Tosh.0 Meets Web 2.0
Do you constantly find yourself watching funny YouTube clips or conversing with friends about something on the web that made you fall out of your chair laughing? In this day and age, almost all of us are guilty.
Tosh.0 relies on social media for success
With the advancement of the social web, anyone with the proper equipment can post videos or start-up a blog. This has proven to be an invaluable asset to the news industry, where anyone can essentially contribute as a reporter. Web 2.0 has provided television news with many great civilian videos and pictures, but the news industry is not the only one who has benefited.
Think of the comedic potential. The web is overflowing with hilarious content begging for exposure. The Comedy Central series, Tosh.0 has taken notice.
Tosh.0 is stand-up comedy meets user-generated content. This weekly series consists of comedian Daniel Tosh poking fun at and commentating on all things humorous across the Internet. His show is largely composed of viral YouTube videos, and digital photos submitted online by the viewers.
The most popular segment on Tosh.0 has become “Web Redemptions”. For “Web Redemptions”, Tosh takes people who were humiliated by pranks that went viral on the web, and gives them a shot at redemption against the one who posted the clip.
Paired with the television series, Tosh.0 also maintains a daily blog. On the blog, fans can post their original videos or images, as well as rate and comment on content submitted by others. The favorite videos from each week are featured on the blog homepage. In addition to content posted by fans, Tosh also posts his own videos, usually consisting of his original comedy skits and parodies of the most popular viral videos. The blog also houses archives of submitted clips that appeared on the show as well as every “Web Redemption” segment since its beginning.
The most recent interactive addition to the Tosh.0 blog was the “2010 Casual Bracket“, where Tosh laid out 16 outrageous clothing options and let his fans vote online to decide what he would wear during the first episode of the season.
Visitors to the blog can easily bookmark any of the blog videos using Google Bookmarks or Digg. Links are also available to the Tosh.0 Twitter and Facebook pages.
Tosh.0 is another quality example of a successful marriage between social media and television, and the series now has the third-season extension to prove it.
The current trend the more and more television programs are starting to realize is that viewers like building relationships with the programs that they love, and social media is a great way to build those relationships.
Pairing a television program with social media is still a young idea and may seem a bit risky to some. However, there are television networks that have made great gains by taking that risk.
Programs such as, Tosh.0 and SportsNation, which is mentioned in a previous post, have now opened the door for many other programs to begin using social media. Who will be the next to make a move?
This approach to using social media is cool! Its basically a television series on the web. Probably the cheapest television series ever! This also gives the series a different edge. Fans can comment, vote, and post, features that traditional television series don’t normally have. Tosh is doing a great job at involving his audience. I’m sure this comedy has opened the door for other online series. I wonder if online television series will be the norm in 2-3 years.