Twitter VMA Power or MTV Crossover Dreams?
The music industry is gearing up for the mainstream holiday selling season. Twitter is hoping for a little mainstream music fan love as well.
Brad Stone sprinted over to Las Vegas for the weekend because, as he announced at Twitter’s blog, ”MTV has introduced a bunch of artists to Twitter and they’re going to integrate the celebrity status updates into this weekend’s on-air programming” of the Video Music Award show.
I got into the pre-VMA Twitter following action, and did my best to bring tech celebrity Twitterers–Dave Winer, notably–along for the MTV ride as well. My weekend pre VMA shoutout: MTV Twitter Power: Tweet Some VMA Love, Twitterers.
I underscored: It is time to REALLY give back to your beloved Twitter. Twitter Grams was a fine contribution, but Brad Stone and team could really use your support now, when Twitter is looking for a little mass media Twitter action. After all, Dave, do you think Twitter can survive on purely geek love alone?
I eagerly tuned in last night to the big MTV show for the Twitter “on-air programing” integration teased by Stone, but from 9pm to 11:15pm–live show and commercials–I did not catch any live Twittering on-air and did not hear any mention of Twitter.
What gives? The official press release announcing “2007 MTV VMA ushers in unprecedented viewer access and interactivity” pushed many online initiatives:
From VMA.MTV.com to MTV Mobile on Sprint TV to the Virtual VMAs to MTV On Demand, MTV is setting a number of important firsts: the first viewer-inspired remix; the first mobile simulcast of the VMAs; the first awards show ever recreated virtually, and the first nearly instantaneous VOD updates.
Twitter got a (small) mention:
MTV’s famed Moonman - will be Twitter-ing (sending text messages) so viewers can follow them throughout the weekend and during the show - and Twitter back.(2) Viewers simply text “Follow VMA” to 40404 to stay connected to the VMA performers and nominees.
No on-air Twitter promo though. MTV VMA on-air promo prorities were:
1) Viewer voting for “Best New Artist” by texting “VMA” to 23882 and
2) “Viewer’s Choice” remix voting for favorite show elements at VMA.MTV.com.
Poor Twitter? If Twitter wants to play in the big leagues, it needs to play like the big boys.
The “official sponsors” of the 2007 MTV VMA were: Chevy, Herbal Essences, Neutrogena, Pepsi, Smash, Rhapsody, Sprint and Taco Bell; NOT Twitter.
The recent Twitter funding round undoubtedly is not targeting big-ticket corporate sponsorships.
Nevertheless, Twitter could have reached out more to their Twitterers pre-show for some Twitter props, as I did!
Moreover, the Twitter MTV VMA feed itself was uninspiring. MTV Moonman Twittering? Since when can an unreal, inanimate corporate icon spur real interaction with real people? Don’t expect Winer and company to fall for those Tweets!
The big bad Twitter crossover dream problem: Losing Twitter early adopter tech-cred cool.
Twitter is already having a tough go of getting the cool underage hipsters on board, as I noted over the weekend, citing Ken Rodoff’s “A moment of ‘twitter-shock’:
Asked students at my high school if they had heard of twitter. Nope.
Has MTV Moonman really “heard of” Twitter?
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PLUS: Blodget & Ryan: Cool, or Suck? WHAT Silicon Valley ‘Insider’!