Did "Social Media" impact your Fringe experence?

[Pat Coyle]

Another Fringe Fest has come to a close. What were the highlights? If this was your first taste of the Fringe, what did you think? If you are a veteran of the Indy Fringe, how did this year's Fest stack up to past version?

Also, how did "social media" impact your experience? If you blogged or Tweeted about your experience (either on SI or anywhere else), did you find that posting your thoughts enhanced your overall appreication of the Fest?

[Megan Zurawicz]

Reading the reviews, meeting the reviewers....yes, it made a definite difference. It enriched an already wonderful experience!

[Jerry McColgin]

Clearly social media impacted me. I probably would not have attended the Fringe had I not first heard of the contest on SI, then won free tix through my entry. Having said that, I really enjoyed my experience and will plan to go back next year as a result. While I was at the Fringe, I checked twitter several times to see instant reviews on what others were saying and changed at least one show choice based on what I read.

[Erin Monahan]

Fringe blogging definitely enhanced my experience. I felt more connected to the performers, audience members and production staff. I had so much fun blogging and reading what other bloggers had to say. This was my favorite Fringe to date.

[Breena Fain]

@visitindy tweeted about it all week long! check out our blog at blog.indy.org. We also gave away tickets via Facebook. You should check out all the love that was given to Indy Fringe on the Indianapolis Facebook Fanpage @ www.facebook.com/visitindy.

Thanks for a great experience!

[Justin Brady]

Thanks for all you that helped promote the show via social media. As the Marketing Coordinator for the festival I can tell you I truly appreciate it - word of mouth is our most powerful tool. Your interactivity really does help make the festival more exciting.

[Pat Coyle]

Justin,
How will you measure (quantify) the impact of your various social media efforts? I know you were on Facebook, YouTube, SI and Twitter...how do you know what worked??

[Lorraine Ball]

We have been active "Fringers" for several years. This year was more fun, because it was easy to share it with friends. We used Twitter to connect with others during the event, and read the reviews to help select which shows to see.

I am already looking forward to next year!

[Andrew Ball]

Ditto what Lorraine said.
Sincerely,
Lorraine's Husband

[Brett J,]

"Social Media" made it much easier to find out about the shows when it comes to descriptions, new times, and reviews.

[Melissa Gallant]

I have attended shows at each of the 5 Fringe Festivals. I joined Smaller Indiana shortly before the Fest started this year. I was impressed to see Smaller Indiana members support a fellow member's performance, and I attended one show with the friend who first introduced me to Smaller Indiana. Also, I enjoyed reading the blog entries about Fringe shows.

[Hope Baugh]

Pat, do you mean social media in general or just Smaller Indiana in particular? I'll give you the whole scoop, just in case.

I recieved my first media pass when I agree to help write about the 2007 Indy Fringe for IndianaAuditions.com. That was thrilling! I loved seeing the shows, writing about them, and exchanging comments about the shows with other people in the IA forums.

By the time the 2008 Indy Fringe came around, I had started my own theatre reviews blog, www.IndyTheatreHabit.com. I saw and wrote about 30 Indy Fringe shows for my own blog and around the same time started participating in Smaller Indiana because I had just met Kyle Lacy, Doug Karr, and Bob Burchfield at the first BlogIndiana conference. By that time I was also a regular groupie of Lou Harry's A&E blog on the Indianapolis Business Journal's website (www.ibj.com) as well, and I continued to particpate in conversations on Indiana Audition. Again I felt exhilerated by all of the Fringe-related online conversations. (Oops, I need another comment box, I think.)

[Hope Baugh]

Part Two: At the 2009 BlogIndiana conference, mrnoobie.com showed me how easy it would be to add video to my blog using an iPhone, so I bit the bullet and bought an iPhone, which happened to be my first cell phone ever. For the 2009 Fringe, I started an IndyTheatreHabit "channel" on YouTube.com and made 30 little videos related to the festival, including this last one, in which I (eep) even sing a bit. I also tweeted (@IndyTheatre) after every show I saw and wrote about more than 20 shows on my blog in a lttle more detail. I connected with some Fringe fans and performers via my Facebook profile, too, and continued to participate on IA and the IBJ. And, of course, I participated here on SI.

Sometimes, being part of the 1% in the 90-9-1 rule of social media participants (ie, 1 % of the participants are frequent contributers of content, 9% contribute once in awhile, and 90% always lurk) is exhausting, but more often I love it. There is nothing like being at a live theatre show in person, but writing about it makes for yummy icing on the cake..