Enthusiasts

On a recent episode of my podcast CMD+SPACE, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jonathan Coulton. On this episode we spoke about some of his recent projects and a little about his history in creating music—pioneering some of the methods of crowd support that we have today.

During this episode we were attempting to try and describe the nature of his audience. On the whole they tend to be quite geeky or nerdy, but Jonathan wanted to avoid these terms. The best description we were able to come up with instead was, ‘enthusiasts’.

I have been thinking a lot about this notion over the last few days. As geeks and nerds we are very enthusiastic about lots of things. We get addicted to things quite easily and become consumed by them. Whether it be comic books, cartoons or entire companies.

We become so enthusiastic that we want to learn all we can about these things. We want to consume as much as is possible, read the logic and theory behind it and tell our friends and families just how much we love these things—urging them to get involved too.

We try to find communities that centre around these interests. And this is why geeks love the Internet. No matter what you love, it’s not difficult to find many people that are equally – if not more – enthusiastic as you are.

I have built friendships on the Internet due to my enthusiasm for technology. I have met people that will be friends for life—many whom I’ve never met (although this will change soon).

Matt spoke about community on the site yesterday. And he’s exactly right, we build communities and relationships because of enthusiasm for our shared interests and later for each other.

In regards to Jonathan Coulton, the enthusiasm his fans have for his work have made him a success. He tours the globe performing his music and has continued to propser—simply because his fans love his work and him. They want to see him succeed so he can create more and simply because they want him to succeed.

Whenever you see a blogger or podcaster make their creative endeavour a full time thing, it’s because of the enthusiasm their fans have and the loyalty they show. Yes, advertising brings an income – as well as direct donations – but the advertising dollars only mean something if there is a loyal audience to sell the products too. They buy because they trust. They trust because of their enthusiasm.

Following someone’s work so intently makes you feel like you know them. And in a sense you do. You have listened to or read someone’s stories and they have become a part of your life. This is what creates such a loyalty and makes a fan continue to show their support.

I love being consumed by my hobbies and interests. I like finding videos on YouTube of live performances of my favourite artists or buying someone’s new ebook—even if I never read it. I guess that’s what makes me an enthusiast and it’s something I would never change.

This is a guest post by Myke Hurley, as Stephen and his family are on a much-needed break.