There’s a new form of ratings in town, and it has nothing to do with the Nielsens. SocialGuide ranks shows based on their popularity in the social media sphere by day, week or month. Along with Trendrr and Bluefin Labs — two other companies offering social TV data — it’s a new way of looking at engagement with programming.
The Social 100, ranking shows according to social media activity on Twitter and Facebook. SocialGuide CEO Sean Casey told Broadcasting & Cable the data can provide shows and advertisers with a new way of exploring their audience:
“This will provide them with a very interesting metric that will provide them with a measurement of what level of social engagement is going on around their TV shows. It offers a cross-section of the activity around the Twitter user base and shows what younger people who are into social media are watching and talking about.”
Looking at the Social 100 provides a different peek at media engagement. While network TV tends to rule the ratings, eight of the top ten social shows are on cable. (HBO’s “True Blood” is number one. The top network show is “Big Brother,” at number three.)
SocialGuide is also out with a mobile app for iPhone and Android. The app enables viewers to monitor social interaction as their favorite programs air. Users can see comments from everyone or choose to see what their circle of friends are saying.
There’s also a stream for sports fans – when you’re watching a sporting event you can see a cultivated stream the company has put together that features tweets from athletes and teams.
The same goes for entertainment. You can see a stream of tweets from the actors on the show you’re watching. While an athlete can’t (or at least shouldn’t) Tweet during a game, but an actor can certainly do so while their pre-taped show is on.
You can see how this would be appealing. Suppose actors from “Glee” tweeted during the show. They could provide real time running commentary. (Think DVD extra, only in Tweet form.) While this won’t be the only way shows are measured, it provides an important service that gives another side of how the audience consumes television.