The Macintosh Wizard And PC Tech Blog

Gathered at the Destination Broadband Theater for the National Association of Broadcaster’s Show on April 13, 2010:

I saw some greats in business, entertainment and social media come together to discuss the state of now at the panel “Twitter and the Entertainment Industry: How the Real Time Web is Changing Hollywood”.  The panelists involved were; Steve Broback of Head of Parnassus Group, Carter Holland VP of AVID Technology, Oren Jacob CTO of Pixar & Independent Filmmaker, Adam Zbar CEO Tap11, Warren Whitlock Twitter Guy & Author and myself, Christopher Rauschnot of 24k Media, a Social Media Consultancy Firm. The panelists discussed a wide variety of topics to what is known as the, “state of now.”

The immediacy of Twitter, in particular, has bridged the gap between independent filmmaker and his potential audience, said Oren before previewing his trailer for, “Ready, Set, Bag!” Oren went on to talk about how he utilizes Twitter in his life and what his thoughts are for engaging people in the corporate world.  Most of those thoughts about engagement were also mentioned by Carter, of how he uses Twitter to grow a following. Carter manages the engagement of thousands of people in the various social networks his company, AVID, is connected to. Both Steve and Adam talked about how sentiment analysis can make or break a business venture or newly released film. Steve showed various examples of tag tweet clouds that showed how a company can visually see what the most important terms being used on Twitter are. By the use of these tag clouds, a person or brand could engage with people on the most talked about subject matter rather than just aimlessly sending out content. A panelist brought up a philosophy towards Twitter and engagement which, “listen and engage.” I agree with that philosophy towards Twitter and social media in general. The panelist also mentioned several sites during the panel and methods to create lasting engagement from followers and how to grow from a few hundred to several thousand or more. One of my strategies to Twitter and engagement is to join conversations in progress, then to provide a helpful answer or value. The value in a tweet towards someone else can be as simple as a restaurant recommendation, a virtual introduction or help in furthering their goals.

Certainly the goal of this National Association of Broadcaster’s Social Media in Entertainment panel was to engage the audience and explain how much just saying hi goes a long way. Engagement by personal brands or corporations is now on a level playing field. We see this most of all when it comes to new media and social media. No longer will there be a broad message that is pushed to a wide swath of consumers. Brands will also have to now, “listen and love” for engagement on Twitter to work properly.

Christopher Rauschnot is an accomplished social media and engagement consultant to corporations worldwide.  He has made a positive impact in the hospitality, travel, nightlife, entertainment and technology industries.  He has been directly involved with the creation of several corporate media policies and is a conference speaker.  Most recently, he participated in a panel at the 2010 NAB Show titled “Twitter and the Entertainment Industry: How the Real Time Web is Changing Hollywood”. He is an active user of Twitter at @24k and @24kMedia, and he has a 24k Media Facebook Page. He also blogs about Technology at The Macintosh Wizard and PC Tech Blog.