Inkpop was supposed to crowdsource the next big thing in young-adult fiction. It failed, but along the way created something greater.

How Inkpop went bust and inspired a community of would-be writers

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Kira Deshler is a former assistant newsletter editor at the Daily Dot. Kira received a Master&#8217;s in Media Studies from UT Austin and has previously written for sites like Slash Film and Looper. She runs her own Substack newsletter, Paging Dr. Lesbian, and is a member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.

Kira Deshler

Gwenpool, Gwen Stacy mashup has Marvel fans rolling their eyes

Neil Gaiman fans reevaluate identity, fandom following harrowing exposé

Comic fans sound off about Superman’s new look in upcoming film

‘Arcane’s’ CaitVi relationship has fans cheering for more

The band Twenty One Pilots surrounded by fan art. There is text in a Daily Dot newsletter web_crawlr font that says 'Decoding Fandom' in the bottom right corner.

For Twenty One Pilots fans, fan art is a means of expression, community-building

Katy Perry on helicopter holding light against close up of her. There is text that says Decoding Fandom in the bottom left corner.

The Katy Perry fandom can’t save her from flopping

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Anna is a freelance writer with far too much time on her hands. When she&#8217;s not writing about memes and internet slang, she can be found running TTRPGs online.

Anna Good

Memes

The internet has turned Pokémon Pokopia into a meme playground

Viral Politics

Melania Trump called herself a visionary during a speech. The internet had other thoughts

Lindsey is a Seattle area writer interested in all things society, including internet culture, politics, and mental health. Outside of the Daily Dot, her work can be found in publications such as The Mary Sue, Truthout, and YES! Magazine.

Lindsey Weedston

Entertainment

“My credit card is scared”: AMC reveals the “Devil Wears Prada 2” popcorn bucket. It’s a hit

Susan is a freelance writer following humanity one UGC at a time.

Susan LaMarca

Target storefront in Norwalk, CT in 2025. Tweet text overlay reads, "the way this is getting so bad it’s becoming physical… the removal of kids toy section in target and the number of brands that now market to nostalgia instead of children."

“Depressing”: Target plans to cut toys from stores, and shoppers say it’s the final nail in the coffin

“No one asked for this”: Hillary Clinton drops “cows come home” merch line from Epstein hearing and it’s skeeving people out

Rachel Kiley is a writer who sometimes writes things and sometimes is based in L.A., but is definitely always on Twitter @rachelkiley.

Rachel Kiley

Katy Perry faces backlash over “tone deaf” response to fan in financial distress