And the Oscar for Best Tweet... From Snarky Commentary to Network Strategy, a Social-Media Guide to Awards Night

By Katherine Rosman and Rachel Dodes area and the theater, including one at the clips to post to the site," Ms. Gilford says. lobby bar and a backstage "Thank You Cam- Last year during the telecast, tweeters a slate of small, arty movie era" where winners can extend their accep- took to the web to discuss Oscar co-host nominees and a retro host without With tance speeches. Video from these cameras James Franco dazed and uncommanding much buzz, this year's Academy won't be part of the TV broadcast, but will comportment. Joy Behar, the co-host of The Awards broadcast not set televi- may any be streamed via ABC's website and free mo- View, tweeted about Mr. Franco and his co- sion ratings records. But it's poised for a bile app. A Twitter feed will let followers host Anne Hathaway: "I'm surprised Anne shot at another title: It could be the biggest know in real-time who is appearing on Hathaway didn't get a hernia from carrying night yet for social media. which camera. The idea is to give people James Franco all night. #Oscars." The awards show is working hard to more access to live celebrity footage that Last year's Oscar broadcast had 966,000 pump up its social-media clout as it tries to they can chat about online. social-media comments, and overall, the leverage a growing phenomenon: More and During the broadcast, viewer tweets using social-media Oscar chatter was positive, more viewers are supplementing the experi- the hashtags "#oscars," "#oscarbuzz" and according to Bluefin Labs, a social-media ence of merely watching their favorite TV "#celebratethemovies" will on the analytics company. During the Oscar tele- shows by joining in simultaneous running appear network's home and its Acad- cast, 87% of all social-media comments commentaries on Twitter and Facebook. Oscar page on Awards Karin ABC's senior were about the Academy Awards, and the U.S. TV network ABC, which will broad- emy app. Gilford, vice president of digital media, says an out- third most frequently used term was cast the awards Sunday, will have two peo- side has been hired to monitor the "love" (after "#oscars" and "Oscars"). ple tweeting about what is happening back- company tweets that will stream onto ABC's site, to "Dress" was fifth. The vast majority of stage, including Shira Lazar, a web- weed out and offensive content. Please turn to page W6 broadcast personality. The red-carpet hosts spam Even snarky comments from viewers can will be asking celebrities questions that be used to the network's benefit. "If every- viewers have posted to Twitter. Thirteen one is going crazy about one event or mo- cameras will be stationed in the red-carpet ment of the telecast, we know what video I'd Like to Thank My Twitter Followers...

measurable "social media mentions" are When the Academy announced the Oscar know he was searching for mentions of culled from Twitter because, unlike Face- nominees last month, actor Albert Brooks, himself, he made the most of it in a fol- book status updates, which often are visi- reacted on Twitter— not because he had low-up tweet: "Steve Martin oily muscles ble only to a user's friends, most tweets been named a best supporting actor con- beach Speedo photo." are publicly posted. tender for "Drive," as many had expected, Joan Rivers, 890,000, @Joan_Rivers A Other TV events have seen big huge but because he hadn't. heavy tweet rate ensures Ms. Rivers can de- in social-media The "I ROBBED. I don't mean the jumps activity lately. got Oscars, liver a steady stream of news-driven zing- Awards racked 13 million so- I mean and shoes have Grammy up literally. My pants ers without sacrificing mention of her TV cial-media comments during the broadcast, been stolen," the 64-year-old actor wrote and live appearances. Sample: "M.I.A is 2280% from last according to Blue- on the social-networking site. Later that up year, hosting a Grammy party. She'll be serving fin Labs. (The show also had a in TV day, he weighed in again: "And to the Acad- surge all of her favorite finger foods." viewers, in part due to the death of Whit- emy: You don't like me. You really don't like Richard Lewis, 68,000, @Theßichar- ney Houston the day before the awards.) me," he tweeted, inverting Sally Field's fa- dLewis The actor and comedian posts ang- Media executives say they don't yet have mous 1985 best-actress speech. sty complains and one-liners that just the data to directly measure the correlation Mr. Brooks, who initially signed up for you know he over before Sam- between volume of social media mentions the social-networking service last May to agonizes posting. ple: "I'd go to sleep now but would hate to and actual viewership ratings. "But we do promote his first novel, sends out missives almost of miss out on a bad experience." know that social media drives engagement every day on a variety topics, and can help sustain viewers' interest in ranging from windstorms in Los Angeles to Demetri Martin, 182,000, @DemetriMar- the race. He This feed is at best what they're watching," says Albert Cheng, Republican presidential hypes tin its when Mr. Martin his work if at all. Because he's in executive vice president for digital media of sparingly, extends his illustration-based comedy into such communication with his the = the Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC. frequent world of tweets. Sample: "(x) A re- Mr. Brooks he For this year's Oscars, Twitter has lined 233,000 followers, says volving door, from above." thought it would be "pretty weird" if he re- up a group of TV and music personalities to Patton Oswalt, 633,000, (©pattonoswalt mained silent after getting snubbed by the tweet throughout the ceremony, including An inside glimpse at the travels and trials Academy. "If nothing, it's like: "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria, you say of a fully booked actor/comedian. Sample: Where are Did die?" he "American Idol" host Randy Jackson and you? you says. Wow. 23 years in comedy and I still have to On Twitter, self-deprecation is in and comedian Whitney Cummings, the star of spell-check "diarrhea." self -promotion is out, for the best tweeters, NBC's "Whitney." Jonathan Katz, 11,000, @jonathan_katz anyway. Singled out here is a selection of Suzy Soro, a blogger and comedian in The deadpan stand-up and movie comedian some worth following, in many fields— from Los Angeles, will live-tweet the Oscars from is not above Twitter as a focus food to comedy, fashion to music. Twitter's using group her feed @hotcomestodie. She says she ap- for material. niece turned highest-profile practitioners are increas- Sample: "My just preciates the way that Twitter can level the seven and is starting to ask those embar- ingly using the free service not so much as playing field on a night when Hollywood rassing questions like "What does a guy like an overt marketing tool but as a convenient celebrates its glamorous A-list. "It all goes you make?" way to explain themselves, to communicate back to Andy Warhol," Ms. Soro says, ¦Don Steinberg openly with fans and to defend their posi- "when you live tweet, you're on stage too." Books tions without the filter of public relations The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Jennifer The representatives. If they can occasionally Weiner, 38,000, (cpjenniferweiner Science, which presents the awards, has a chick-lit author tweets about hype their careers — well, who is harmed? best-selling Facebook application that lets users pick her life, politics and ABC's "The Bachelor." which films and actors to win. Some of the Best they expect "A safe Twitter feed is no fun for anybody," Much of the social-media is Comedy planning being says Ms. Weiner. She likes when tweeters Josh the Steve Martin, 2.3 million followers overseen by Spector, Academy's embrace their personalities and loathes director of media and (SSteveMartinToGo Mr. Martin this week managing digital when they write about mundane topics, created this published a short book of his best tweets, marketing— a position summer. like being on a dietary cleanse. "You have Even the after-show "The Ten, Make That Nine, Habits of Very party-scene glam- to remember you're playing to an audi- our will be Organized People. Make That Ten." In it, he socially leveraged. Magazine ence," she says. which throws an Os- of Twitter: "I thought tweeting might Vanity Fair, famously says Although many writers gripe that Twit- each will have a staffer be a to cultivate lines and ideas for car party year, way my ter is a vehicle for procrastination, Ms. tweeting from the and video new banjo stage show. But all this tweet party, footage Weiner says that tweeting has actually en- of the celebration will online in material turned out to be good for just one go nearly hanced her writing abilities. "It lets us real-time, Chris Rovzar, Vanity Fair's thing: tweeting." says work on timing and word choice," says Ms. editor. Mr. Martin has tested the medium. He's digital Weiner, who has a new novel coming out He the videos and will let tweeted interactive song parodies with his says tweeting this summer. "It's about saying what we readers experience the without totally followers and posted an ongoing series of party need to say, getting to the point." compromising the privacy of the A-list tweets from a jury-duty waiting room. ("De- Bret Easton Ellis, 236,000, @BretEaston El- guest list. "It's a delicate balance of letting fendant's hair looking very Conan-y today. lis The "American Psycho" author tweets people know what is going on and not GUILTY."). about movies and TV: "I hate to think of spoiling anybody's fun," he says. Once he accidentally tweeted "Steve Martin" while trying to search for his what Billy Wilder would make of Terrence Celebrity Tweeting name. Embarrassed that millions would Malick...," he wrote. Buzz Bissinger, 26,000, @buzzbissinger The lor Swift song, such as: "It's not you I'm "Friday Night Lights" author might be the rejecting, it's my heart I'm protecting." only famous person on Twitter who hasn't Kanye West, 6.7 million, @kanyewest The yet changed his avatar from the standard controversial rapper doesn't tweet that of- egg to an actual picture. He tweeted an ex- ten, but when he does, he unleashes a tor- for his in which planation missing picture, rent of bizarre messages. His most recent he he looks like says an uptight "typical au- bender took place on Jan. 5, in which he thor": tortoise shell "Only thing missing railed against consumerism, wrote about and glasses pipe." the need for education reform, and invoked Fashion Michael Jackson, Alexander McQueen and Peter Som, 10,500, @Peter_Som George Bernard Shaw. Sample: "We need The designer started tweeting in 2010 at scientist [sic] and top world designers to the behest of his business Elana partner, directly affect governments." Posner, who told him he had to join Twitter Nico Muhly, 10,000, @nicomuhly The to build his brand. He quickly discovered who has collaborated that people didn't want to hear him talking young composer, with artists like Bjork, sends funny tweets about clothes all the time. Although his about mundane topics. Sample: "I'm in publicist often posts images of celebrities that weird area of bed bath and wearing Peter Som ensembles to their beyond where it's discount Bonne Maman pre- Twitter feed, the designer prefers tweeting serves and nut milks.." about his love for cooking, "Downton Ab- bey" and "The Real Housewives of At- FOOD lanta." ("MAYYJOR drama!" he tweeted af- Mario Batali, 245,000, @Mariobatali Chef ter a recent episode.) "I didn't realize Batali first heard about Twitter a couple of people were that interested in what I have years ago when he read about Ashton to say," says Mr. Som. Kutcher posting photos of Demi Moore's he At the Bonnie Morrison, 4400, @fiercegrandma The "panty-clad bottom," says. time, of fashion publicist is known for snarky, hu- he thought Twitter was "an example ev- morous tweets about what people are wear- erything that was wrong with modern soci- ing. "Of course Fergie has to style a rela- ety," he says. tively pretty dress with a slutty padded bra But after being persuaded to join by Ari- and earrings from Claire's," she wrote of the anna Huffington and Twitter CEO Dick Cos- Black Eyed Peas singer's Grammy ensemble. tolo— they were all at a dinner together at the CES conference in 2010— Mr. Batali Isaac Mizrahi , 30,000, @IsaacMizrahi The found his He answers dozens of designer, food and theater enthusiast groove. from people tweets about some of his favorite things. cooking questions every day who the "I made After lamenting that he was too late to use #heymb tag. Sample: chicken caccitore the other night I added watch "RuPaul's Drag Race," a reality com- baby bellas could one use wine to deglaze petition for transvestites on the Logo pan?" someone asked. "Yes!!" responded channel, he blamed himself: "Fashion Mr. Batali. waits for no one." "I realized I could become a quick-an- Music swer place for people that somehow don't Roseanne Cash, 41,000 arosannecash know how to use Google," says Mr. Batali. "I notice The Boss doesn't need to wear a miter to sound like he owns the whole Anthony Bourdain, 733,000, @noreserva- tions The chef tweets mostly freaking world," the singer-songwriter renegade about food and traveling in his signature tweeted during Bruce Springsteen's per- provocative style. Sample: Following the formance at the recent Grammy Awards. news that Paula Deen would be the She was referring to hip-hop artist Nicki spokesperson for a diabetes drug he Minaj's appearance on the red carpet with a wrote, "Thinking of getting into the leg- man dressed as the pope. breaking business, so I can profitably sell Taylor Swift, 11.2 million, @taylorswiftl3 crutches later." known for her earnest Ms. Swift, country- Eric Ripert, 766,500 @ericripert tweets about her life: pop crossover songs, The Le Bernardin chef tweets pictures of two new best she wrote "My friends!!!!!," food, retweets the Dalai Lama. Sample: from the a of Grammys, posting picture "AL Roker just called me: The Pepe Le herself two To be holding trophies. sure, pew of cooking?!?!? Al watch out the Ms. Swift's Twitter feed isn't as funny as a staircase is slippery today... You could parody @realtaylorswift (347,000 follow- break your 1eg...(:" ers), in which "she" tweets mushy state- ments that could have emerged from a Tay-