an interest in the clubs and forums from time to time. I find MAL’s indexes of anime/manga titles and staff more appealing that ANN’s. They’ve even got a similar index for just characters. Statistics for the popularity of titles, characters, and people is fun too. Keeping track of what my friends are watching is another personal perk I get from MAL XD
2. Twitter: When I first signed up for Twitter in 2008, I never knew I would grow as attached to it as I have now :3 I mostly use it for anime, though I know its influence reaches way beyond to all kinds of things. I use it in a relatively humble way – all my tweets are strictly related to anime or my web site, and I only follow a handful of people (less than 50). This way, I’m not overwhelmed by tweets if I’m unable to check for a while. I don’t know how some have the time to follow hundreds of people and actually give due attention to all their tweets. The 140 character limit can be a drag sometimes, but regardless Twitter is an irreplaceable way to keep track of anime news and fans.
1. My blog and web site: This one’s obvious ;) I’ve owned my domain name, animeyume.com, almost nine years now. All those years (with the exception of two years away at college) I regularly updated the main web site, and when I started the blog in 2006, wrote posts at least once a week. I’ve meet lots of great fellow fans through my blog and web site, and have poured out so much of my inner fandom into my posts all these years, Anime Yume has become a major part of my identity, especially when it comes to expressing my feelings (I’ve mentioned before that I’m not very articulate) and feeling a sense of self-worth. That’s why I’m very careful with saving backups of my blog posts and other files in case anything happens!
Others worth mentioning:
– pixiv: The best place for anime fan art. I haven’t posted any art myself but I use my account to save all the art I like. I visit pixiv every now and then to browse the Daily Rankings or art for a particular series.
– AnimePaper.net: I’m a donating member of AnimePaper though I don’t provide images myself. Most of the non-screencap and fan art images I use on MAY are from AP.
– YouTube: Like pixiv, I mostly use YouTube to easily bookmark videos I like rather than upload anything myself. After my original YT account was deleted when I uplaoded anime OPs and EDs, I’ve only been using this one to save favorites and upload a few personal videos (like for my trips to Japan).
– AnimeSuki – I used to use AS for torrents several years ago. Nowadays I just use them for their great Haruhi-related forums =)
– TokyoToshokan: I don’t actually have an account on TokyoTosho, but I just thought I’d mention it since it’s one of my most frequently visited sites.
– AnimeMusicVideos.org: One of my oldest accounts that I still use (signed up in 2001 with a $3 donation XD) I only visit AMV.org once in a while to see the new top ranked AMVs (don’t make any myself).
– Serebii.net: I check Serebii everyday for Pokemon news. I’ve had an account on their forums since 2007, which I’ve maybe used three or four times whenever I have questions about the games.
I have accounts on many other sites, but these are the ones that I have the most presence in. Looking back, I really have become quite dependent on some of my online presences, especially my blog, as a means of my own identity. I feel like half of me would disappear from anime fandom if my blog disappeared. I suppose, like a lot of things in life, dedication to online presences can be good and bad. Bad because they take your time and attention away from the more important real world, but good because they allow otherwise socially awkward people to find friends, a community to belong in, and ways of expressing their feelings. Yet another of life’s double-edged swords.
/a/ from 4cham
I don’t know why but I’ve never had an interesting in joining the 2/4-chan community. From what I’ve heard about them, they’re a pretty crazy crowd so that’s probably why =P
That’s great that you’ve got so much invested in your online identity, & it’s no surprise that your blog is the mainstay of your fandom. I mainly use Twitter to keep track of real world news & anime/manga-related news, and I use My Anime List to help keep track of my anime watching. I’ve tried to develop more of an online presence, but I think because I didn’t come of age during the current digital generation, I’m not very good at it. I think as one grows older one finds that no matter how digital or online one is, there’s no substitute for human beings and good company.
That’s a good point that one who hasn’t grown up in this “digital world” may have a harder time forming solid online presences. I didn’t get my first computer until I was 15 but I was into video games a lot when I was younger, which is related I suppose. Personality (whether one would even be interested in online communities) and lifestyle (if one has the time for it) also play a role.
Does that anime Nano place accept blogs on LiveJournal?
I go on Facebook all the time. Don’t have a Twitter.
I mainly just use MAL for keeping track of my own stuff. I’ve never gone into the forums. Kind of like how I pretty much only read ANN for news updates. (I hate the way the layout of their seiyuu pages argh)
I used to go on a bunch of different forums, but there’s only one that I’m still an active member on, and that’s Daybreak. Been there since ’06. http://board.mysticalaura.com
So my top 5 sites would probably be: Daybreak, deviantArt, LiveJournal, Facebook, and uh, something else.
You can check Anime Nano’s guidelines here. I don’t see anything about not accepting LJ blogs…
I have an account on ANN’s forums (which I used like, once), but like you, I mostly just visit their site for news. I hardly use their directories anymore since I find MAL’s more appealing and easier to use.
When I started blogging about Anime back in 2009, I started posting on Animesuki Forums more often and eventually used Twitter as a medium of communication. While I maintain a MyAnimeList, I hate that site considering how buggy it is and it’s basically stagnating. Even though I still use it to develop my software, I manage my up to date list at Melative, which I found during my first year of blogging and used extensively on my second year of blogging.
Not to mention, I contribute a few “guest” music reviews of Anime Soundtracks (OP/EDs) on Anime Instrumentality…
Of course, I also own a Facebook account that I rarely use anymore, Flickr (to share my pictures taken from my iPhone), Last.fm account to record what I play and a Tumblr, which I rarely use since I already have a sideblog running on my WordPress installation. Just recently, I got involved with a aniblogger livewatching group called the SCCSAV and of course I got to know more people from it, probably more than I did with the AniblogTourney. Besides from that, I have an extensive online presence that is building every year.
I would imagine you’d have a good online presence with all your knowledge about and interest in computers ^_^
I know MAL can be buggy in some areas, but it fulfills what I’m looking for well enough. Although I check Facebook at least once a day, I’m more of a lurker on it and don’t use the majority of its features. And I probably would get into more online features if I had an iphone =P
I have very little online presence. I have facebook, but I never use it. I have messenger, but only to keep in contact with RL friends. I do not have twitter. I play online games, but mostly with my RL friends as well, so not much there. My online presence is so small, I even block googleanalytics, so google does not know where I browse :) I’m invisible!
I’m just not much on forming relationships online I guess. Probably your blog is one of my strongest presences online? I’m the invisible man :D
There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to hide your online presence. Even though I’m online a lot, I of course make sure not to publicly post any personal info, even on Facebook. No one but my good friends should know anything but my name and my anime obsession =P
I use IM too but not that often. Maybe a few times a week to chat with just a few certain friends. I use Twitter to chat with acquaintances in addition to friends XD
And thanks for being one of my best visitors~ I appreciate it a lot.
I have a few accounts here and there, but my biggest online presences are in MyAnimeList and IGN.com’s forums. I update my MAL page frequently with all the anime/manga I’m watching/reading. However, I spend ALOT of my time on the IGN forums, to the point of having more than 10,000 posts in two years. I spend some time on the anime board and the forum’s “random” board where people talk about anything and everything.
Nice to know another MAL fan ^_^
I think it’s great to be really dedicated to just one forum, like you are with IGN. With 10,000 posts in such a short time, I’m sure you and other forum goers have gotten to known each other well and thus formed an even stronger community bond XD
I visit a couple of sites everyday, including Facebook, Anime-Planet (similar to MAL), and deviantART. I also visit Livejournal and the Cheezburger network fairly often. For blogs or websites that I follow, like yours, I use live RSS bookmarks so that I can check for updates without having to go to the actual site itself. It’s much faster that way! It may not seem like I do much online, but I am, however, permanently on MSN anytime I’m at home – from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. XD
For me, anime is more of a hobby rather than a defining part of my life, so I invest very little time in it aside from actually watching it. Also, the friends that I talk about anime with are friends who happen to have the same love of anime as me, but we didn’t meet because of our shared hobby, if that makes sense.
Even though I loved to draw up until I started college, I never signed up at deviantArt. I simply found out about the site too late, after I had already lost interest in drawing. I’m still interested in finding excellent fan art though, but pixiv provides me with enough of it ;)
I glance at a few Cheezburger Network sites, but again, just a lurker. And like I said above, I come on IM (MSN included) maybe a few times a week in the evenings.
I have “presence” in a lot of websites, but just a few of them are anime related, it’s like my secret obsession; just MyAnimeList and MCanime (largest source of anime in spanish)
Never heard of MCanime since I don’t speak Spanish, but I’m glad Spanish speakers have a good resource for anime ^_^
My Top 10:
My blog/Twitter- I check these two usually at the same time. With the slowly growing presence of my blog, I also check up on my stats, when I’ve last written a post so I can get another up that day, and I reply to any comments that people decide to leave for whatever reason.
Facebook- I use this for keeping in contact with friends, checking up on statuses, and for dealing with the people who can’t be bothered to message me on MSN.
MAL- This has been instrumental in keeping me up to date with my many anime series that I’m watching and have yet to start. I occasionally post reviews from my site as well, when I feel that they’re good enough to share elsewhere, and to hook in a few stray viewers.
The Escapist- Despite what people say, I’ve found the forums to be a very pleasant place, even with the mods cracking down like hell on anything remotely unfriendly. There’s enough room for debate without everyone acting like a total ponce, and I tend to read the articles posted there weekly whenever I visit for Zero Punctuation.
TV Tropes- Whenever I need to kill time for whatever reason, this is where I go to get my fix. I’ve also found out about doujins/horrible translations here that I wouldn’t have elsewhere, so it’s fun to browse through every now and then for such things.
Wikipedia- Same as above. I just tend to get stuck there for hours.
Tumblr- I find too many fun and interesting things here not to list it. While I don’t have a tumblr, I enjoy quite a few blogs, most anime culture related (Weeaboo Stories, PleaseStopCosplaying, Shit Otaku Say, etc.) and will likely make my own soon enough to catalogue it all.
Cracked- When I go here, I can always count on either laughing myself into a coma, or learning something interesting that I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere. It’s the perfect site for those two reasons.
Anime News Network- I use this as a companion for MAL most times. Aside from keeping track of what I watch, I use it for many of the same reasons as well.
Stumbleupon- Whenever bored, I just stumble. All of a sudden, I stop being bored.
Great list of sites!
Though I didn’t mention it on the post, I visit Wiki and TV Tropes every now and then to learn new things and alleviate boredom XD Also use ANN as a MAL companion but didn’t mention it since I rarely use my account on the site.
The other sites you mentioned sound like fun. I’ll have to check them out some time.
Other than a few baseball forums, I’ve only begun to develop my web presence recently as an expression of my growing interest in anime. MAL has been helpful in both keeping track of what I’ve watched & finding new stuff, and I’ve recently joined Twitter to keep tabs on what everyone’s saying about the medium. I also just started an RSS feed to keep track of anime blogs–it’s very helpful in consolidating a resource that’s taught me a lot about anime!
Concerning the virtual world & reality, I consider the former to be an extension of the latter. I’ve seen meaningful connections established online as people support one another through both good & bad times; however, I’ve also seen how easy it is to get lost in the anonymity of the web. It’s a resource I’m glad to have, though!
I agree about your “virtual self” being an extension of your “real self.” You can certainly learn a lot about a person from what they say and do online. But being intimate with them in real life can be quite different when things like personality, lifestyle, and overall vibes come into play. Unless we plan to live as absolute recluses, ultimately our real world self plays the biggest role.
1) Myanimelist – The best place I’ve found to discuss anime and manga. The database of info they have there is second to none. it’s awesome to look up a seiyuu and instantly realize she has been your favorite character in 3 or more animes.
2)IRC Rizon.net – A good place to hang out and have discussions about upcoming anime projects. It’s also cool to meet the fansubbers who put the effort into making Anime available to the world almost instantly after being aired.
3) AnimeSuki – Another good discussion board. not as lively as MAL but definitely good for an alternate place for viewpoints.
4) Otakucenter.com – it’s a place where I first started hanging out at. It some decent discussions there. It’s also a good place to preview animes you haven’t watched. They have a forum database with tons of animes ready to be streamed.
5) http://countdown.mandragon.info/ – It’s some silly little site that shows when anime shows are being aired in Japan. Although it really isn’t much more than a countdown site. I find it incredibly useful since I’m such an impatient knucklehead.
IRC is a bit too anonymous and intimidating for me. But I’ve become less shy about things like forums in recent years, having been talking more on MAL and AnimeSuki.
I’ve seen that countdown site before – very handy XD
1. Twitter
2. Games, like TF2.
3. Facebook
4. My Blog(s)
5. Various forums
6. Other peoples’ blogs
7. Metafilter
8. /a/
also TokyoTosho/Nyaa/BakaBT, but that’s mostly “oh, is Gintama out yet?”
the same with sites like MangaStream, etc.
TokyoTosho is pretty much the only site I use for anime torrents (most of them are linked to Nyaa). There’s rarely a case where they don’t have episodes of recent shows, but if that happens, I’ll check Nyaa directly or places like BakaBT.
I think the main thing I use is animecalendar.net to keep track of my watching and… well other than that I mostly just read blogs XP I will occasionally check out AMVs or some fanart, generally on the sites you mentioned plus deviantart.
I have a facebook but I was pretty much forced to get it by my friend and I never log on there unless I need to talk to her (since she’s pretty much always on) and I’ve never even had a proper look at twitter, let alone gotten into the whole twitter thing.
I guess I don’t really have a big anime precence but I’m content with just this, I already spend a lot of time on non-anime related internet stuff too so adding more would probably have me lose some of my sleep XP