When was the last time you watched television and tweeted something about what you were watching during the show?
If you are like many twitter users, that answer is probably ranges from last night to last week.
My husband was the one to notice what I was doing, during the season premiere of the Bachelor earlier this winter. Not only was I watching the television show live, but I was following the hashtag and tweeting my thoughts about the many women along with the rest of my twitter stream. The same thing happened during the Golden Globes, Oprah’s Next Chapter when she visited J-P HRO in Haiti, the Super Bowl, shows like The Voice or Downtown Abbey, and the upcoming Oscars. I even followed along during San Remo, a recent Italian music festival, where opinions were not in short supply about the many contestants.
Not only did Rocket notice this turn of events, this new habit of watching television and live tweeting from my living room sofa, like I was at an event, but he questioned it. What was I doing? And the better question as far as he was concerned, why was I doing it?
I suppose it was the same question that I had when I first started tweeting and attending social media events. I will be honest, I was surprised at the constant tweeting. I did not fully understand why I needed to tweet with others when were in the SAME space. Clearly, this did not take long to get over. But when it comes to explaining why we do it, I have not fully developed a great reason.
Why We Tweet
We tweet out opinions and comments, soundbites of inspiration, and facts. We tweet with brands to show thanks and appreciation. We tweet instead of emailing with friends as a means to stay connected. But when it comes to tweeting while watching television? This habit has taken on a life of it’s own, that I would go as so far to say, has changed how people interact with television.
It is no longer about just watching the show. We are synthesizing, formulating opinions, and crafting messages to convey what we are watching. Sometimes we are even interacting with the show itself, with hashtags publicized by the channel. Bravo Top Chef is a prime example of this as they display the hashtags and twitter profiles throughout the programming. I will be honest and admit that there are even shows (The Bachelor being one) that I would not have watched if it were not for the lively twitter stream to engage me.
Tweeting during Television is Like a Twitter Party
In some respects, watching television and live tweeting about what you are watching is almost like an impromptu twitter party. No questions, no prizes. Just commentary. Sometimes snarky, sometimes emotional, always opinionated. The fact of the matter is that those who live tweet are essentially providing advertising for the television program or event, creating a conversation online reaching their entire list of followers instead of just the four or five at the water cooler.
The Future of Television Tweeting
Admittedly, there is a part of me that is so curious about the phenomena and the future of “Must Tweet TV.” TV stations, brands, and even sports teams are watching our tweets. As in, data is being collected that can be turned into info graphics or information used to decide on the worthiness of investments. We know that twitter conversations have been effective to help shape topics and opinions with brands, political questions, and social issues. But the idea that our television viewing could be shaped by this as well? Somehow I had not made that leap yet, until realizing that it is in fact the way of the future.
If you think about it, social media has changed how we consume information and life. It has changed our perception of near and far and made brands, companies, celebrities, and politicians just a tweet away. We tweet to be part of a community, to show satisfaction, to convey humor, to express frustration, and to get customer service. Or maybe, as is the case while tweeting during The Oscars or The Voice, we tweet because we can.
I suppose that the phenomena of live tweeting television should not surprise me. The consumption of social media becomes more and more pervasive every day with our daily lives. I suppose the interesting aspect of it all it the ambiguity of where it will all lead.
There is no doubt that the tweet to television connection has changed my television watching habits. What about you? Do you watch and tweet?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
oh I have to be honest, I tried this. I did…and I hated every moment of tweeting while watching.
First, I hardly watch anything in Real Time. DVRs are my best friends and I can pack a lot of “Show” into 40 minutes instead of 60.
Next, as much as I like discussing a show with someone while we’re watching, tweeting is like being on the phone..where voices are talked over, people are shouting or yearning for attention in the midst of me watching and honestly TV is so sacred to me, that time of really losing myself in a show that I want to be left alone to watch, relate and form my own opinions. I don’t really want to know what other people see as we watch, I’d rather read about it later…after having time to digest it.
I suppose makes me seem very techincally “unsavvy” but I don’t care. The TV and the programs I choose to watch are really special to me and I don’t want interruptions during them.
Plus if I’m tweeting and engaging…am I really relaxing, am I really watching that program and letting it sink in? (I don’t watch things like the Bachelor or any Reality TV outside of The Voice and I watch that on the DVR..instead I am watching The Good Wife, Parenthood, Harry’s Law, SMASH, etc..scripted shows that I have a very hard time ripping my eyes from).
For me that time with my remote and DVR is about calming down, relaxing and turning off….letting my brain wander (I write some of my best posts, get some of my best ideas watching TV),
this is a great piece and I know that I sit in the vast MINORITY on this, but it was interesting to read…and comment. Maybe I should write about this myself.
xo
You are not unsavvy. It is funny because there are certain shows that I hold sacred–no tweeting allowed. I think that in large part, the shows that I do tweet, are the ones that I am not as vested in–or maybe the social media element actually is more of the reason that I am watching to begin with. Also—amen for the DVR. Could not get through a Thursday night without the dvr. xo
hi, my name is Katie, and I am addicted to live tweeting shows.
I live tweet ALL award shows…and recently I started live tweeting Worst Cook on Food Network.
I’ve even noticed that a lot of shows (like the above mentioned) will give its audience a hashtag to use so they can watch the tweets too.
For instance, I was snarking it up pretty good about Worst Cook this past Sunday and The Food Network retweeted me a few times. Crazy!
The funny thing is, I get bored when my stream is full of people tweeting shows I don’t like or that I am not watching, but sometimes the tweets are funny. I was going to stop tweeting the show, but my followers protested and said that my tweets were way to funny to stop. So I just keep doing it!
Hello Katie
You do bring on the funny so I can see why your followers asked that you went back to it. Can you imagine if we could live tweet our days at school? Talk about needing the funny!
I am a prime suspect of tweeting while watching. I love it, particularly with Biggest Loser. I just started watching The Voice and was thinking about how integrated they are with social media. From having Christina Milian as the “digital correspondent” to having the judges tweet (I have not figured out how they do this with the pre-recording other than to schedule tweets) to making sure all of the contestants have blogs and other channels it is just amazing. It allows us as viewers to become even more connected with these people, if I know EVERYTHING they are going through (whether it is edited by a producer or not) it makes me more invested. Also, I like to have my opinions validated.
It is funny you mention the blogs that many of these shows have. I am a watcher of some of the Real Housewives shows (I kind of cringe just admitting that)–yet I have never checked out their blogs. But you are so right–there is such a social media component to what a lot of the shows are doing now. I think that the networks and shows are almost counting on the social media interaction.
I tweet during certain shows so that I’m not alone. Example: Last night’s episode of Parenthood was incredibly hard for me as a birth mother and my husband happened to be working. So, in my house, I was alone. On twitter? I was surrounded with love.
I was just telling my husband the other night how much more fun Twitter makes watching TV. Shows like Survivor and the Bachelor are hilarious if you follow the comments online. But those are also shows that I don’t need to pay absolute attention to because, let’s face it, their mindless.
Like you, though, there are shows like Downton Abbey and Community that I adore where I can’t and don’t want to be distracted by social media. I want to fall into the stories and the characters completely without interruption. I will look for the hashtags and read through the Twitter stream AFTER the show.
Lastly, there are programs and events I follow only on Twitter without watching the shows — the red carpet for award shows and all of the Republican debates. I follow politicos, reporters, comedians and some really wicked smart folks who make it a joy to follow those types of programs, more entertaining than watching the actual programs. Which reminds me, the CNN debate starts in a few minutes. Gotta go watch Twitter…
oops — they’re mindless! — my bad.
I’ve live tweeted before b/c it was fun. But on 2/15, CoTweet, my preferred Twitter app for four years, went away. And I haven’t been on Twitter since so I doubt I’ll live tweet an event. I’ve always loved the hashtag idea but I really do think Twitter has lost its edge. It’s just one big link farm and the value, for me, is no longer there.
Confession.. I usually tweet when watching shows that my husband isn’t “into”. Why? Because, in some small way, it’s like having someone else to watch with. Who wants to go to the movies alone, in an empty theater, and see a movie no one else in your life has or will ever see? Not me. Watching Glee and tweeting with other Gleeks makes me feel connected, a part of something. It is the the “social” part of social media, for me at least. Oh and I will SO be tweeting the Oscars! Who needs Joan Rivers? ha ha
I don’t tweet a lot period, so tweeting during a show isn’t something I do very often. Sometimes I will go on to Twitter to see what others are saying about something I’m watching like American Idol or Project Runway.
I don’t watch t.v., so I enjoy the tweeting t.v. phenomenon. It lets me know what the rest of the world is watching! It keeps me in the loop without my actually having to watch.
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