The symbiosis of Twitter and television

In a very basic example of how both new media and old media help each other out, Twitter and television have formed a symbiotic relationship. At least  in the US. According to the New York Times, the reality show, X Factor in the US relies on Twitter a lot for feedback. Simon Cowell, of American Idol fame, and now one of the producers of the X Factor, searches for X Factor on Twitter and goes over the feedback in the form of tweets, the useful ones of which he tries to have incorporated into the show. He says that it’s like having millions of producers working with you. The show will also take the symbiosis to the next level when the voting round begins. Viewers will be able to vote for show contestants using direct messages on Twitter itself (as opposed to previously calling in their votes). This way, the television show gets immediate results and the social networking site gets free publicity and higher usage. 

The symbiotic relationship between new and old media

This symbiosis is a result of technological and personnel investment that Twitter has made. Twitter hired Chloe Sladden, who was previously a Vice President at Current TV. She was responsible in the channel displaying tweets on screen during the 2008 election. She now has a team of seven people, which will soon increase by four, who handle Twitter integration into television, the music industry and news organizations. Her unit provides free advice to producers, celebrities and politicians as well as other people who basically are content creators.

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