I use Twitter. I'm not afraid to use Twitter. I think Twitter can be a helpful tool for promotion.
Which is why Twitter decided to brand itself as a "social-networking" site and go to hell. Now we have tweets about bowel movements and gossip wars. There is still good to be harnessed from the site.
The owners are smartly trying to monetize their service. Those theoretical dollars mean nothing without a genuine stream of revenue. And why shouldn't they? It's the fastest growing site on the web. The news is all over Twitter and the buzz is still growing.
Of all the ways this commercialization could be accomplished - advertisements, subscription levels, contracts with the devil - Twitter opted to start producing a reality TV show. Based on Twitter. I'm not joking.
I can't link to the Verizon News Network as received on my phone, so I'll let the Huffington Post explain:
The social-networking service said Monday it has teamed with Reveille productions and Brillstein Entertainment Partners to develop an unscripted series based on the site, which invites 140-character postings from members around the world.
The show would harness Twitter to put players on the trail of celebrities in an interactive, competitive format.
I thought reality TV couldn't sink lower than "Famewhores Try to Screw Aging Rapper's Sloppy Second's Cast-offs," but apparently I was wrong. I don't understand how this show can work. I don't understand who will watch it. I don't understand why Twitter decided reality TV is the place to be.
As a recovering famewhore trying to crack into entertainment in legitimate ways, I would probably be one of the first people to jump on a new program. But hunting celebrities 140 characters at a time? This has to be a prank. No one is this stupid, right?
Right?
Now to support the effort by tweeting this blog post and...damn.
