Bin Laden News: Social Networks Trump Traditional News Outlets

Tonight, I learned that Osama bin Laden was dead. From Twitter.

Everything about this event I learned first from Twitter.

We had MSNBC on the TV. The Sunday evening anchor was struggling to tell the story w/out telling the story.

Twitter knew. I felt like a newbie journalist with a big scoop, shouting Tweets as they streamed.

"Why aren't they saying this?" My mother was sorely frustrated w/ the lack of information she was getting from the TV.

This was the news story that legitimized social networking. We hear news, share feelings, thoughts, and bad jokes. While our generation is said to be less social because of the Internet, when big things happen, we are all together in that moment. You can read about it in the newspaper tomorrow. We already know.

Nickelodeon is Listening - '90's Kids Pay Attention!!

Today, Entertainment Weekly announced there will be a new "Nick at Nite" - meant for us 20-somethings. TeenNick will air Clarissa Explains It All, Pete & Pete, All That, and The Amanda Show, Kenan & Kel, and Rugrats.Say what you will about the programs mentioned in the press release, but it's better than nothing. And this all sounds great, like maybe they will eventually put on other shows like older Nicktoons, Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude... But there's only one way that's ever going to happen --

We have to give them the ratings. Here's why:


Clarissa Explains It All and Pete & Pete came out on DVD in 2006. They sold so poorly, that they never released Clarissa's second season. Considering the DVDs were never marketed to the proper demographic (they were placed in the Children's section), its failure was inevitable.

A multitude of Nicktoons & older series such as Clarissa and Hey Dude became available on iTunes around 2008. While they have been slow to add to the collection, there as at least some way to get them. But again, marketing is an issue. The last I checked, the link to Nick Rewind was buried in the Nickelodeon pages. You'd really have to know what you were looking for in order to find it.

Finally, Amazon started producing DVDs on-demand for the original Nicktoons. I personally have not ordered any of these DVDs, though from my understanding, they are your basic print-on-demand issues - no extras, no fun menu options, nothing special. Also, a little expensive.

So it's not like Nickelodeon (and when I say Nick, I'm also referencing MTV Networks and Viacom), hasn't been trying. They've just been missing the demographic. Now that they've finally caught on, it's up to us to give them the ratings and social network buzz so they not only continue this new Nick at Nite, but add to it with more programming.


After all these years, we're finally getting (some of) our '90's programming back. Let's make sure we appreciate it and push for more.

Check out the original press release here.

(Image courtesy Paramount)

Charlie Sheen - The Business of A Break-Down

 About eight hours ago, CBS announced it fired Charlie Sheen from "Two and a Half Men."

Was I surprised? Yes and no. Not surprised that it happened, just at how soon. "Two and a Half Men" is a HUGE franchise and for CBS to give up on it's star so quickly is quite the statement. Theoretically, they had until April to decide -- still plenty of time to come up with an alternative plan for up-fronts in May. But alas, here we are. CBS won't be hurting too much - the syndication cash from the show will provide, for the network at least.

But back to the man who is the center of this strange, strange whirlwind.

Charlie has called himself many things over the past few weeks - warlock and winner among them. Crazy? Sure. Stupid? Not even close.


What Charlie Sheen has done better than any other celebrity who has had a very public break-down is succeed. He's being compared to Lindsay, Britney, Mel -- pretty much any celebrity who, in the last ten years or so, has had some brutal, wicked outburst. But none of them survived like Charlie has thus far. And it's not dumb luck.

 Sheen broke records for followers on Twitter. (I followed him when he was only a little over 100k. At the time of this post, he's at 2.1 mil.) His media blitz can't even be rivaled by big name stars hawking an awful film. He's headlining magazines and news blogs. He's broadcasting Sheen's Korner or Charlie's Korner or something...

Charlie Sheen is (seemingly) in control of his own downward spiral. He is extremely open about his beliefs, his feelings, his living situation, making no apologies for his behavior. He's cashing in on it by creating a brand of #winning and #tigerblood. In a celebrity world of laying low and publicist spin, Charlie is driving his own downfall with both hands on the wheel.

That's not to say he doesn't have a problem. The man clearly has a problem, probably along the lines of the celebrities with which he's compared. It's the same disease, just different symptoms.

Charlie will take his dear, sweet time hitting rock bottom. And when he finally does, the question will be -- will anyone care? Initially, the general feeling was concern toward him. Many were begging him to seek serious help for his own well-being. Thanks to Charlie's own doing, that concern turned to curiosity and intrigue - what will he do next? But the mood is starting to shift again. He's becoming dangerously overplayed, saturating every media outlet 24/7 and the general opinion is sure to turn against him if it keeps up at that pace. Only then will we see just how "in control" Charlie really is.