(This is Part 2 of  a 3 part series on “The Anatomy of a Stan”)

It’s not surprising that the internet is a Stan’s wet dream…in fact, one of the first things those who were creating it did with it in 1972 (just 3 years after the first successful login) was to create a vibrant community of science fiction fans on the mailing list SF-Lovers.

Yes, it was on some geek shit..but what cats quickly discovered was that the internets empowered them in ways that transformed fandom and, as this event demonstrates, created enormous challenges and opportunities for the music industry. And while your ass was busy hugging the block or buying throwbacks in 2002…you should have been learning html. It’s still not a wrap for you though… 

Here are the five main reasons that the internet made Stan’s so powerful. The internet:

1. Transcends distance and increases reach

2. Provides group infrastructures

3. Supports archiving

4. Enables new forms of engagement

5. Lessens social distance

Distance & Extends Reach

The internet lets fans connect with each other instantaneously across distance. This greatly diminishes fans’ reliance on the music press and the PR machines behind it. It also means fans can build relationships across geographic boundaries and become centers of scenes — or tribal leaders — regardless of their location.

Provides group infrastructures

The internet also makes it extremely easy to have group discussions because it provides platforms for people to create groups through services like YahooGroups or Facebook and to run fan groups of all sorts on their own sites.

Supports archiving

The internet is also well suited to serving as a museum for the curatorial impulses of fans. One of my favorite fan archives is this one, by Johannes Schill in Sweden who’s collected a list of over 500 Swedish pop bands, more than 40 labels, and for each has created a page with information and a link to their website and any free downloads or other media that the artist has made available.

Enables new forms of engagement

The internet provides all kinds of new ways for fans to engage music and each other. People who could never imagine doing anything like it before can now broadcast their own playlists,

write mp3 blogs and oeuvre blogs, create remixes and videos, and otherwise engage in participatory culture (read Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins if you haven’t).

Lessens social distance

Finally, the internet can eliminate the layers of filters that separated fans from performers in years past. People who might never get backstage can now expect at least some bit of seemingly interpersonal interaction with the artists they adore. As MySpace would have it, we’re no longer “fans,” we’re “friends.”

Stay tuned for Part 3: “4 Ways To Properly Engage Your Stans “