MTV, the youth brand that ushered in the demise of Radio (or at least its monopoly on music distribution) when it broadcasted Video Killed The Radio Star in 1981, is now perhaps turning on the very medium it so proudly named itself after. MTV's product, once 'Music Television', has transformed to meet the twenty-first century customer demand for 'Entertainment Anywhere'.
The internet is supplanting TV as the go-to entertainment medium for people under 30.
Even though Season 5 of "Jersey Shore" - the reality show credited with reviving MTV's edge - regularly enjoys high ratings, MTV knows that spray-tanned guidos won't keep them in the spotlight forever. So with 32 million+ Facebook Fans, MTV is clearly taking the migration of its core demo - from passive TV viewing to active online interaction - very seriously.
MTV uses its Facebook presence as a kind of online promo aggregator - a buffet with bite-sized appetizers delivered from all over MTV's extensive stable of blogs, niche websites, TV programming and movies. And though they were an early adopter of the new Facebook timeline (if you wanna be a trend setter, be the first to change) the content strategy has remained consistent: show promos, celebs news, movie news and trailers, and lots and lots of Beiber.
Posts from MTV's Buzzworthy blog tease the latest pop culture whatnot, including plenty of celebrity gossip. Tabloid updates are a staple, with the usual suspects - Gaga, Jonas Borthers, Rihanna (both clothed and unclothed), and Beiber's hair - making regular appearances. A recent pic of Rihanna's scandalous see-through top no doubt had the affect her publicists hoped it would: almost 8,000 LIKES in less than 24 hours.
Other posts offer clips from anticipated movies like the upcoming Hunger Games as well as interviews with the cast and even a live-streamed red-carpet event.
Watch live right now as we talk to all the Tributes at The Hunger Games red carpet premiere!
Meanwhile posts from "MTV Geek!" spotlight rumors, trailers, and other bits of comic book fandom fodder.
MTV EXCLUSIVE! MTV Geek has all the deets on 'Before The Watchmen'! Check it out here.
Which brings us to an important lesson:MTV's Facebook page has something for just about every kind of media-saturated kid.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Will Be Web-Streamed.
In successfully transitioning from a niche cable music channel to a multi-faceted youth media mega-brand, MTV has transformed itself into an array of media outlets, appealing to a host of youth subcultures. There's even "MTV Act" for kids who prefer their pop-culture with a healthy dose of political activism.
MTV's Facebook page draws eyeballs - and drives interaction - by pulling all these threads together and spooling them out in small nuggets. Sample what you like, pass on what you don't. There is music, there is video, there is text - all moving at the frenetic pace of our modern digital lifestyle and keeping pace with the ceaseless demand for Entertainment Anywhere.