Media Stacking: Enhancing Television Through Social Networking

Name the hottest TV show, and I’m pretty sure you can get on Twitter and find a trending hashtag about the show while it’s on. You can find anything from random comments about certain scenes, to serious discussions about the show’s plot or characters on Facebook, to the actual actors on the show chatting with viewers while the show is on.

I call it “Boob-Tube Networking” because it’s not just enough to watch TV in order to find out who’s getting kicked off or out of the house/island/team/hot tub this week. Folks who tune in weekly must to interact with others who are also  tuning in.

There is a more technical term to describe this type of behavior – “Media Stacking”

According to a YouGov study (who also coined the term), 86 percent of the 18-24 year olds polled stated that they have participated in another social media activity centered around the show they were currently watching. Surprisingly, 56 percent the above 86 percent of those polled still text while watching TV while the rest hit up social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to chat about their favorite show. I would have assumed that a larger portion of those polled would gravitate towards social media sites to join in with a larger group, but it seems as if chatting amongst a closer-knit group (via text messages between others only in their contact list) is preferred.

As technology gets better, access to that technology grows as well, so it’s no surprise that those polled also want the programs themselves to become more interactive. As a result, there is definitely a market for TV manufacturers to integrate social networking into their sets, and for TV shows to offer additional interactivity into their shows. I could very well see folks flocking to their sets to vote to keep their favorite character (who is always in the “bottom three”) alive in a special TV audience vote with the votes getting tallied and a result dished out in real-time.

In a not so distant future, look for popular shows to be housed completely on social networks where you will have to be a member of that particular social network in order to gain access to the show where the viewers actually control the destiny of their favorite characters via Twitter hashtags, Facebook likes, and Diggs.

Are you a media stacker? What shows and social media platform do you use? Share your experiences in the comments section.

About the Author
Terrance Gaines is a husband, father and self-proclaimed Technology Evangelist who shares tech news, reviews, tips and tricks on his blog BrothaTech.com as well as other sites and in print media. You can also find him talking "all things tech" on Twitter @BrothaTech.
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