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Understanding Representation Jen Webb

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International Journal of Cultural Studies
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Fan labor and the New Organization

R.M. Milner

University of Kansas, USA, rmmilner{at}ku.edu

• This study used a discourse analysis of the official Fallout 3 forum to investigate how fans of the digital-game series perceived their labor contribution to the game development process. Framing this analysis, I proposed that the concept of the New Organization is a useful paradigm when considering the autonomous and collaborative nature of fan labor. As knowledge workers in the New Organization, fans contribute an immaterial labor (consisting of information and interpretation) to the texts they esteem. In my analysis, I observed that fans view uncompensated labor as a foregone conclusion, and that fans were more loyal to the text than the organization producing it. Both of these results have implications for how producers and researchers might approach fan labor. Given fan preference for autonomous and collaborative input, researchers and producers alike could benefit from understanding fan labor from a New Organizational perspective. •

Key Words: fandom • fans • labor • New Organization

International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 12, No. 5, 491-508 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1367877909337861
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