OK, maybe One Direction didn’t literally invent the internet, but they certainly played a major role in what it’s like today.
Listen: The Slate Culture podcast explores how One Direction created the internet as we know it
The Slate Culture podcast sees writer Kaitlyn Tiffany join hosts Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher as they dive into her new book Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It.
It’s commonplace now to head to Twitter and scroll through the various tweets of fans professing their love for a band or an artist. While it may be hard to remember a time when that wasn’t the case, it wasn’t that long ago. As Tiffany explains, One Direction helped set the standard for how artists communicate with their fans online.
“One Direction fans had this relationship to the band where they felt very sincerely that they were the ones that had selected One Direction and made them famous because they lost the X Factor,” she said. “The mantra of the fandom became ‘they lost the X Factor and won the world.’ Fans just kind of decided to take over Twitter and promote them all the time.”
Listen to music from One Direction and more on Audacy’s Boy Band Nation
One of the strategies that helped One Direction explode in popularity was their ability to communicate directly with fans. “They were really good at that behind the scenes chit-chat with fans in a time where not that many celebrities had started experimenting with that,” Tiffany explained.
“The timing was so perfect of this band materializing right when teenagers were signing up for Twitter [and] Tumblr was reaching its peak of cultural relevance.”
Listen to Harry Styles Radio, now on Audacy
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While you’re at it, be sure to check Audacy’s brand new stations dedicated to the music from One Direction members. Listen to Harry Styles Radio, Niall Horan Radio, Louis Tomlinson Radio, Liam Payne Radio, and Zayn Radio today!
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