We all know that Twitter is a huge hit with so-called “geeks,” but it just may get a big push into mainstream society, thanks to CNN. The news broadcaster has already been incorporating “tweets” into reports, and now anchor Rich Sanchez, a faithful Twitter user, has left a tweet indicating that they would be debuting a new Twitter show today called “Rick Sanchez Direct”.
It is interesting that there is going to be a show featuring Twitter, but the really interesting thing is that social media is penetrating into mainstream news. “CNN is one of the few broadcast networks with an expansive line of shining examples in the Web 2.0 space, from basic RSS and bookmarking options to embeddable videos, and its fully user generated content platform iReport.com,” notes Adam Hirsch at Mashable.
The title of the show would suggest a program with Twitterers asking Rick Questions, with him answering on the air. Or perhaps it will be a look at who he follows. He has 8,950 following him (at this point), and he follows 4,067.
The live TV aspect could play out interestingly. Like Dr. Sanjay Gupta points out, “It’s hard to imagine how a Twitter feed from 4,607 users might behave live.” It could play out like the equivalent of a discouraged linebacker cussing on the sidelines at a college football game being broadcast on national television, or CNN may have some kind of system set up to censor the madness. The fact is, we just don’t really know how it’s going to play out until it airs, though I would put my money on the latter.
It won’t be long now though. The show is scheduled to air today at 3pm Eastern. There’s a good chance that by the time you read this, it will have already been on. In that case, feel free to share your opinions on the show in the comments if you happen to catch it.
