There is an expression (and a website) called jumping the shark. It is a reference to an episode of Happy Days in which the Fonz, keeping his trademark leather jacket on while water skiing, jumped over a shark. It was considered evidence that the popular show had turned a downward corner. The term is credited to Sean J. Connolly, a college roomate of Jon Hein. Hein created jumptheshark.com in 1997, sparking a career with Howard Stern and netting a few million less than a decade later when he sold the site to TV Guide.
I share this for two reasons. First, it is an excuse to mention one of my favorite childhood shows. Second, it is another chance to talk about community building.
The Gong Show was completely stupid. The professional wrestling of game shows. It was American Idol without the glitz or record contracts. People both sincere and parody would strut their stuff on a stage with “celebrities” in a small panel ready to rate them on a ten-point scale … or hit a big gong behind them to end their act prematurely. My favorite episode of all time, perhaps of all my television watching experiences, was one where every contestant sang Feelings, a hit song in the mid-1970s. By the time the fifth rendition was underway, doing one the thing that gave meaning to “rotflmao“.
Like many people, I was impressionable enough to believe there was a real chance of winning the $516.32 check Chuck Barris gave to the grand champion (if any contestants survived the gong), but still naive enough to not have a clue what the Popsicle Twins were doing on stage except really enjoying their desserts. That was the final straw that got the show cancelled. There was also an entire backstory involving the CIA that now make the whole thing look like an Andy Kaufman act. On so many levels, that show never “jumped” … probably because there was no way to sink any lower than the original premise. If I were in Telecom instead of Informatics, I’d probably do my dissertation on The Gong Show.
There are two communities that have formed around these related concepts. TGS was a cult show right from the start, disguised as a pop hit. The term cult is used pretty loosely when talking about media (more “culture” than blind devotion to destructive practice), but it is an appropriate metaphor when considering the loyalty of those sharing an experience. There are some academic leads to investigate at some point, but for now it suffices to say that a strongly bonded community formed around TGS. A similar meta-community formed around JumpTheShark.com, strong enough to attract a million-dollar investment by a media guide. The former is about devotion to a tacky show; the latter is the conduit for that and similar communities to share devotion to a specific phenomenon.
The dynamics of community construction and momentum can be found in these cult media experiences. One of my doctoral goals is to build on some previous work by trying to break down community into agents, change forces, and environmental properties.
