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When we started Nerd Initiative less than two months ago, we never dreamed that things would happen so fast and explode the way they have.
In that time, we’ve garnered more than 30 creators to the platform in the form of writers, hosts, video producers, artists and much more.
MORE: Feeling Seen: Why Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel Mean The World To Me As An Asian-American
But what really has me floored and in shock are the stories and responses we’ve gotten from founding members on what this community means to them and how they’ve longed for such an open, supportive forum.
So, I wanted to quickly detail exactly what Nerd Initiative is. Sure, we are a site and medium bringing you news, reviews and commentary about pop culture, comics, movies and more.
But really what we are isn’t all about content.
1 – A Safe Space
I protect and cherish this notion more than anything else in our mission and values.
One thing we will never do is allow anyone to be toxic or hateful to another member just because of an opinion about a movie, character or show.
To me, toxicity is when constructive commentary veers off a discussion about a fictional topic and into a personal attack.
Here, we want to allow for all perspectives, no matter who you are, and protect our members at all costs.
Obviously commentary that is racist, homophobic and toxic in nature is not protected.
But if you liked a movie or a show that most fans did not enjoy, that is absolutely your right and we actually want that perspective so we can see a different side!
2 – We Do Things Differently
Another aspect that we really want to get across is we do NOT want to do things like everyone else.
I’ve said this 100 times in the past two months, but my dream is the day when we’ll have five different stories on the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale or on Ms. Marvel, episode 2.
We don’t want to be a one and done type site and instead, we encourage multiple people to do stories on the same topic. Why not?
The chances are multiple creators will have enjoyed projects in different ways and that’s a beautiful thing.
3 – We Believe that Representation Absolutely Matters
We need to learn from each other.
But how can you do that if we aren’t asking questions and listening to what our fellow fans and creators have to say.
That’s why we actively want to hear from those creators from all walks of life and genuinely listen.
We want to grow, evolve and just be better humans.
4 – We Want to Hear YOUR Story
Sure, it’s fun to interview and speak to actors, producers and other “stars,” but to us, the creators are also stars. We want to hear about your journey first and foremost.
How did you get into fandom? What does it mean to you? How has it helped you?
We all have stories and they’re all relatable, inspiring and mean the world to us.
5 – We Are Always Evolving
We just launched an Anime section with plans to turn that into its very own website.
Do I personally know much about Anime? Not at all.
But one of our founding creators does and is passionate about it, and that’s all we need to know.
Now, we are well on our way to launching that content with a handful of excited content creators ready to go!
It surprises even us, yet we couldn’t be excited to continue growing and changing!
