OFFICIALLY PICKED UP FOR 13 EPISODES! Our team thanks FOX/WB and our INCREDIBLE fans for their support. JHW/JP/AG youtu.be/gvWqOZL8JXA

— JOEL WYMAN (@JWFRINGE) April 26, 2012

We did it, Cortexifans! Each and every one of us made a difference!

It feels incredible typing “season” finale. There will be a much larger victory/thank you everyone post from Fringenuity soon, but for now, I have to share my personal joy.

This renewal is the result of love and dedication from many different people. Like a strong strand of DNA, various little things had to line up and zip together in order to make the 13 episode pick-up a reality.  Red Vines did not save Fringe. Love expressed in a very vocal, positive and quantifiable manner, played a large part.

Hearts and Imaginations: You all showed up for a united social media campaign and made it a tremendous success. So much so, that it wouldn’t surprise me if Fringe fan efforts are the topic of case studies for social television marketing. (I will be writing a book this summer. Details soon.) Fringe fans crossed the line for the love of a special, epic story.  We proved that all it takes to change the world is thought and the right actions.  Because of everyone’s efforts – each tweet, graphic, video, conversation, check-in, and each DVD loaned to new viewers – our ongoing fan love story is not a tragedy, but one with a happy ending. Not very many science-fiction genre shows have this opportunity. Fringe will go out not with a whimper, but with a bang.

FOX and Warner Brothers: Let’s just say you have some good karma now. Supporting our hashtags was one of the best ways to reach out to the audience and let us know you care. Many of us know that this was not a decision made only on financial grounds. We know you love Fringe, and are very grateful that you both tirelessly negotiated a way to make it work for everyone.  Have you ever had your mail rooms flooded with love letters from loyal fans? Your perseverance in making this choice will reward your companies in both tangible and immeasurable ways for many years to come.

Folks in the media that believed in the show and fans: You know who you are. Tirelessly writing amazing reviews about the show’s intricacies – Trying to convince people to give it a shot – Supporting the hashtag fan efforts – You all are unsung heroes.

As excited as we all are for SEASON FIVE, there is still a “small” matter in the here-and-now… This Friday, it’s time for part one of the season finale, Brave New World.  

But this isn’t Huxley’s sci-fi nightmare vision of a world ruled purely through the advancement of science, though David Robert Jones may have taken notes. Jones’ masterplan is to use science to become like Shiva or his own version of Oppenheimer.  The chess board has been set, and like any grand strategist, he has a countermove to the closing of the bridge between universes. Will he take the Fringe team by surprise?

Walter will also be assisting on a case that will make him face “his painful past.” Plus we may have a look at the full extent of Olivia’s powers.

This week’s hashtag is:

#DarkestBeforeDawn

Things are going to be rough for our characters, but there is always hope.

“Even when it’s the darkest, you can step into the light.”

“This is my favorite time of day. The sunrise, when the world is full of promise.” – Olivia

 TWITTER EVENT PROTOCOL

1) Don’t use #DarkestBeforeDawn before the designated time: 1 HOUR before Fringe airs.

The event will take place 1 hour before Fringe airs – 8pm EST. As these events become larger, we are gaining more new Fringies in the effort. Gently remind others that use the tag before the event to wait until the right time, and tell them that using the tag too much beforehand will lessen trending impact. This happened when Fringe fans tried to trend #WhereIsPeterBishop for the season four premiere. The # had been used all summer long, was not anything new on the Twitter radar, so it did not trend. Trending happens with terms that are relatively new, and many people tweet about them at the same time. Terms break out onto the scene, but trending becomes more difficult the more they are used. Be nice! We want everyone to feel welcome.

2) One # term per Tweet. Use only #DarkestBeforeDawn (What Are Hashtags?)

3) Lots of people tweeting matters more than the number of tweets.

Tell everyone Fringie about the event. There is strength in numbers – remember that the more unique tweeters we have, the more likely we are to trend, and for a longer duration of time. Send your tweets out fast – but remember to pace yourself. You want to avoid “Twitter Jail.” We know we can hit worldwide trending now, so sustained tweeting matters. Trending can be a distraction, but we need you to keep those wonderful tweets coming. You may have also noticed that the # will drop off the charts after a while, only to trend again when Fringe airs. This is due to other viewers joining in by tweeting the hashtag on the bottom of the screen.

4) Those with lots of followers help out a lot!

Alternate accounts with few followers do not have as much “influence” towards trending. But tweets from accounts like @JWFringe, @FringeOnFox and @VancityJax make a big impact. Let’s try to build our Fringe fan follower networks. One easy way is to follow people on fan Twitter lists. Here is my Cortexifan list. Follow some Fringies! Another way is to follow some folks on Twitter “Follow Fridays.” You may have seen tweets that are tagged #FF – followed by a bunch of twitter names. This is because they are recommended people to follow.

5) We want to pique the interest of non-Fringe fans.

This is the key to our trending duration success. It gives a chance to get our message about Fringe out to another audience. Try to construct a list of thoughtful and informative tweets before the event. These can be copied and pasted for easy tweets. Use some witty Fringe sayings – link some of the official promo videos – speculate about the plans of David Robert Jones. Cool tweets are more likely to earn re-tweets, and this immensely helps trending.

6) We can discuss aspects of the show in our tweets.

TRY to include the word FRINGE (with no #) in your tweet if possible. Talk about the characters and the actors.  Maybe use the episode title. We’ve recently been able to trend Fringe, Broyles and John Noble!

7) Private accounts must have their locked status removed, as the tweets from locked accounts do not count toward the trend tally.

8) Retweets are the easiest way to help out the trending effort. Just search for the hashtag, and retweet the ones that are interesting to you. If you know how to use a Twitter application suite like TweetDeck or HootSuite, this is made even easier.

9) Remember – once again – the second phase of the social media plan is equally important.

Using @Getglue to promote Fringe and the show’s advertisers.

We are asking that Fringe fans to make their first tweet of the night a thank you to sponsor, @NissanLeaf.