Social TV

One of America's premiere cable channels, BRAVO, has incorporated social media into the viewer's experience for a quite a while. Effective two weeks ago, they have officially made the hit-show Bethenny Ever After, starring Bethenny Frankel an interactive experience for to the audience to communicate directly with Bethenny as they watch her life pan out on the silver screen. Viewers simply use a BRAVO hashtag and Bethenny has the ability to pick and choose which responses she addresses. While watching, the dialogue appears on the bottom of the screen. This type of experience adds a whole new level to Reality TV. Bethenny is an entrepreneur in Manhattan formerly known for her role on The Real Housewives of New York. This season of Bethenny Ever After chronicles her success after selling her infamous Skinny Girl Cocktail to Beam Global for over $100 million last year. We all know BRAVO likes drama and when things get tense, it gives Bethenny a new way to provide more depth to the experience for the viewers benefit. Reality shows don't often provide enough back-story or address the situation in it's entirety. This incorporation of twitter into the TV-viewing experience allows the audience to have a personal experience with the star of the show and ultimately improve their understanding of whats going on. Reality TV opens up the lives of certain individuals for the audience to actually connect with. Making this experience even more personal will probably do a lot for the show's fan-base and ratings. I would love to see this type of social media integration in other popular BRAVO shows.