I decided to experiment with what happens when I start liking stuff in Facebook. The result is basically that Facebook will then dump info about these things in my dashboard.
I checked Facebook a few minutes ago and saw a scene from Dexter. I don’t normally watch TV shows as they’re aired because I prefer to watch the whole season when it’s finished. The scene in my dashboard revealed a character from the first season, effectively creating a spoiler for one of my favorite shows. This sucks. I can’t imagine Michael C Hall or Jennifer Carpenter would be so inconsiderate, but the people who want to sell the show obviously are.
I don’t want info about my favorite brands turning up in my social feeds. I want info from the people creating the brands. I follow Omar Rodriguez Lopez on Tumblr and love when one of his posts ends up in my Tumblr dashboard. I know it either came from him or someone at his label and they’re trying to share what he’s up to. Maybe he’s touring. Maybe he did an interview.
As I thought about these two different approaches, I realized I was comparing a TV show with a musician. Apples and oranges, but according to the world of social media, both are still fruit. When I get to enjoy a concert it’s because the musician is there performing right in front of me. When I watch a tv show, the actors aren’t there sharing the experience with me, they recorded the show months back and could be anywhere by the time the show airs.
It’s possible a tv show’s best bet for social interaction is to act as though the story is unfolding via their streams as the storyline is aired, but they risk ruining the experience for fans of the show that aren’t glued to their tv’s. They can’t really share a live experience and tv shows don’t tour the country, after all.
