What’s being talked about online is changing the way the world communicates and gives a voice to the little people.
Last night I had an Oscar party with my boyfriend and my parents. As I hadn’t really seen most of the movies, it was really an excuse to get together. A few minutes into the show we were all moaning about how HORRIBLE it was.
Were we the only ones that thought the show was bombing?
I whipped out my laptop and pulled up Twitter. Sure enough, I found my tribe of Oscar-bashers.
Their comments were certainly funnier than the show. @doktamoox tweeted “That might be the worst opening monologue in oscar history. Letterman’s “Oprah Uma” routine was comedy gold by comparison.” I laughed, remembering how often I had quoted that, and I quickly opened a new window and found the classic Letterman clip on YouTube.
Were the producers listening?
When Oprah appeared I had hoped they were, but alas, no Uma. I watched the clip one more time and laughed, ignoring the live broadcast and some of the expensive ads that companies had paid a lot of money for.
Maybe the producers did read the tweet: “BREAKING: Buster Olney reports that Billy Crystal is warming up in the Oscars bullpen.” The live audience and Twitter rejoiced when the classic host came along and [finally] provided some comic relief. (BTW, would you ever have thought that “Billy Crystal” would be trending on Twitter?)
Note to the producers: Social Media could have saved the show.
Who wouldn’t have loved to see Antoine Dodson while they auto-tuned popular movies or Charlie Schmidt’s Keyboard Cat play off the speeches that ran too long, or this clip of Colin Firth dancing, as he said he was about to do backstage. Who needs hosts, we want viral social media!
In all seriousness, here are 3 reasons this should matter to you:
1. Real-time, global communication is powerful (and fun).
One of my friends complained that her Facebook feed was clogged with Oscar talk. I pointed out that it’s SOCIAL media… people post what is on their minds. It’s social conversation, which is only natural during big events. It brings a new level of fun to being at home watching TV. If you don’t like it, you can also use the LIST features of Facebook to create a targeted list of people that will be filtered the way you like or ignore the real-time feed or you can choose to just not log on during that time…but the fact that we are now connected in this way is a power we should embrace. Connection through technology can matter at a deep level, just as my AOL Instant Messenger connected me to a small list of contacts on 9/11.
Never before have humans been able to globally and instantly connect in-real time.
2. It’s about shared experience with like-minded strangers.
I wasn’t just sitting with my family in our living room, I was interacting with people I most likely will never meet in real life. We formed a tribe through our shared opinions. What if that could start to control the outcome of live TV? Imagine millions of viewers that now have the ability to control broadcasts in real-time like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. Today millions of people jam phone lines and vote for shows, results revealed the next night…why not live TV?
Real-time feedback could change the way a billion dollar industry works.
3. The Academy (or Government) loses power when the little people speak.
Like-minded people who were previously strangers can gather together and start real-time conversations to create change. In this country, celebrities are our the “royalty”. Oscar Night was their party, but with social media, the little people crashed it. Instant communication influences eyeballs, how dollars are spent, and even how governments rule the people. This is the same technology that has fueled domino-effect revolutions in the Middle East.
Suddenly the little people matter, and the ones running the show don’t have much they can do about it.
About Virtuallinda (Linda Schenk)
