Some of you might have seen the post I put out yesterday when I tried to get a headcount of how many YJ and GLTAS fans are left on Tumblr. Not counting the likes and reblogs, I got around 200 responses. I realize that not every fan on Tumblr probably responded to it, but when you compare that to the numbers we used to have a month or two ago, it’s a little disheartening.
Obviously, we expected to lose at least some of the fans. We made a crucial misstep when many of us fell silent while waiting for WB’s decision. I know I’m personally guilty of this. Afterwards, some of the fans came back and started to regroup but many continued to remained silent.
A few weeks after we first started the campaign, I saw a lot of people start to give up because they didn’t think it would take so long to bring our shows back. I remember asking them not to give up hope, because I honestly thought we stood a very good chance. Our numbers were high, people were enthusiastic, and we hadn’t experienced true failure yet.
Now that we don’t have any of those advantages, I have to admit, I’m a little scared. I understand, people are busy and they have finals and job searches to worry about. I have a lot on my plate too. But it seemed like fans were willing to make more time to help, back when they thought it would actually make a difference. It makes me wonder if we’ve lost too much to actually get this campaign to succeed.
I know we’ve been emphasizing the fact that SMGO isn’t our only option. To be perfectly realistic, I’m not even sure if that’s true anymore. Our methods didn’t get CN or WB to budge before and that was when our fandoms were a lot stronger. Those same methods aren’t going to work now unless something drastically changes.
The purpose of this post wasn’t to admit defeat or to announce that I was giving up on the fandoms. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I wanted to address something that I felt was holding our efforts back in hopes that the fandoms would become more aware of this problem and do something to fix it.
I still believe we have a chance. There may be less of us, but that just means those of us who are left have to fight harder. Everyone has to be proactive, not just the major blog runners. Reblogging or liking a post isn’t enough, especially when you don’t actually read or do what the poster is asking you to do. You can also try to come up with original ideas, yourself, or help get more fans to join us.
There are at least 200 of us left. Yes, it might not be a lot but it’s still enough to make a difference. I’m definitely not ready to give up yet and I hope you aren’t either.
Come on guys! We can’t give up yet! We’ve still got a chance to fight, and I think we can do it!!
