In the world of fan clubs, it seems that even the best of us on Hubpages, has a long way to go in terms of building a fan base. That's only if you compare the best of our best, official fan tallies -- with the largest fan club in the world, which supposedly has over eight hundred thousand members (Cassiopeia -- the fan club of TVXQ-- an Korean boy band quintet). Our hubber with the most fans is about seven hundred and ninety-eight thousand behind. That comparison brought me to reflecting upon what having a fan, and a fan club, means in terms of writing.

As often, with me, one questioning thought leads to another, so my mind was off on a race to figure out what responsibilities we have as fans, and what the object of affection of a fan really entails and means to our own fan clubs.

This all goes hand-in-hand with What We Owe Our Readers-- When I started writing on hubpages nearly a year ago, the idea that I would have a fan club was very foreign to me. Let's just say I had my social doubts, as social butterfly I am not.

Early on though, I recognized that, just like in the real world to have a friend you must first be a good friend -- the same thing applies to fans. Other real world lessons also apply, like the fact that you don't want to be friends with just anyone, you also don't want to be fans of just anyone, or everyone.

In this brave new frontier of online writing, it's sometimes hard to know the social etiquette ins and outs that have few and changing boundaries. The responsibilities of being in a fan club and having a fan club, have a lot of unspoken and unwritten ideas (I hesitate to say rules, simply because just like our hubs vary dramatically in content and quality -- so do our ideas of what's the right thing to do with respect to having fans and being a fan).

Choose carefully both who and what you want to become a fan of:

• Don't be a fan, just to be a fan, in hopes that they will be "your" fan. That's just too shallow and soon others will catch on to your fanning ways. In the end, that will hurt you, and I think be reflected in your score and reputation as an author.
• Consider (but don't let that be your only reason) picking a fan club favorite of others. Although that should never be a sole reason to join someone's fan club, there is merit in becoming a fan of a hub crowd favorite. Study the hub crowd favorite to understand why they have the fan base that they have. Chances are, it's because they write really well and contribute a lot to the hubpage community.
• Be careful of being cheering team of one-- It's nice to be the "first" fan of someone who writes great and shows great potential. After all, we all started out with that first fan. When you choose to be the "first" then you have an obligation to pay close attention to what hubs follow, and if they are of the same caliber. Why? Sometimes someone's first hub is only bait for hidden agendas in the world of affiliate marketing, or a cut and paste work of someone else. What they write over time is far more important than that one hub wonder.
• Be a fan of hubbers who write about your passions and interests --

  What authors write about the very things that make your heart leap, your toes dance, your face smile, and are capable of bringing you to tears? Those are the hubbers who are most likely the ones you want to be a fan of.

• Be a fan of hubbers who share your own internal value system-- Obviously, if you are easily offended by racy innuendos, liberal mindsets, and controversial subjects -- you probably shouldn't be the fan of those who write and publish pictures of such topics. You'll be a lot more satisfied, if you are true to yourself.

I think it all comes down to a little research vs. a whim - Find out as much information about the hubber you want to become a fan of as possible. Read their profile, read more than one of their hubs, look carefully at the topics they chose to write about. Read the comments they make. Read the comments other make on what they write. Become familiar with everything they write, that way you can identify your favorite and least favorite written works.

Don't be afraid to disagree politely and critique any hubs you are exposed to. Disliking some hubs is just as important to being a loyal fan, as liking everything they write. It keeps it real.

To me, becoming somone's fan has a social price tag, in that in a way you are "recommending" their work to others. Very often other hubbers, especially newbies, will follow by joining the same fan clubs, as a person they admire and are fans of. Everyone is jumping on the same ship, that might not be seaworthy in the long run, or perhaps is a ship going to a destination you have no interest in.

I am currently the fan of 960 hubbers and that's a lot of people to keep up with. Fortunately for me, not all of them publish frequently.  Fortunately for me, I went to through the California school system when they taught speed reading all through high school in some grand experiment. 

I want to thank every one of of those hubbers for enriching my life. I may not comment on everything or anything they write. I do however, read a large portion of everything many of them write. If I don't have a relevant comment, a thoughtful comment, or something to add to the topic -- don't ever think that it wasn't read. If I'm your fan, your hubs have at least got a look over and thumbs up from me.

That said, periodically, I cull my fan club lists to primarily eliminate inactive hubbers or no longer appropriate to my interest hubbers. Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes necessary. If something occurs that causes you to want to stop being a fan of someone, don't feel ashamed. Sometimes it's nothing personal, just that what attracted you to a particular hubber isn't reflected in the content of the hubs anymore, or subject matter that they now normally write about.

Here are a few of the many reasons for bowing out of a fan club:

• Your interests have changed
• The hubbers content has changed
• The hubber is no longer active on hubpages (my personal guideline is if they haven't written anything new, or shown a presence on hubpages for more than seven months -- I will remove them from my fan club list to make room for others). That doesn't mean I won't come back to them as a fan, if they start writing again.
• The hubber's score and fan base has plummeted due to poor content, poor writing skills, or lack of content
• You have suspicions that the hubber may be copying and pasting or otherwise plagiarising other people's work
• Your former object of fan affection has become fan club whore (fanning everyone and anyone just to troll for fans for themselves, making it obvious that they never really read anyone's hubs in depth).

So, I'm leaving one large group fan mail applause and standing ovation for the 674 fans currently in my fan club at this very moment. There are too many to list, but I do want to mention that I appreciate each and every one of you.

I know that hubbers come and go and not all of my fan club members are still active. Some of you, I am in complete awe of when it comes to your talent and find it exceedingly sweet that you like what I write too. Some of you I just love to watch grow in your writer skills. All of you make my days joyous.