[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: The Internet and Potterama

[Sherry Gomes]

Nirjhar Jain wrote:

> I have been wondering if Harry Potter would have been the
phenomenon it is today if there were no Internet?
> 
> Would Harry Potter have become so insanely popular if it were
not for all the HP discussion groups and fan sites on the internet. 
<snip>
> Also, as a result of this do you think Jo Rowling's writing of Harry 
> Potter was influenced by this? Do you think Book 7 would be different 
> if Harry Potter had not been this popular?
<snip>
> I do not think that Book 4 would have been allowed to be that
long and dark if it were not for the fact that Harry Potter had become
popular.
> 
> I think the success gave Jo Rowling and her publishers the confidence 
> to make Harry Potter more edgy and dark.
<snip>

Carol responds:
I'm sure that the Internet played a role in the popularity of the books, as
did the films, but I have no idea to what extent. I heard about them by word
of mouth, went to see the first film, and decided to read, or at least try
out, the first book to see if it was as good or better. From there, I read
the whole series as far as it went, and was desperate to see what happened
after GoF, which I loved. I found HPfGu, which operated as a kind of support
group to get me through the wait, and became addicted to it as well. I don't
know how my experience compares to anyone else's, but for me, the Internet
is a way to share my passion for the books (and my fascination with Snape).
It didn't cause me to read the books or see the films.



sherry:

my experience was somewhat like carol's.  I had never heard of the books,
till sometime after COS was released.  But a friend asked me to read it with
him, and I am the one who got hooked.  I went through the next few books,
and the beginning of the movies, drinking in everything potter I could find.
At last, just after OOTP, I was really desperate to find other adults who
shared my fascination and obsession with the books.  I did a yahoo search
and found HP for grownups and became obsessed with it.  The net did not get
me into the series.  But the internet gave me the chance to find other fans
like me, adults who are as fascinated with it as I am.  it helped me find
people who agree and disagree and care about the characters I do or not, but
all of us HP fans.  it really opened up the ways I could revel in and
discuss the series with others.  I really think that's how many people got
into the online fandom, by first getting into the series.

Sherry