T6

R.AGE

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 27 JANUARY 2010

Coming up live
By NIKI CHEONG

Live online:
The red carpet
segment for the
Golden Globe
Awards was
streamed live
on the Internet.

F YOU have been following my What The

Tweet blog recently (on http://blog.rage.
com.my), you would have noticed a few
posts I put up regarding watching entertainment shows online.
Just last week, I blogged about the Golden
Globe Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles,
which included an embeded live streaming
video via Ustream of the red carpet arrivals. I also shared the link to Collectas site
which collated relevant (and updated)
tweets, blog posts and images available
on the Net as the event was going on.
This was also similar to the Victorias
Secret Pink Carpet event that I blogged
about late last year which was
streamed live via Livestream.
On Saturday morning (Friday night
in the United States), George Clooneys
telethon called Hope For Haiti Now
was also streamed live on the Net.
While this was not an awards show,
it focused on a lot of entertainment
Hollywood bigwigs took turns to
appeal for donations to help Haiti
in the aftermath of the tragic
earthquakes, and performers like
Coldplay, Justin Timberlake and
Stevie Wonder took to the stage.
MTV Networks had collaborated with Facebook to stream the
whole show live on the Net,
even though it was also aired
on MTV channels around the
world and on CNN. The
Facebook element allowed
viewers to communicate with
each other, and aggregated

status updates which were

relevant to the show.
This article is not about the
debate on whether the
Internet and social media will
take over television. However,
it is evident that even television networks are recognising
the power of the web, and are
using it to complement their
productions.
In the case of award shows,
one of the biggest complains in
the past is the length of the
shows. Its all good and well that the winners
make their long speeches, and thank everyone
necessary.
However, not all viewers are interested in
what each start has to say. This is more so in
countries out of the US, like ours, where many
of the shows up for nomination havent even
been screened yet.
In cases like these, social media is the
perfect tool. With Facebook and Twitter, for
example, we are able to get results live as the
event is unfolding without having to sit in
front of the television for three hours.
This is also ideal for situations like in
Malaysia where due to the time difference,
we are often unable to catch the show live as
we are either in class or at work.
Of course, there are many more reason why
television networks need to embrace social
media. Mashable, an online social media
guide, recently ran a story about how the
annual Grammy Awards in 2010 will change
to address this.
The 52nd Grammy Awards will be held on
Jan 31 (the morning of Feb 1 in Malaysia), and
the Recording Industry Association of America

For fans: Lady Gagas page on Were All

Fans, a new social media site created by the
RIAA for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
(RIAA) who are behind the awards show, is
taking active steps to engage their viewers
using social media.
Its website www.grammy.com has been
rehauled to reflect this, and it also registered
for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.
Understanding the community-building
strength of social media and the importance
of user-generated content, the RIAA also
created a website, Were All Fans, that aggregates information related to nominated bands.
By visiting the website (www.wereallfans.
com) and clicking on the name of an artistes
gives you access to hundreds of information
available about that said performer whether
in the form of pictures, videos or tweets.
What else these TV networks come up
after this, Im not sure. But as far as Im
concerned, its exciting to see the
creative minds behind television
take on social media and
bring out the best
in it.

3ODQ <RXU )LQDQFLDO 'UHDP 7RGD\

ZLWK $.3.

7HUPV FRQGLWLRQV DSSO\