In the past few years, cosplay has evolved into something few would have imagined a couple years ago. Before, cosplay was a hobby shrouded in secrecy, and even looked at as the redheaded stepchild of otaku culture. To be a cosplayer was to put up with ridicule by your fellow peers, all while shopping for horrible neon colored party shop wigs, and dare we say it, SEW YOUR OWN COSTUMES.
Today, with commissioners readily available, wig stores aplenty, and more photographers than you can shake a lightstand at, being a cosplayer has never been easier. But this accessibility, along with the rise of social media and Internet Culture, the very definition of being a cosplayer has changed and even been quantified. You're no longer a "true" cosplayer until you have your own Facebook Fan Page, and AT LEAST 1000 likes, or 500 followers on Twitter.
Is this really the new world of cosplay?
Yes, yes it is, and we here at ACParadise are never one to be stuck in the past. In fact, we will fully embrace and elevate these standards to a new level. Thanks to a generous investment by the Sky Finance group, ACParadise can now announce a new project - American Cosplay Idol (ACI)
The purpose of ACI is to help in the formation of a new cosplay group, ACP48. This group will represent the best of the cosplay community, all united under the ACParadise banner.
For full details, click
http://www.acparadise.com/aci/