Time, space, strategy: fan blogging and the economy of knowledge at San Diego Comic-Con

ABSTRACT My essay examines the blogging culture surrounding San Diego Comic-Con. Con-bloggers share desirable strategies for navigating the convention, including access to tickets, hotel rooms, and panels. I argue that con-blogging’s focus on wait times, the convention space, and communal experiences among fans functions as an adjacent yet external “extra” to the industry’s promotional discourse. The popularity of con-blogging demonstrates that fans’ interests exceed industrial offerings. Con-bloggers’ primary fandom is the ephemeral experience rooted in a specific time (four days in July) and space (the San Diego Convention Center), expanding the usual definition of fandom as centering on a media text. Even though con-bloggers’ fandom remains apart from industry buzz, they adopt industrial strategies to promote their blogs, including branding, sponsorships, and swag. The complex economy of knowledge production among con-bloggers reorients our understanding of industry-fan interactions at conventions and beyond.