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The inside track to the Oscars: That’ll be down to Twitter!

Picture of Honcho Honcho : Feb 28, 2011 6:08:49 AM

So last night was the 83^rd Annual Academy Awards, with victories for The King’s Speech and Inception. But commentary to the event was most prolific online, through the social communities of Twitter. Notoriously, the Oscars fail to capture the attention of the ‘younger’ audience, yet the flurry of tweets hitting twitter streams building up to the event and during was non-stop. Often the comments made by celebrities and twitter users alike, was far more entertaining than watching the Oscars themselves. There was also a lot of hype around ‘ The Social Network’ being tipped to win many awards, having been nominated for a total of eight awards. However, on the night, the film based around the early years of Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg only managed to pull in a disappointing three awards, including Best Original Score. But for big event ceremonies such as the Oscars or Grammies, they have seen more exposure via social streaming and engaged with a wider audience using this medium. Watchers of these events can feel far more included in the ‘goings-on’, especially if celebrities at the events are tweeting at the time. Access to after-parties via pictures or streaming allows viewers far more access and insight into the celebrities experiences, whilst the opportunity to exchange and vent their own opinion is the real value provided. TV channels and networks continue to see the value of social interaction, with shows such as ‘ The Million Pound Drop’ on Channel 4, (viewers can play along with the show, can get a mention from Davina live on the show and provide the channel with valuable statistics of viewers). What do you see as the future interaction of social media with TV? Did you watch the Oscars whilst engaging on Twitter? Any comments, please leave me your thoughts below.

About David Cable — I’m the Link Building and Social Communities Manager at iThinkMedia. Visit my LinkedIn Profile and of course you should follow me on twitter @TheDavecable.