Phandom Aus/NZ History | Cutiejea's Final Message

Hi guys,

As you know, Phandom Aus/NZ is officially 1 Year old!!!! So much has happened over the past year that I can’t comprehend and think that it’s all real or just a dream.

I can’t believe we’ve reached 1000+ followers after doing this and every damn event that was ever created… it was thanks to all your support and love and we plan to do more in the future.

You may be asking, what started this mess?

Well, this thing started when I was studying for my HSC exams last year. TABINOF was close to being shipped and word on tumblr and twitter that fans with connections to the publishing company got the books early. UpdatedPhan has been busy finding info on where fans can get copies but none relate to where Australian fans could get it.

You see, Australia didn't have much of an update account or a street team so most of the time, we're on our own. So while I was studying, I was looking at QBD and I found this:

This is QBD when they announced that TABINOF will be on sale on OCTOBER 1 2015... 7 DAYS EARLIER!!! I posted this on tumblr and it wasn't 'lit' but it got attention very quickly.

Australian fans got really excited that they planned to go to QBD on the day just to be the first to get it.

I also posted a meme which is buried somewhere in my tumblr about us 'having a life' since we won't get our copies till the end of the month which was true for 50% of the people who preordered.

I knew what I did had potential so I created a phan account in twitter called 'Phandom Australia' where it's main goal was to serve Australian Phandom members. But I discovered that NZ has the same experience with Australia and may also need help so I've decided to cater for them as well.

And that, Phandom Aus/NZ became the official name.

The first admins were my friends Madison (@wardmadison9) and Isabelle (@earloabs) where I asked them through Facebook if they want to be involved and both agreed. But I knew i needed more people so I announced anyone who wants to be an admin will have to give an application just to verify if they're human.

I accepted them, no questions asked.

Why, cuz after tweeting about how Sydney Phandom members can get TABINOF, I got a small rain of questions about other states, NZ access and I knew that I will be needing some help.

I knew this account will be very useful, it has a purpose and it can last in the long run.

Few months passed and we slowly grew in followers. It was a small community but it was manageable and it was ok. We were able to bant with some of you and it was fun. We were able to express our feelings and opinions and it was ok.

I ever remembered how shook I was when UpdatedPhan acknowledge our existence since we posted that there is another audiobook preview in iTunes.

Then came the first Phandom Meet Up in April 2016. Just saying, I wasn't expecting 10 people to come (even if half of them only came for Evan). But it was a meet up that I will never forget since we all have fun and it connected our small community in some way. I was happy to see these people IRL and I was glad this meet up happened since I was getting jealous with the UK and USA phandom having multiple meet ups and having phandom members in their school while I'm literally the only phandom member in my high school, neighbourhood even.

Now I know I'm no longer alone.

Then we all know abut the leaks in June and this is when changed everything. People came flooding in since we hold a majority of the information. We are the GO TO account since it was recognisable. Followers came flooding in and people seem to rely on us. At first, i thought ‘this was good! more friends, more opportunities… more bants'. And I am grateful. Then we soon were able to make 3 hashtags trend (#RowPals, #WelcomeToAustraliaDanAndPhil, #HeyMateYouInAustralia).

Then we all know about the drama and the 'angry mob' mentality that occurred and that was when I broke down I will not get more into that but I just learned that this account is getting bigger and there are now 'precautions' when posting stuff outside of dan and phil and probably relating to dan and phil.

The reason why I retired is because I knew that I can't keep running twitter forever. I need to work more on tumblr and this website as they are also our other form of communication. At the same time, I have university to worry about. So I asked for help and Marcus was willing to pitch in (along with 2 others) .

There were admins that come and go and drama that occurred (mostly involving me) that I needed to retire early due to personal reasons. I may regret it a bit but it can help since I can focus more on university.

---

But even if my service has to come to an end, I'm glad we are able to celebrate 1 year of existing. The people who I really want to thank is you guys. After all the drama and the weird and fun times we had, I’m glad you guys found us and we were able to create a community together.

From here on, I’m less likely to be online unless it’s quiet or if a new d&p video is uploaded and no one retweets it. I’m also gonna monitor the meet up committees since someone needs to take care of these people who will help arrange safe meet ups.

Also, I will also need the help of the account since it can be reliable as a source for my university work… Yeah.. full disclosure. Who knew this account can help me with uni stuff.

But anywho.

I now leave twitter to Sora and the other admins to manage the twitter account while I assist on our other social medias.

Sora, I now trust you with the power. Use it wisely. You also call 90% of the shots.

Marcus, good luck living on my legacy by being the NSW Admin. It’s gonna be hard since most of our followers are from NSW (last time i checked).

It was a pleasure serving you for a year and I will be glad to see you via Tumblr and our makeshift website.

Thank you all so much for being part of our 1 year celebration. It has been a blast. Now... we wait for Thursday As not only we officially turn one on that day, tatinof trailers come out. The party has come to an end, Thank you... for 1 year of being a phan account. A year of ships, drama, tears, laughs, fun, memes and others that I'm forgetting.

This has been a beautiful end for 1 year of existing. I shall take my final bow... as I will less likely be on twitter.

From

Cutiejea - the one who started this beautiful mess

PS: I really do hope you will allow me to use the account when it comes to my uni work. I'm not joking, I really do rely on the stuff that happens when it comes to homework since I'm doing media studies

#personal #message #1year #2016