Nerd Fighters is a term used to describe avid followers of the brother-duo John and Hank Green. Omnictionary defines Nerd Fighter as: “a person who is proud to be nerdy and intelligent, and who fights to decrease WorldSuck. Nerdfighters are not composed of cells and tissue, but instead made entirely of awesome…Nerdfighters are diverse in their hobbies, which can range from writing Nerdfighter songs to playing D&D. Nerdfighters have also been described as someone who is ‘Outgoing, intelligent and awesome enough to accept nerd as a compliment.’”
John is a young adult author who wrote An Abundance of Katherines, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. Hank is a singer-songwriter and the founder of the largest environmental technology blog. The brothers began communicating via weekly vlogs in 2007. Their vlogs can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers. Each of the vlogs has over 45,000 views.
They often perform together. I saw them perform at a book signing for Paper Towns in Boston, MA in 2008 and I wanted to learn more about this particular group of people. In order to do so, I went on the Nerd Fighter ning site and made some new friends. I found out about their manifesto, their reasons for being Nerd Fighters and so much more. I also spent time looking at the vlogs, blogs, video responses, posts and connected websites in order to gain a better idea of what makes these fans tick. The following is what I discovered.
In 2006 on one of his famous vlogs, John Green mentioned a video game called “Nerd Fighters” and spends the rest of the vlog discussing what a “nerd fighter” might look like.
The vlog in which "Nerd Fighters" is mentioned:
In this original video, a NF is described as a nerd who is fighting against “popular people” with calculators and trombones, etc. After this video was published, followers of the “brotherhood 2.0” (as the Green siblings call themselves) began self-titling themselves Nerd Fighters. According to their Ning (nerdfighters.ning.com) created by Hank Green, the site is “a place where nerds gather and play to increase awesome and decrease suck. What more is there?” The Ning site is the main place for NFs to communicate with one another, however there is also a Nerd Fighter Gazette (http://nfgazette.info/news.php), over 80 Facebook groups from all over the world (+ a fan page), a Twitter account, a LiveJournal, and a fanpop page (http://www.fanpop.com/spots/nerdfighters). The following is the transcript of an online interview I conducted on the Ning site with three different Nerd Fighters in a chat room. In an effort to respect their privacy I will be referring to them as NF 1, 2 and 3. I have also left the punctuation and spelling exactly as it was typed during the interview.
SR: How did you become a NF?
NF 1: Got into it with the books and watching the VLOGs
NF 2: Well to be honest with you and only a select few know this I first got introduced to nerdfighters when i was a troll on youtube. I trolled a couple vids and got hooked. It was mostly hank and his envrionmental green stuff that got really interested. and the whole internet culture too
NF 3: I am a NF because I am seeping with Awesome. Sheer Awesome radiates from my very skin.
SR: Why are you called Nerd Fighters?
NF 1: I thought it was because we're nerds and we fight for what's right.
NF 2: it's from a couple vids they made the first year. orginally john saw a video game named nerdfighters and then it evolved from there
SR: What is your favorite part about being a NF?
NF 1: connectedness.
NF 2: togetherness.
NF 3: Uh. . .the fact that we accept everybody, and that you don't have to like or dislike anything to be a Nerdfighter
SR: If you don’t mind my asking how old are you? Or how old do you think most NFs are?
NF 2: most people on the ning are 13-25
SR: How are NFs different from other groups you are a part of?
NF 1: I think their wide varitey in backgrounds and talents bring something special that other groups miss that are very homogenous.
NF 2: Nerdfighters differ in that they are very organized and motivated.
SR: Where are you from?
NF 2: BC, Canada
NF 3: Illinois, US
SR: Are you male or female?
NF 1: Male
NF 2: female
NF 3: Female
SR: Do you have any NF friends offline?
NF 1: no nf irl
NF 2: I don't have any IRL NF friends but have made some really good ones that i keep in contact through youtube, skype, and FB too beyond the ning
SR: Do you prefer John or Hank or do you like them equally?
NF 1: Johns writing is intriguing and captivating, while his brother completes the circle by being wildly entertaining
NF 3: John's writing is awesome, but Hank's music is inspiring
SR: What are some terms that you use that are specific to NFs?
NF 1: N.I.T.
Nerdfighter in training
NF 1: dftba
NF 2: DFTBA
NF 3: DFTBA
Don’t forget to be awesome
And jokes. like you would say something is “jokes”
SR: I noticed that you all write using correct punctuation and grammar rather than using numbers, acronyms or shortened words, is this for a specific reason?
NF 1: We are an oasis of correct grammar in a desert of bad punctuation.
NF 3: Because we speak properly
SR: NF 2, I noticed you have the title “ningmaster” after your user name. What does this mean?
NF 2: each ningmaster has a specific part of the site they are entrusted to work on, mine is the forums along with NF 4.
SR: How did you get that job?
NF 2: Ningmasters are appointed every 3 months. I applied and got choosen
NF 5 is the head ningmaster that john and hank choose and he chooses us underling ningmasters.
SR: What part of the blog are you in charge of?
NF 2: whats posted in the forums mainly, make sure there's nothing inapproritate posted or spam
From the ethnography it appears as though this group is a very coherent whole made up of young adults who are fans of the “brotherhood 2.0” and do not play favorites. The love that they can be anything and no one judges them. Most of them only interact with other NFs online and appear to spend a good amount of time watching vlogs, reading blogs and chatting with other NFs online. They are energized by the books and songs created by the brothers, but they are more drawn to the collective energy of the NFs and the shared ideals. Some of them haven’t even read the texts, but still enjoy online discussions with other NFs about the ways they plan to change the world.
John’s Blog: http://www.sparksflyup.com/
Hank’s Blog: http://www.ecogeek.org
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