1989 Secret Sessions: Hanging With Taylor
Swift actively seeks out real, down-to-earth encounters with fans in order to spend time with them, which establishes the ‘friendship’ between herself and her fans. The 1989 Secret Sessions are a perfect example. As Swift explains in an interview with Barbara Walters in ABC news, she decided to play her entire 1989 album before it came out to her fans at her house, in the living room, and hang out with them. Inviting fans to her own house shows not only bravery in terms of security and privacy concerns, considering her superstar status; but it also demonstrates her willingness to actually come in contact with her fans and treat them like actual friends. Her emphasis on making the events "secret," i.e. selecting specific fans and prohibiting them from spreading the word, also contributes to a sense of exclusivity, which draw the fans even closer to Swift on a personal level.
The fact that she carves out hours of her time out of her superstar schedule to connect with fans tells them that she really cares. In other words, she is not merely on her phone writing a tweet about how much she loves her fans (we’ll get to that later). To a true fan, actual time spent with one's favorite superstar or idol means so much more than a her tweeting about one, even though that would already be immensely satisfying. Swift understands that and she probably really enjoys meeting her fans as well. This is an important statement on establishing a connection between the star and her friends: despite the prominence of social media as a platform that connects stars and fans, Swift values face-to-face interactions. Her fans have a real right to say that they ‘hung out’ with Taylor Swift. Swift is now their favorite friend, not just star.
