Hypertext

As Twitter has boomed in popularity over recent years we’ve seen people using the service in all sorts of interesting ways that nobody could have predicted. The law of unintended consequences is one of the things that make social media so fascinating; it’s almost impossible to predict how people will use these new services and what sort of emergent behaviour will develop.

Who could have guessed, for example, that Facebook would fuel a seemingly boundless global fascination with growing virtual turnips?

One of the interesting trends developing on Twitter is the conversation that happens around popular TV shows and major broadcast events. This represents an interesting shift in the way people view TV. Traditionally considered ‘lean-back’ media, TV is meant to be something that we passively consume, sitting on our sofas, observing but uninvolved.

But something changed that; laptop computers became affordable and wireless internet connections became prevalent.  Now when we’re sitting on the sofa watching TV, we’re often online at the same time, idly surfing the web, emailing friends, watering our virtual turnips, or tweeting.

Next time you’re watching a TV show, try entering its title into Twitter’s search box and you’ll most likely see a wave of lively discussion taking place as people share their thoughts on what they’re seeing. On the surface this might not seem like a big deal, but I think it’s interesting for a couple of reasons.

It provides a clear illustration of what’s really at the heart of social media; people’s deep seated urge to share their experiences with others. We have an instinct for communication. Something as simple as watching a TV show suddenly becomes a lot more entertaining when you can exchange observations and jokes with other viewers while the show is being broadcast.

When a major event is being televised, such as a world cup game or the recent elections in the UK, Twitter is increasingly where we (and the press) look to gauge society’s reaction. It’s not just fun, it’s a whole new way of tapping into the collective consciousness around major events.

It also shows that all media is becoming social, whether it wants to or not. Something as mundane and familiar as watching a TV show takes on a fascinating new dimension simply by adding the ability for viewers to share their thoughts with each other. A friend recently confessed that after a few years of recording his favourite shows with a PVR to watch later at leisure, he’s got back into the habit of watching them as they air just so that he can read the live Twitter backchannel commentary. I doubt he’s alone in this.

It won’t be long before broadcasters take notice of this phenomenon (some already are, but only on a small scale) and I think we’ll see increasingly innovative new ways of integrating real-time viewer conversations and commentary with broadcast programming. Maybe this will be via Twitter, or maybe new platforms and technologies will flood into this area.

Just as social media democratised web content, the future of TV now lies with the viewers just as much as the broadcasters.

Possibly related posts that might also interest you:

1. Crowd Control: Changing the Face of Media or Just Hype?
2. New Meaning to “One-Man Band”
3. The top 10 most influential FTSE brands on Twitter
4. Going to CeBIT?
5. Is Twitter just “pointless babble?”