The Socialized and Appified Oscars
It's not just that movie about social networking that will be featured at this weekend's Oscars. There are also social media and mobile app tie-ins up the wazoo. Here's a sampling of what's up for the big night: — Fans can tweet and Facebook post …
Context & Ripple Effects
The Academy's decision to build tweet-and-Facebook tie-ins into Sunday night's ceremony is the latest step in a shift NewTeeVee flagged back in March 2009, when it traced how virality was moving from email forwards onto Facebook and Twitter feeds — the same channels now wired into Hollywood's biggest night.
It also lands a month after NetworkEffect reported that Netflix is planning extensive Facebook integration across its service, part of a broader run where entertainment companies stop treating social platforms as promotional channels and start building them into the product itself.
First-order effects
- Fans gain official second-screen participation for the first time at this scale — tweeting and posting through sanctioned tie-ins rather than ad-hoc chatter around the broadcast.
- The ceremony itself becomes a social object: with 'The Social Network' among the nominees, the night's subject matter and its distribution mechanism point in the same direction.
Second-order effects
- Broadcasters and studios get a measurable engagement layer alongside Nielsen ratings, giving advertisers a new pitch: the audience isn't just watching, it's producing commentary in real time.
Third-order effects
- If every major live event adopts this playbook, award shows drift from one-way broadcasts toward participatory formats where the network's value depends on sustaining conversation, not just viewership.
The trend: Live television events are absorbing social platforms as an official engagement layer, converting audiences from viewers into participants.