It’s interesting to see how Facebook discussions and Twitter chats are spinning off all sorts of related secondary activities. For example, the growing buzz around TV programs has spun off an entire ecosystem of data analytics companies that track what people are watching on TV and how. Trendrr, Bluefin Labs, and Netbase are all doing that, in addition to the analytics provided by Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.
Through these stats, some interesting new trends are emerging, which I summarize in the graph below. What this graph illustrates is the evolution of how people engage around TV. The days when most of the social buzz around a particular TV show had a defined time boundary – while the show was on the air – are over. We are now entering a new era where social interaction around TV shows actually spans three different timeframes, represented by the three phases in the graph:
PHASE 1 – PRE-SHOW: The buzz starts building about what Rachel will do on the next episode of Glee. The Social Interaction Curve in Phase 1 reflects the buzz activity: it starts low on the vertical (BUZZ) and horizontal (TIME) axes and reaches its highest point at the end of Phase 1, just as the show is about to start.
PHASE 2 – DURING THE SHOW: The Social Interaction Curve during Phase 2 (as the show is on the air) goes through peaks and valleys, following real-time happenings. For example, during a football game buzz will peak during time-outs, especially right after a quarterback fumbles a ball and then drop as the action starts again and people concentrate on the game.
PHASE 3 – POST-SHOW: Buzz is still high after the show is off the air: “Can you believe that sick home-run by Alex Rodriguez?” and then tapers off with time.
The idea of people socializing around a TV program – be it a sports game, series, or current events – is not novel. An obvious example of such social happenings is Super Bowl parties, which have been around for years. People get physically together around a TV to watch not only the game but the pre- and post-game shows. Same idea with significant political events – like presidential debates – where the debate itself is now preceded by pre-shows describing candidates’ histories, backgrounds, etc. and post-shows analyzing what they said and comparing their positions.
What’s new about the current social engagement phenomenon is that it now goes into the “virtual” (physical proximity is no longer necessary) and can be extended to all sorts of shows, not limited only to a few choice programs that draw masses of viewers. In the future, any TV show triggering enough social engagement and buzz could be a candidate for pre- and post-show “wraparounds.” As I said in a previous blog this will turn TV content creation on its head and make social engagement the new determining factor in the creation of new shows.
If they play their hand well, content producers will have fantastic opportunities to precisely target the populations that are being tracked by Social TV apps and analytics companies. That is the Holy Grail for brands and Madison Avenue, and should thus translate into massive new revenues for the TV industry, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking companies that can help monetize the extended conversation around TV shows.
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