I was intending to post my review of the Pinkie/Twilight comic today. Hopefully I'll be able to put that up tomorrow (spoiler: it's pretty good) but right now, I want to spend a moment to mark the imminent passing of one of the most recognisable brands in the fandom: Everfree Network, which will close its doors at the end of the year. Some of its features, such as Everfree Radio, will live on in a new form on the forthcoming Canterlot Hill site, but for EFN itself, it's the end of the road. It's not quite the seismic event that it will be when Equestria Daily finally calls it a day, but it's big news nevertheless.
I never paid that much attention to EFN, beyond reading the odd news story or watching the occasional stream from a con. Podcasts aren't my thing, in any case. Unlike (it sometimes seems) most of the fandom, I don't have any feelings one way or the other about Final Draft, as I've never had any dealings with the guy. I'm not that keen on his goodbye post's comment that "the fandom of 2014 is not the same as the fandom of 2011", with the clear implication that it's worse, because I'm not sure that's true – but then I'm just one small-time writer and blogger on the very fringes of ponydom.
As far as the fandom as a whole goes, I think it's doing fine. It is a bit smaller than it used to be – you only have to look at the gradually declining numbers of fanfics being published on Fimfiction to see that – but it's a very, very long way from being moribund. We know that there'll be official content appearing for at least another three years, so I certainly don't go along with anyone who says the pony fandom is dying. EFN will leave a gap, larger for some people, smaller for others, but (as Canterlot Hill shows) other people will be stepping up to fill that gap, even if not in quite the same way.
Goodbye, EFN: I hardly knew you, but you were part of a lot of fans' shared experience of this ridiculous and wonderful fandom. When we look back on this crazy time in our lives a few decades hence, your name will be one of those that many of us will reminisce about. Now, though, it's time to look forwards: S5 is on the way in the spring, Equestria Girls 3 looks like a given, BUCK is returning in 2016... don't just weep for the fandom's past, because there's an awful lot of future we still have to experience.
Huh. It's a name I recognized, but never really seen any of their stuff. Always get a bit sad when something that big comes to an end. Hope everyone involved finds other fun stuff to spend their time and energy on.
ReplyDeleteI don't know any of them personally, and have only even exchanged words with a couple, so I don't know. I do get the impression that a few of them have decided to move on to other interests outside the pony fandom, though.
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