2009 December, 17th

Kristen Nicole

“If I Can Dream.” It’s a blanket statement, able to be applied to just about anything or any situation. But it could soon become a household phrase, as it’s the title of a new online show coming from the makers of Fox’s American Idol. The new program aims to capture the heartbeat of current America, drawing on the hope that’s helping most of us to get by. There’s still opportunity in America, if you have the drive to find it, right?

The most notable aspect of “If I Can Dream” is its social media integration. Following a handful of celeb wannabes, the show will document the journeys of actors, a model and a musician as they seek fame and fortune. The show will have its own online hub, with additional outlets for sharing and interacting via blogs, MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. Online participants can offer up their feedback on each of the featured artists through comments and the like.

The idea is to appeal directly to the social media crowd, giving them an easy and unique way in which to consume and interact with their media. That means that “If I Can Dream” will have more of a video-blog feel, giving an unfiltered and realistic version of what the artists are experiencing.

What’s interesting about this particular project is the way in which its content and perspective was modified according to its target demographic. In appealing to the social media crowd, the team behind “If I Can Dream” felt the need to offer up a more tangible experience instead of an over-produced project. I don’t think that this was a necessary modification to be attributed primarily to the target demographic, especially as traditional media is finally finding a foothold in online distribution methods.

This could be in part due to creative budgeting, as a show made for online distribution is unlikely to have the same viewing expectations as a show made for mainstream broadcasting. Fox appears to be particularly interested in such projects, as “If I Can Dream” will feature new weekly episodes on Hulu, the online TV hub it shares with NBC.

Fox has also had a hand in the development of similar programs that were distributed on MySpace, as the two share the common parent company, Interactive Media. Results have been less than stellar in the past few years, with a slower adoption rate than many desired given the steam behind online media consumption and a growing affinity for media-sharing capabilities within the realm of social networking.

Nevertheless, recent advances in devices, such as the iPhone, and increasing cooperation across media outlets and social networks presents a new opportunity for web-directed and interactive content. The elections showed a definite increase in interaction between television programs and mobile and online social outlets, such as the CNN-Twitter effect. Fox has also pushed out a handful of mobile initiatives for some of its other television programs, including American Idol. Various iPhone apps feature games and news portals for the popular talent show, giving consumers yet another option for interacting with the content they already see on television.

The most promising advance, however, is the ongoing integration of mainstream television programing and social media. Devices, platforms and legal red-tape are all obstacles that have been overcome in the past few years, leaving us with several new options for presenting varied content in a custom format for individual consumers. As social networks also offer a useful recommendation system, the potential behind an interactive program such as “If I Can Dream” has far more hope for survival than what we’ve seen in the past.

Only time will tell how successful such a program can really be. There’s nothing new about the concept or even the desire to be integrated on a social media level. It’s the social attitudes surrounding this latest project from the makers of American Idol that will determine the ultimate fate (and monetization potential) behind “If I Can Dream.”

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About the Author

Kristen was the lead writer and Field Editor of Mashable, a popular publication that covers social media and tech. She has contributed to a number of other publications including CenterNetworks, VentureBeat, Bubblicious and The Industry Standard. Her work has been syndicated across a number of main stream media outlets, including Reuters, The New York Times, and NBC. Her latest accomplishment has been co-authoring The Twitter Survival Guide, which you can purchase here. She is also completing her second book, Twitter for Women.

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