I am only going to get into a few shows, those that I watch, but I know the list is endless.
I am going to start off with the show "The Voice" because it is probably the most relevant as of right now. This show is the reason why I chose to write this blog post.
If you have never seen this show let me give you a little information as to what it is about. The host is Carson Daly. There are four 'coaches' Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee-Lo Green, and Blake Shelton. The first few weeks of the show there were blind auditions where the coaches seat was turned away from the contestants. When a coach liked what they heard they turned around and had a chance of obtaining that contestant for their team. If one coach turned around for that particular person they "got them." If more than one coach turned the contestant would be able to pick whose team they wanted to be on. Each coach had to get eight people on their team.
The next step was to get each team down to four with the battle round. During this round, two contestants from each team would battle it out with a coach selected song and one person would be sent home. Two weeks ago on the show the last four for each team sang a song. Through the different voting methods one was kept based on Americas vote and one was selected by their coach. Last week on the show the final two for each team sang a song and based 50% on Americas vote and 50% of the coaches score, the person with the highest score stayed. This Tuesday, is the final performance night. America will vote and on Wednesday the winner will be announced.
Okay, now that I have told you all about the show, lets get into how they use social media. They have a Twitter account for the show @NBCTheVoice. The hashtag for the show is #TheVoice. Throughout the live shows you can tweet to the twitter handle and the hashtag and some will get displayed across the bottom of the screen in the form of a ticker. Aside from this, contestants will tweet to fans through their own twitter accounts in the lounge area. The Voice has an in show and online correspondent, Alison Haislip, that will read twitter questions, tweeted to @NBCTheVoice, to the contestants and have them answer it. Because The Voice is a live show they are able to do everything in real time which I think is a wonderful thing. Yes, the odds of having your tweet scroll the screen or be read on air is slim the way they engage the viewer is well done.
One last thing about this show and then I will move on to the next. My favorite contestant on the show is Javier Colon (@javstwtr). His coach is Adam Levine or as they say on the show he is on Team Adam. On Tuesday, I am not saying you have to vote for him but it would be a good idea. If you want to hear him sing check out this video:
I do not know how many of you watch "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on a regular basis but Ellen has a whole segment based on Twitter. I may not get to see it everyday a the time it airs but thanks to the DVR I am able to see it whenever I want. The segment she has is called 'Twits and Ask' and it originally started with her Twitter page (@theellenshow) and fans of her show could use a hash tag (which at the moment I can not seem to remember) and some of the questions would be answered. Because her twitter account became so popular and she now has almost seven million followers it has now moved to her website where you can submit a question and video as well as include your Twitter handle. From most of the segments I have seen on 'Twits and Ask' most of the questions answered have been only those who have a Twitter account. Yes, other talk shows do include questions but no one does it to the extent that Ellen does. I do DVR most of the shows such as "Regis & Kelly," "Rachael Ray," "The Nate Berkus Show," and "The View" and these shows do have a Twitter but do not include it on air. Kelly Ripa will sometimes speak of tweets but maybe once every few days, and only during host chat or to tell a guest they should follow each other. "The View" hosts will speak of Twitter only when something happens on it.
The next two shows I am going to include in one because they are closely related. "Glee" and "The Glee Project" show a hash tag on screen throughout the show. The fans on Twitter can 'chat' about the show but the show does nothing with it. For "Glee" the hash tag is #Glee and for "The Glee Project" the tag is #TheGleeProject. For two television shows that are so current for so many people I wish they did more than just a hash tag. Figure out a way to incorporate the social media into the show. I know a lot of the "Glee" characters (not the specific actor or actress) have their own Twitter accounts and they should use it on the show. They could try posting questions on the character accounts that would pertain to an episode they are filming and have the characters read the tweets in reply to the question as if it were part of the conversation. For "The Glee Project" it would be a little harder because the show is a competition. Something they can do is tweet a theme for an upcoming episode and fans can use the hash tag and tweet songs that fit that theme and the contestants can possibly sing some of the suggestions.
There are so many other shows out there that include Twitter such as some on the Food Network and MTV but these are some that stand out for me right now. It is fun for the fans when they can get in on the conversation whether it is just with their friends on Twitter or with an entire community that is watching the show.
What are some of your favorite shows that use social media? What shows would you like to see include social media in their platform?
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