We reached the endgame, but we were blindsided at this critical stage when the real master of puppets was revealed: William Bell! Not just a voice – not a CGI rendition – not a stand-in cloaked by shadows: The real Leonard Nimoy. David Robert Jones was revealed to be merely another player on the board, and Bell made it clear he was willing to sacrifice any important piece to achieve his vision.

Olivia showed her own further significance in the struggle, as she used her powers to manipulate Peter’s broken body to fight Jones, much like a chess piece. Walter and Astrid were active players, but will Astrid be a sacrificed pawn?

The season four finale offers closure to yet another chapter. It seems like only a short time ago that fans were asking “Where is Peter Bishop?” The promotional video has only increased the excitement for what will prove to be yet another fantastic, heart-stopping finale. This summer is going to be another long one…

I’m beyond grateful that we’ll have thirteen more episodes with these characters, and I look forward to seeing what the next chapter in this epic tale has in store. Whatever happens with the finale, let’s have faith that the showrunners have a direction in mind, and won’t let us down.

There is a brave, new world of change in the television industry. Fringe fans have been some of the most enthusiastic in embracing social media to build a vocal community, one that has shown how attentive and invested it is in the show. Cortexifans have a lot to be proud of.

“I think it is absolutely fair to say that without the support of the fans and social media, there would be no season 5.” – Jeff Pinkner

Since January 13, Fringe fans have gathered in force, using Twitter, Getglue, Facebook, Google Plus and Tumblr to share our love for the show.  This was a measurable, meaningful way to demonstrate that affection to FOX, Warner Brothers, and the show’s financial supporters.

Yes, we have our fifth season, but let’s raise our collective voices one more time this season – not out of a desire to save the loved – but to celebrate the continuation of that love.

This week’s hashtag is:

#BuildABetterWorld

Out of adversity, comes strength. 

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 #BuildABetterWorld (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 William Bell, or on the fate of Olivia. 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, John Noble, and William Bell! 

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 the second phase of the social media plan is equally important.

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

The Future

Fringenuity will have things in store throughout the summer. There is something really cool coming up very soon.  No matter what FOX decides to do with hashtags for season five, we fully intend to continue organizing fan events for the fifth season.

I am preparing a book about the Fringe fandom and our social media efforts.

Also, if you are not aware, there is a Vancouver fan get-together planned in August: The Fringe Event.