I had big plans for the Oscars last night. No I didn’t go to some overpriced “Oscar Party” at a fancy restaurant, where martinis cost $15 a pop, the entree about 3 times that much, and never mind the “red carpet”-worthy outfit that would have hit my pocketbook right were it hurt. Nope, those days were officially over.
Like the millions of people from around the globe, I tuned in to watch the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. It was a wonderful soiree, an intimate, casual gathering of 200 of my closest friends and it didn’t cost a dime. Oh well, that’s not entirely true. The ice cream sundae I ate while watching the festivities came to a grand total of about $4.99 if you add in the chocolate sauce and maraschino cherry on top.
Where, you ask, could I possibly have enjoyed such a lavish Oscar fête for a mere couple bucks and some change? In the comfort of my living room of course! It was a sight to behold: wearing my favorite black sweats (black is always an elegant choice for a party), remote in one hand and my iPhone in the other.
As I sat watching the broadcast—from the Red Carpet pre-show to Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin’s entertaining banter to the John Hughes tribute delivered by Ferris Bueller himself—my friends on Facebook didn’t miss a beat. We dished on the best and worst dressed, the speeches, and the surprising triumph of indie hit “Hurt Locker” over big budget blockbuster, “Avatar.” All virtually. All via Facebook. Our very own Online Oscar Party!
I’d been noticing the trend for the last 6 months. From the collective cheers for underdog Saints during Super Bowl XLIV to the Kanye West train wreck at the ’09 MTV Awards, most of my friends were tuning in from home and commenting about the broadcasts on their favorite social network of choice.
Whether due to the economy or merely an increased desire to stay home and nest, people were forgoing pricey outings and opting instead to fuel the buzz online, namely on Facebook to Twitter. Brian Stelter recently published a great story on this new phenomenon in The New York Times, “Water-Cooler Effect: Internet Can Be TV’s Friend.” In it, he notes that “[b]logs and social Web sites like Facebook and Twitter enable an online water-cooler conversation, encouraging people to split their time between the computer screen and the big-screen TV.” He even notes that viewership of these broadcast spectacles, which for the last several years has been tanking, has seen a uptick, thanks in large part to the chatter occurring online.
Oscar himself has taken a cue from this new trend. Ad Age’s Andrew Hampp points out, the Academy is jumping on the social media bandwagon to combat sinking ratings and declining viewership, adding a plethora of new ways for people to watch, participate and take part in the show. From Facebook fanpages and online ballots to iPhone apps and a pimped out new site on http://oscar.go.com/, the entire Oscar experience was revamped to facilitate this new way of connecting online.
We’ll see if “social networks can actually save the TV star.” All I know is I’m a believer.
An ice cream sundae. My favorite pair of sweats. And 200 of my closest friends joining me for an Online Oscar Party. Now that’s worth the price of admission!
Confessions of a Red Carpet Couch Potato
I had big plans for the Oscars last night. No I didn’t go to some overpriced “Oscar Party” at a fancy restaurant, where martinis cost $15 a pop, the entree about 3 times that much, and never mind the “red carpet”-worthy outfit that would have hit my pocketbook right were it hurt. Nope, those days were officially over.
Like the millions of people from around the globe, I tuned in to watch the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. It was a wonderful soiree, an intimate, casual gathering of 200 of my closest friends and it didn’t cost a dime. Oh well, that’s not entirely true. The ice cream sundae I ate while watching the festivities came to a grand total of about $4.99 if you add in the chocolate sauce and maraschino cherry on top.
As I sat watching the broadcast—from the Red Carpet pre-show to Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin’s entertaining banter to the John Hughes tribute delivered by Ferris Bueller himself—my friends on Facebook didn’t miss a beat. We dished on the best and worst dressed, the speeches, and the surprising triumph of indie hit “Hurt Locker” over big budget blockbuster, “Avatar.” All virtually. All via Facebook. Our very own Online Oscar Party!
I’d been noticing the trend for the last 6 months. From the collective cheers for underdog Saints during Super Bowl XLIV to the Kanye West train wreck at the ’09 MTV Awards, most of my friends were tuning in from home and commenting about the broadcasts on their favorite social network of choice.
Oscar himself has taken a cue from this new trend. Ad Age’s Andrew Hampp points out, the Academy is jumping on the social media bandwagon to combat sinking ratings and declining viewership, adding a plethora of new ways for people to watch, participate and take part in the show. From Facebook fanpages and online ballots to iPhone apps and a pimped out new site on http://oscar.go.com/, the entire Oscar experience was revamped to facilitate this new way of connecting online.
We’ll see if “social networks can actually save the TV star.” All I know is I’m a believer.
An ice cream sundae. My favorite pair of sweats. And 200 of my closest friends joining me for an Online Oscar Party. Now that’s worth the price of admission!