Top Ten Twitter TV Shows (Twitter All Day, All The Time)

Remember when CNN first entered our lives and people were shocked that any network could take on the daunting task of supplying us with a news format 24/7. "Unheard of?" "Couldn't be done?" And yet, here we are some 20+ years later, and CNN has not only sustained itself but was the impetus for other news networks to populate as well. Well,in 2009, the web is currently abuzz with talk of a “Twitter TV Network.” According to Biz Stone, one of Twitter founders, he's "even getting folks asking (him)if they can audition." Could Twitter TV be the next evolution in the short life span of the micro-bloggin' darling of social media?

Biz StoneDuring a recent Mashable interview by Peter Cashmore, Biz Stone skirted the topic gingerly when he denied that there was no "official" Twitter TV programming in the works, but that they did sign an agreement with Reveille and Brillstein that allows them the right to a non-exclusive opportunity to develop TV projects related to Twitter.

According to Cashmore, this is a "smart strategy that mirrors their approach to application development: build whatever you want, since it’s all free marketing for Twitter (while) distancing" themselves from the actual projects, allowing for "no brand damage if they fail catastrophically."

The prospect of Twitter TV got me thinking about how a network production company might be able find enough material to fill a 24 hour format. After all, Twitter's premise is built on communicating in a concise manner allowing for creativity to be inspired by the constraint of 140 characters or less. On the other hand, while Shakespeare's golden rule of "brevity (being) the soul of wit," Hamlet alone was given 1569 lines by the bard. So perhaps, there is opportunity for Twitter TV to fill the airwaves with twattitudes and twituation comedies that could entertain and inform.

So what type of programming might be suitable for the twitterati to soak up after a hard day at the office tweeting about what's on Twitter TV when they get home!

Here is my Top Ten List of potential Twitter TV programming that might capture your attention in the not so distant future. At the end of the blog vote for your favorite, or pitch me on your prospective new TV script idea.

1- As the Twitterverse Turns

This animated comedy is basically in the can already ever since Current TV's SuperNews first introduced us to "Twouble with Twitter." Here in the follow-up "Celebrity Twitter Overkill," PD Diddy, Perez Hilton and others are lampooned in high style...

2- How I Tweeted Your Mother

Starring @asplunk (Ashton Kutcher) in a situation comedy that highlights how he bed and wed @mrskutcher (Rumer Willis' mother). This Ashton & Demishow would take the place of a false report about a RealTweetTV show featuring those two tweetin' twitterholics...a case that almost caused the couple to stop twittering, but has since been denied by the Twitter brass.

3- National Tweographic

With storylines that uncover for example isolated Aborigine twibes in Borneo, while deciphering the language they tweet in... and why they only follow their own kind and don't don't communicate with the outside world to this day. Also explored will be which outback they purchased their Apple Macs.

Didn't even know they existed did you? (eh... poetic license!)

4- Twittering with Sonia  (or here comes the judge)

This news show will follow the nomination process of Sonia Sotomayor 24/7 in tweet updates Sonia Sotomayertweeted by Obama, the nominating committee and featuring each grueling interrogation tactic the GOP can muster up.

5- Fail Whale!

Similar to the burning Yule Log at Christmastime, you can watch the Fail Whale during your downtime away from the keyword and monitor. On your couch in the comfort of your living room you will be able to unwind with your favorite beverage to the numbing silence of the Fail Whale we have all come schizophrenically come to love and despise.

6- One in a Million TV

As soon as a YouTube video goes viral with over 1 million views it will be instantaneously  fed into this Justin Timberlakeprogramming, so you can be the first on your block to be virally connected to the hottest videos of the day! (e.g. Justin Timberlake's "Dick in a box" SNL skit).

7- The Twitterazzi 

This would be a reality-based show that follows the paparazzi that specialize in taking pictures and video of celebrities twittering in covert locations like public restrooms, closets and Ashton Kutcher's mansion.

8- Jon & Kate Plus 138

As a follow-up to the ever-popular reality-TV show "Jon & Kate Plus 8", this show would pick-up where the divorce procedures commence. And live tweets of a 138 characters or less (penalized on using the full 140 just on general principle) will highlight the breaking news of the dissolution of their marriage as witnessed by the lawyers, judges and of course the 8 kids who will each have their own individual twitter addresses.

9- Mad Twittering Men  

ImagePresently there are more than 15 characters who interact with one another on Twitter while sticking closely to the plot lines of the show. Betty Draper, Peggy Olson, Don Draper and the other characters from the existing TV show will be presented on this new drama as having entered a time warp, where they have become the only tweeps on the planet in the 1960s with access to computers and Twitter.

10- Blogspotting

An expose' show hosted by Sarah Palin, Alaska's favorite governator, where famous bloggers from the depths of their basements are roasted and lampooned for their rude, crude and vitriol behavior.



Well, there you have it... ten very viable TV show pitches that have the potential of transitioning from the Internet to the boob tube. And I have only just got started. But before I reveal any of my other ideas (like "Two and Half Tweeps" and "The Twudors") I think it best to stop here, and allow you the opportunity to vote on the Top Ten I have outlined above. Or by all means, if you have another idea, hit us with your best pitch in the comment section below.