I secretly have always wanted to start
a blog, so (secretly) I am excited that this is giving me an excuse to do just
that. Social media has been fascinating to me recently. It’s a fast paced
industry and each day is different from the one before. There is always a new
viral video, campaign controversy, or odd celebrity Instagram. Social media
keeps me on my toes.
A trend that has caught my attention
recently is how TV shows utilize social media to engage their audience. Nearly
every TV show from Scandal to Bones to the Voice uses some method to engage
users in second screen activity. Hence the name of my blog. I know that I am
not alone in saying that whenever I turn on the TV, 90% of the time I am also
on my phone, computer, or iPad. It is obvious that TV show producers have
caught onto this commonality. It has become a fad entitled “Social TV” or “Second Screen Activity”. Once I came to terms with my second
screen behavior, I started noticing just how TV shows were drawing me into a
conversation with them. The ever so brilliant Shonda Rhimes has #TGIT for her
three shows on Thursdsays. The cast of Nashville hosts a "live tweet" session during the episode. TLC encourages viewers to hashtag #myTLClife in
response to various prompts. The Bachelor in Paradise has an aftershow solely
about the social media comments that ensued throughout the show. It seems that
every TV show now has a means to draw viewers into a conversation with each
other. The world of Social TV makes us incredibly more connected to one
another.
My goal with starting this blog is to
chronicle how TV shows encourage this type of second screen, social TV behavior
with their audience. I want to encourage my readers to engage in the
conversation that TV producers are attempting to draw them into. Decide for
yourself whether you think it is a positive or negative trend. I want to
educate fellow tech-savy millennials on how this trend of second screen behavior
is changing the way that TV producers market their shows. Lastly, I want to dig
into the analytics and understand whether the endless hashtags, instagrams, and
twitter takeovers truly have an effect on viewers. I am excited for all of you
to join me as I embark on this complicated web of social TV.
