14 DAY TRIAL // The web and mainstream media have a mixed relationship. While it's getting harder to separate the two, there's still plenty of tension between them, old school media people tend to brush off much of the popular web tools, while web people believe TV, newspapers and so on are obsolete any way.
That's a gross generalization, but it applies to plenty of cases. One company that has managed to appeal to both crowds almost as much is Twitter.
Twitter is not the hottest thing on the web anymore, but it's still growing and establishing itself as an integral part of the ecosystem. In fact, it's hard to imagine the web without Twitter.
But Twitter is increasingly becoming a big part of TV as well, more and more TV shows and events are tied into Twitter and broadcasters are using the service for promotion and engagement.
The key appeal of Twitter for TV is the fact that it adds a new dimension to the conversation. Until now, TV was one way, from the networks to the viewers.
With Twitter, the viewers can get involved as well and affect the shows as they happen. There are plenty of examples of this and TV networks are beginning to understand how to make the most of what Twitter offers.
Not that Twitter hasn't noticed, its been working with broadcasters to find new ways of getting involved. One very recent example of this is last week's Royal Wedding.
"Last week, Twitter enjoyed its widest television integration to date via the live coverage of the royal wedding," Twitter wrote.
"During the wedding, users interacted with ABC News’ coverage by using the hashtags #RoyalSuccess and #RoyalMess to voice their opinion about the events unfolding in London," it explained.
"They shared their thoughts with CNN by including the hashtag #CNNTV in their Tweets, causing #CNNTV to trend early in the event. And as audiences around the world watched the events live on TV, they posted millions of Tweets, peaking at 16,000 Tweets per minute between 5 and 6 a.m. EST," it added.