Getting Desperate: Twitter on primetime
Posted on | July 14, 2009 | 4 Comments
Last night’s episode of Desperate Housewives showed how far things have come: it included a scene that hinged on Tom’s lack of knowledge about Twitter, and hence his failure at a job interview. This shameful experience led to an extended subplot about whether or not Tom should get plastic surgery to disguise his age and remain competitive in the job market.
I loved this. Firstly, for the way that it illustrates how digital literacy and marketing hype each pivot on their association with youth. And, additionally, how it captures the frustration of so many employees currently staring down centrally-funded promotion strategies that invite us to extend our brand presence on to every conceivable platform.
But I also love it for the way that the script – in fact a succession of scripts this season – expresses a wider “structure of feeling” about mid-career, white collar job insecurity. I know it’s against new media protocol to admit watching the show, but this downturn-inflected season will be an ongoing reference for me in terms of illustrating what economic anxiety looks like in popular form.
And whether or not you buy that, I’d love to hear from anyone who can confirm whether the Twitter scene was actually product placement. It would certainly come in handy for the chapter I’m writing about internet politics, Shirky-style.
Tags: Clay Shirky > Desperate Housewives > marketing > product placement > Twitter
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4 Responses to “Getting Desperate: Twitter on primetime”
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July 14th, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
I want to note (broadly) that, although I don’t watch the series, i totally relate to the “expression of a wider ’structure of feeling’ about mid-career, white collar job insecurity”. Its a living being amongst so many people I know. Will check out the show and comment further. Thanks, Mel.
July 16th, 2009 @ 12:51 am
[...] sorts of folks, not just social media addicts. Indeed, I was amused to read Melissa Gregg’s post about an episode of Desperate Housewives including a character who fails to get a job due to their [...]
July 16th, 2009 @ 11:35 am
Not sure if you heard of this already but apparently BestBuy.com had a position for “Manager, Emerging Media Marketing” which had the requirement of a Twitter account with a following of at least 250.
The job seems to have existed but is now listed as filled so I can’t confirm the truth of the story at the source. The story is being reported around the internets though.
July 17th, 2009 @ 6:31 pm
Oh dear, thanks Kristian.