Right before I went on my Disneyland
trip in January, I decided to start my own Disney-centric Twitter
account. I live-tweeted my trip, and had a really good time
interacting with some new folks on Twitter. In fact, I had a
non-specific twitter account for a few years and never really made
any sort of effort to join into the conversation. I'd tweeted, but
always randomly and I had no real audience. I mainly used it for news
and my own reading entertainment.
I've found the Disney Twitter
community to be a whole lot of fun, at least somewhat welcoming,
informative, and definitely entertaining. Probably most importantly,
I've found it to be the exact kind of fix I needed when I was most in
need of some Disney nourishment.
I am not a pro Disney-Tweeter at
this point, by any means, but I like to think that over the past 8
months I've come to realize there are very specific Disney-Twitter
Types.
So, without further ado, I give you my take on the
Disney Twitter Account Types
The Sanctioned –
These are the official accounts. Some
of them are kinda fun like the @DisneylandToday or @DCAToday feeds
who will interact with you if you're at the park, will sometimes have
contests for park visitors, and are generally pretty responsive. For
the most part, though, these accounts are boring, only parse out
official information. They're more often commercials than anything,
and certainly don't have much personality. I highly recommend finding
the “Today” feeds if you're at the parks, but otherwise, you're
not gonna get much entertainment out of them.
The Obsessed
Teens –
One of the biggest groups seems to be largely comprised
by teen girls who pepper their feeds with emojis, pictures of their
favorite princes, or screen caps from whatever Disney movie they're
watching at any given time. Most often, they tweet about how badly
they want to go to one of the parks, how many days there are until
their next visit, or how sad they are now that they're back from
their most recent visit. The thing I think about most with them is
how often they seem to go to the parks. It's just a crazy amount.
There's a lot of charm about these feeds, because they have that
youthful exuberance that many of us lose as we get more cynical. I
can't totally see why some folks would be annoyed with these girls,
but I like them in moderation.
The Authorities –
Like with just about anything, Disney
Fandom has a way of designating its own experts. The experts here are
the folks who have somehow taken their Disney passion and made it
their living, or at least partially, through ceaseless blogging, trip
planning, restaurant reviews, and all kinds of other tidbits of
content that they've taken from hobby to profession. Sometimes it's a
little hard to tell how much they're willing to say, out of fear of
harming their reps or their relationships (which, even with my modest
following, is why I'm not going to call anyone out), but they often
have a lot of great pictures, and a lot of great tips about park
touring.
The Moles –
This might be the most tantalizing of
all categories, as this is where all of the Twitter feeds of
Imagineers, Animators, and other 'in the know' cast members fall.
Some particularly good ones It's pretty cool to follow legendary
Imagineer Joe Rhode. It's neat to read about what some Pixar animator
is working on. I call it tantalizing, and I mean it. I would guess
that 90% of Disney fans would say we'd love to be an Imagineer, and
be a part of the secrets, and even having this sort of tertiary
connection to them makes it feel like we're closer to the action.
The Know-it-Alls –
The
Know-It-Alls are basically like the Experts, but instead of keeping
it mostly positive, they're mostly dicks about everything, so people
don't really look to them as authorities, but rather antagonists.
They're like the bizarro-world versions of our heroes. You can most
often find them ranting and raving about some insider tidbit, or
telling more casual fans how “in the dark” they are about some
thing they just innocently enjoy. They often have a ton of followers,
too, and they use this fact as ammunition to prove how important they
are. My suspicion is that many of their followers are more
entertained by their dickery than they are impressed with their
knowledge.
The Family –
I have to admit that
these folks are my favorite. They're people with a love for Disney,
they often have podcasts, or blogs much like the experts, but it's
not their job, and they're not beholden to sponsors, so they're a
little more honest with their opinions. Most importantly, though,
they don't take things too seriously. They're willing to make a joke
at our pal Mickey's expense, and they don't see that as some sort of
blasphemy. I'd even go so far as to argue their love for Disney is
even more apparent, because they don't treat it as an unreachable,
inaccessible icon, but rather a member of the family. As we all know,
family members can be loved and joked about at the same time.
Themed Accounts -
One of the more
entertaining types of accounts, if they're done well, are the themed
accounts. They have an angle, and they're sticking with it. It's hard
to explain without giving examples, so I'll mention @DisneylandCats.
This is an account written entirely from the point of view of the
famous feral cats living at Disneyland. It's funny, it's
light-hearted, and it sticks to their concept. These kinds of
accounts can be hit-or-miss, but the hits are definitely worth a
follow. (Also, I'll be blogging about the Disneyland cats at some
point. I've encountered them at the Disneyland Hotel on each of my
last 2 visits).
The Others-
These are the folks who dabble, or
don't fit into a mold, or maybe aren't established yet. Certainly I
fall into this category, though I'd like to think I'll find my way
into 'The Family” at some point, as they're the ones I tend to talk
with the most, listen to the most, and enjoy reading the most. Some
day... Some day.
So there ya go...
I'd love to
hear if you think I'm missing any important groups.
Happy Tweeting!
