I’ve been vaguely following Jason’s Sony travails, but Scott Andrew’s post, Harrassing fans for being fans really hits the nail on the head.

For those who haven’t read Henry Jenkins’ excellent 2002 essay, Interactive Audiences? The ‘Collective Intelligence” of Media Fans, I would definitely recommend it, as it illustrates the transformation of fandom and the consumption cycle.

For all their talk of going viral or guerilla, fundamentally, it seems broadcast media has yet to understand or even care about collaborating and taking advantage of the genuine excitement and support of their best fans.

What a waste of resources huh? Here’s a good whack of the clue-by-four for marketers: you’re burning your brand value by the minute here. And for the bean counters, a good rule of thumb: IT’S BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE TO SUE YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS.

Here’s some work I did last year on New Media and the Consumption Cycle. Also, as part of my academia wrap-up, I’ll have a paper written in the next few months comparing how the game industry and old Hollywood differ on the use of the inverted pyramid, and comparing the relative successes.