{{:prelude-horizon-numbers.jpg|}}

====== What's Behind All the Simultaneous ‘Prelude’ Tweets? ======
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//**‘Star Trek–Horizon’ viewership rapidly gains on ‘Prelude’**//

<wrap lo>//See also: [[horizon-matters|Why Star Trek–Horizon’s Success Matters]]//</wrap>

<WRAP>
//**__ __**// <wrap lo>**By [[user>cpedraza|Carlos Pedraza]]**</wrap>
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[{{ ::dummy-accounts.jpg?nolink&300|**REPEAT TWEETS** Multiple Twitter accounts posted the [[https://twitter.com/oaklandtwitti/status/762515407681060864|same tweet]] at the same time, urging readers to watch //Prelude to Axanar//. How come?}}]

===== Targeted Tweets =====

Suddenly on the evening of August 7, 2016, dozens of seemingly unrelated Twitter accounts all spouted the exact [[twit>StarWarsnews1/status/762515738825547776|same tweet]] pointing people to //Prelude to Axanar// on YouTube.

The accounts were clearly targeted with an odd geographical emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area and the South and, of course, genre accounts like [[twit>StarWarsNews1|@StarWarsNews1]].

The **AxaMonitor** twitter account noted all the tweets, focusing on two examples. Both accounts promptly blocked [[twit>AxaMonitor|@AxaMonitor]]. Simultaneously.

The appearance of the same tweet across dozens of accounts suggests a coordinated campaign, probably [[http://www.thenetworkniche.com/get-paid-to-tweet/|paid for]].

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<wrap em>**UPDATE**</wrap> August 10, 2016 — Axanar [[#axanar denial|denies]] buying tweets.
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==== Why Buy Tweets? ====

But why buy tweets in the first place? And why now, more than two years after //Prelude to Axanar// was released? The Twitter account [[twit>TrekSentry47/status/762723201264877568|@TrekSentry47]] pointed out //Star Trek–Horizon// has racked up — in only five months — nearly the same number of views as //Prelude//, which took two years to get its views. And //Horizon// is rapidly closing in.

===== ‘The Most Successful Trek Fan Film’ =====

Those numbers may present a challenge to what, in July 2016, //Axanar// director Robert Meyer Burnett claimed on Twitter: "By any metric, //Prelude to Axanar// is still the most successful Trek fan film,"(([[twit>burnettrm/status/751604413811134469|Robert Meyer Burnett tweet]], 7/8/16.)) apparently based on the 2.5 million views since its premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014.
==== New Leader on the Horizon ====

<wrap lo>//See also: [[tommy_kraft|Axanar, Crowdfunding Behind New CBS Moves Against Fan Films, Says 'Horizon' Creator]]// and //[[kraft_experience|Horizon Creator: Axanar 'Not Wholly Innocent']]//</wrap>

[{{ :horizon-sequel.jpg?350|**USS DISCOVERY** The Discovery was the starship featured in //Star Trek–Horizon// and its aborted sequel, //Federation Rising//, the first casualty of the Axanar lawsuit.}}]

However, //Prelude//'s claim "by any metric" as most successful fan film may change in less than a month if //Horizon//'s monthly viewership holds up. //Horizon//'s views are currently 2.3 million, but it has an average monthly viewership rate of 467,942, compared to //Prelude//'s 104,630.

=== Axanar Denial ===

So is someone trying to encourage more people to view //Prelude//? Contacted by **AxaMonitor**, Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden said no:

> I'm not aware of a Twitter ad buy to promote the //Prelude to Axanar// YouTube page. I know that when the crowdfunding campaigns were running in 2014 and 2015, we advertised on Facebook to drive people to the [Kickstarter] and [Indiegogo] pages, but I'm not aware of any recent marketing-type initiatives to drive people to [//Prelude//'s] YouTube page.((Email from Mike Bawden to AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza, 8/8/16.))

In a follow-up statement two days later, Bawden said:

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<wrap lo><wrap em>UPDATE</wrap> Just before 2 pm PDT, August 23, 2016, //Star Trek–Horizon// overtook //Prelude to Axanar//. //Horizon// had logged 2,565,757 views, compared to //Prelude// at 2,564,967.</wrap>
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> I spoke to Alec about this yesterday and he confirmed that Axanar Productions has not made any Twitter ad buys — no ad buys of any sort since the crowdfunding campaigns, actually.((Email from Mike Bawden to AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza, 8/10/16.))

==== ‘Horizon’ and ‘Prelude’ ====

<wrap lo>//See also: [[axanar-accusation|Axanar Accuses Horizon of Buying Views]]//</wrap>

The feature-length //Star Trek–Horizon// was produced for under $50,000, while the 22-minute //Prelude// [[annual_report|cost]] more than $120,000. //Horizon//'s planned sequel, //Federation Rising//, became the [[federation_falling|first fan film casualty]] of the Axanar [[copyright infringement]] [[lawsuit]]. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}}

Both //Star Trek–Horizon// and //Prelude to Axanar// are available on YouTube:

{{youtube>l94v4YOqxOc?medium|Star Trek – Horizon}} \\ {{youtube>1W1_8IV8uhA?medium|Prelude to Axanar}}

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**Keywords** {{tag>fan_films}}