Post

Every new season of ROP, I feel more and more distant from the Tolkien "content creator" crowd.

23/10/26, 4:54 pm0 reposts12 likes

@greg.langmead.info

Did they maybe try to market the show via the official fandom, which failed because the audiences there were disappointed, and are now trying to find other markets to pitch to?

Greg Langmead

@greg.langmead.info

And judging by the latest trailer, the show is now being pitched to anyone who is inclined to believe that Sauron is awesome and is the protagonist.

James K. Tauber

@jtauber.com

The network cliques in Tolkien fandom are fascinating. There's lots of cross-pollination between, for example, the Tolkien Society, Prancing Pony Podcast, Signum University, Tolkien Guide, Digital Tolkien Project but you can go on certain subreddits and no-one seems to have heard of any of them :-)

James K. Tauber

@jtauber.com

I don't even know if it's anything Amazon is explicitly doing. I think it's a symptom of the attention economy, walled gardens, and platform capture.

James K. Tauber

@jtauber.com

For example, if a platform promotes content that keeps people on the platform then the content that people will see is more likely to be content promoting other creators *on the same platform* which perpetuates the social media silos.

James K. Tauber

@jtauber.com

Instagram will boost posts that promote other Instagrammers. TikTok will boost posts that promote other TikTokers. The open web, as well as podcasts, don't really have that property which is perhaps why they are less attractive to an Amazon.