Katie Newlin
English 425- Writing for New
Media
Professor Mark Mabrito
September 3, 2013
A knowledge community is a group of people
who share an interest. These people come
together to share information and ideas and
keep up with news and events.
‘Potterhead’ is the term used to refer to a
Harry Potter fan. The seven books published by
JK Rowling have become a huge success
leading not only to a large, devoted fanbase
but also to eight movies, a theme park, and
video games.
There are countless websites devoted to the
Harry Potter series and the characters Jo has
created. Potterheads are one of the biggest
‘fandoms’ around today and the information
you can find on the series is seemingly endless.
One of the things that Potterheads tend to take
very seriously is the Sorting. There are four houses
in the Harry Potter world and fans often take their
sorting and their house very seriously.
You might belong in
Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at
heart,
Their daring, nerve, and
chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in
Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and
loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are
true
And unafraid of toil;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real
friends,
Those cunning folks use
any means
To achieve their ends.
Or yet in wise old
Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and
learning,
Will always find their kind;
One of the most
exciting places to find
the Harry Potter
community is on
Pottermore.com. This is
an interactive website
that allows fans to
share their stories
about the story that
started it all.
Hear what author JK
Rowling has to say
about the site here.
There are a seemingly endless number of websites where the Harry
Potter knowledge community can be found.
There are official
websites:
 J.K. Rowling Official
Site
 Scholastic
 Warner Bros.
As wells as unofficial
sites:
 HP Companion
 Ultimate Harry Potter
 Potter Talk
 MuggleNet
 The Leaky Cauldron
 Snitchseeker
Forums are an important part of what makes
Potterheads a knowledge community. This is
one of the main places discussion and
information exchange take place.
There are numerous social media
accounts/groups where Harry Potter can be
found.
You can find many Harry Potter fans dressed up
as their favorite character at conventions like
Comic Con and Dragon Con.
Harry Potter has such a large fan base that he
now has it’s own convention. As such, Leaky
Con is probably one of the most popular
conventions among Harry Potter fans.
There are numerous other kinds of online
resources for Potterheads to utilize.
You can play RPGs (role-play games), you can
check out podcasts, you can play games, and
take quizzes- the possibilities are endless.
It can be difficult in knowledge communities to know if
the information you are being given is fact- or canon,
as it’s called- or someone’s made up opinion.
The two most popular ‘fact-checkers’ are the HP
Lexicon and the HP Wiki. Pottermore has also become a
place where canon information can be found as it
expands and grows. There are numerous other online
encyclopedias that people use.
Harry Potter is arguably one of the most popular,
well-known franchises in the world today.
With 7 books, 8 movies, 8 video games, a theme
park, and loads of merchandise available for
retail, Harry Potter has gone from an idea that JK
Rowling came up with on the train to a worldwide
phenomenon.
No one thought when that first book, Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s
Stone here in the US) came out it would
become so big.
The books were made into 8 movies with the
last book split in two.
Harry Potter is so well-known and has such a large fan base that it is
a pretty common practice to find references to it in television
shows. Some such shows are Doctor Who, Supernatural, Buffy, the
Simpsons, House, and Lost.
Competitors for the series are probably other book
series such as Twilight, Percy Jackson and the
Olympians, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the
like.






ž Very Potter Musical- the first of three parody musicals
A
performed by Team Starkid, a theater group from Michigan State
žWizard Rock (Wrock)- a genre created in the early 2000’s
žThe HPA- a nonprofit that educates people on today’s social
issues using the Harry Potter books
žThe Harry Potter Shop- the official retailer of Harry Potter
merchandise
žThe Wizarding World of Harry Potter- the official theme park
located in Universal Studios in Florida
žWB Studio Tour- visit the actual set used in the making of the
Harry Potter films
The Harry Potter community aims to find more
people who enjoy Harry Potter and to spread
their love of the boy with the lightning scar.