Social Media and the Blockbuster: Part Deux

In my last post, I explained why humans are, by nature, attracted to sharing experiences with others.  I further concluded that social media’s ability to break down barriers to sharing experiences would lead to increasingly popular “blockbuster” content.  In this post, I’d like to delve into what’s currently limiting these effects and what needs to happen for my vision to be fully realized.

Content Availability

The first roadblock limiting social media’s influence on blockbuster media is the actual content created by traditional media powerhouses – currently it just isn’t easily consumed online.  This is a battle on two fronts.  The first is purely technological; the speed of data transfer over the Internet still makes consuming long-form content difficult for most users.

Thankfully, this is an issue that seems to be on its way out.  Out of all long-form content, movies are perhaps the most data intensive, and there have already been enough advances for Netflix to be comfortable shifting the focus of their service into the streaming business.  Not only are movies being streamed more frequently, but we’re also moving closer and closer to reaching a level of image quality that gives physical formats a serious run for their money.  Additionally, Google’s recent announcement that it will be implementing a trial high-speed network indicates that we may see serious speed improvements from ISPs in the near future.

The ability to retrieve content, however, is only half the battle; there also needs to be content worthy of retrieving.  This is where things get a little tricky.  Traditional content creators have been extremely tentative on releasing their most valuable content over the Internet, and perhaps for good reason.  The fact is there isn’t yet a system for monetizing content that has convinced these businesses to fully embrace the Internet for distribution.  While this is definitely an issue, and will continue to be a major debate in the coming years, it seems likely that the irreversible tide of Internet distribution combined with the financial opportunities available to whoever solves this issue will ultimately lead to an acceptable solution in the near future.

Increased Adoption

As I mentioned in my blog post concerning the demographic issues of social media platforms, we’re not yet living in a world where social media interactions can truly come close to replicating the interactions in most social circles.  Even if most of your friends are on Facebook, they probably don’t communicate on it enough to provide the social experience necessary to amplify the enjoyment of mass media at the magnitude that I’m speaking of.

That’s not to say that social media doesn’t already provide any boost to this content, however.  I don’t believe it was a coincidence that the rebound in ratings for the Grammy’s coincided with major discussion on social networks like Twitter and Facebook.  The Grammy’s are fine to watch on your own, but when you can discuss what’s happening with hundreds of people both in real-time and after the show, it becomes a much more enjoyable experience.

Integration

For social media to truly begin driving mainstream content consumption, there needs to exist a greater integration of its communication tools with the content consumption vehicle.  Socially consuming content on the Internet has been around for a long time, but what’s going to be a major turning point in this media revolution will be finding a platform that optimizes the experience.

Eventually, a current or future platform will be able to balance the filtering elements of forums and chat clients with the abundance of content created on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, creating an ideal viewing companion.  Furthermore, as televisions and computers become more integrated, the separation between the platforms that exist on the computer and content that exists on other vehicles will diminish.

Conclusion

The result of these factors is a world in which content becomes increasingly enjoyable as its viewership increases.  Not a huge American Idol fan?  You may still watch because you follow a list of 30 people whose commentary makes it enjoyable.  Convenience won’t be an issue because you’ll be streaming the show with communication integrated seamlessly on a sidebar, making it easy to follow while not intruding on the actual viewing experience.

Content has always had a bandwagon effect; with people choosing to consume the most popular content for no reason other than that everyone else is doing it.  Social media has the ability to take that mindset and capitalize on it, amplifying its effects.  As technology and business models catch up to the platform’s potential, we’re going to see a golden age for mainstream blockbuster media.