Mentioned in previous posts here, CNN was the first 'mass media' network to use Twitter extensively live.
It set a trend which fed on itself.
As I logged on tonight, I noticed that what I was about to search on Google, was already trending in the number one position (little box, lower right).
'Stillwater PA" was in number one, and there was a reason.
The popular (and my second favorite) TV show, NCIS, showed numerous shots of a town called Stillwater PA in tonight's episode. (I won't ruin it for the West Coast, but suffice to say it's where Jethro grew up).
Living here in PA, I found it a little interesting. I also have some friends in Stillwater which brought it home. You'll actually find numerous Stillwaters in PA (including townships, etc) but only one with a zip code.
I'm still trying to figure out which the show was referring to, if any (Please don't ask me why ?!).
A few takeaways and some food for thought ...
1) MOST people are probably still watching TV in real-time despite Tivo and DVRs dominating 'our' tech scene.
2) Could Google Trends be more accurate than the 'original' TV rating services or a contributor at some point?
3) TV (and other mass media including newspapers and magazines) still reach hundreds of millions of viewers each day and depending who's watching what, the programming can have a profound effect on your thinking, software you use (on or offline) and much, much more. (Work on this for a while and you've got your own blog post!)
and 4) .... NCIS is almost as awesome as 24.