the.com/fanbase
a religion where the deity tweets back and the heresy trials happen in real time
means The collective body of devoted fans who follow a particular person, group, product, or franchise.
from A 20th-century compound, simply 'fan' plus 'base.' 'Fan' itself is a late 19th-century American shortening of 'fanatic' — which comes from Latin 'fanaticus,' meaning 'of a temple, inspired by a god' (rooted in 'fanum,' a temple). So the religious overtones in the essence aren't accidental: the word literally descends from temple-frenzy. 'Base' here borrows the military and political sense of a supporting foundation of people, popularized through the 20th century.
- coined
- Term spiked with internet culture in the 2000s
- economics
- 1,000 true fans can fund a career
- power
- K-pop fans crashed apps and derailed political rallies
- loyalty
- They defend strangers harder than family
- naming
- Fandoms invent their own collective names
beatlemania — the beatles' fans in the 1960s, with screaming crowds at every concert and airport appearance
swifties — taylor swift's fanbase, over 300 million spotify monthly listeners as of 2024
ariana grande's fans — arianators, known for defending her aggressively on twitter and streaming records to break charts
kpop army — bts fans globally coordinated to top billboard charts and break streaming records from 2017 onwards