Tuesday, August 11, 2009

So what about August 17th and Chuck Me Mondays?

Last night it seemed most people got the message that we had changed our method of tweeting and that is a positive sign. It means we CAN change strategies as long as everyone is given the time to receive the word.

So, next week we want to change things up. A few ideas have been tossed around:

1. ChuckTV had suggested tweeting the episode name being watched in each tweet. I like this idea but I am not sure if it is the best idea since it will change each week. On the other hand, it is easy for everyone to figure out what we are tweeting each week as long as they know the names of the episodes.

2. Another idea is to just tweet the word Chuck or the phrase Chuck Me Mondays without any hashtag. I like this idea since it contains a common name that Twitter is not likely to ban. If we go with the former, then it is easy since it is the name of the show and very easy to type. If the latter, it includes the name of the campaign and also includes the name of the show.

3. An idea that materialized last night is to abandon any reference to Chuck Me Mondays and instead aim to promote NBC's fan friendly site ChuckMeOut.com. We could tweet #chuckmeout or chuckmeout or chuck me out. This is beneficial to us all since their success will help the show and fan sites that ChuckMeOut.com is linking to and/or helping to promote.

Please comment here about these ideas and let us know which one you like, what part you like, or toss in another idea. We should try to have the strategy hammered out by the weekend. Thanks.

41 comments:

  1. I like the idea of using #chuckmeout or Chuck me out and connecting things up with NBC - after all they're the guys with the power, so the more people we get to follow them and the more they see how much we love Chuck the better.

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  2. I like the idea of also using chuck me out and connecting it with NBC. I still don't know if the hashtag idea is working, it is easier for twitter to ban hastags than it is to ban a commong word like Chuck. I think directing people to NBC is the right idea to promote the show.

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  3. I like the third idea as well -- link it up to NBC.
    Great work.

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  4. Good. Keep the comments coming. And link the blog to your Chuck friends and family. ;)

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  5. NBC has all the best video and show info ALL IN ONE PLACE! It seems logical to use that resource. #chuckmeout , Chuck Me Out seems to be the best idea.

    that's my 2 cents

    GaryW

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  6. Let's make this as simple as possible, the more letters you make us type, paste and post, the fewer tweets we will make, fewer tweets less posts, hence no trending whatever senerio you come up with.

    Go with #Chuckmeout, done, just add 2000 more fans and problem solved!

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  7. I think either #chuckmeout or Chuck Me Out would work. Maybe even ChuckMeOutDotCom so that if people are curious they know what site to go to.

    And like others have said, its linked to NBC which doesnt hurt.

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  8. I am going to go with #2 with no has tags on "chuck me mondays"

    1. It is the brand name of the campaign that people know

    2. Users can add references to the Chuckmeout website at their discrestion. Be creative :-)

    3. Tweeting the name of the episode is an intersting idea but I do share the same concern that the name will change each week. Which will probably lead to tweet formatting issues over and over.

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  9. Very good points, Larry. Keep it coming people. We will decide this strategy together.

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  10. While #chuckmeout would be a good site to refer fans to it lacks in the following:

    1. It should really be #chuckmeout.com or #chuckmeoutdotcom as a direct reference for the newbies to look at.

    2. Non-US newbies will be extremely frustrated once they get to the site and can't look at ANY of the video content, much less streaming an episode. It will make them feel excluded and they will walk away within seconds. NBC needs to make the video content at least available to interest non-US fans otherwise all our efforts are wasted.

    My suggestion is to direct ALL fans to #chucktv.net or #chucktvdotnet which at least will then redirect everyone to the various Chuck fan sites at NBC, cast, etc.

    Chuck is not and should not be treated like a local US show. It made global headlines with the Birmingham Subway drive, has a global fanbase, and the advertisers ARE global. They should allow their advertisers to reach that market.

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  11. Definitly like the idea of using Chuck me out. Makes it easier on us "old fogies" to keep up and if Chuck is to see season 4 a lot more of us need to be watching.

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  12. Unfortunately, different laws prohibit the showing of some videos in some regions. However, to keep the show on the air, we want ChuckMeOut.com and all their efforts to succeed since they will DIRECTLY impact our bottom line (to get more seasons).

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  13. I'm with Bob, whatever we do let's keep the tag or hashtag short and simple. The easier & shorter that part is, the more tweets will get typed. I know I'll get frustrated if I am restricted to fewer and fewer characters. But maybe that's just me... ;-)

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  14. While I understand - and appreciate the support of - your points, Anonymous #2, as Magnus said it's the various distribution laws that prevent non-US viewers from seeing a lot of the video content on NBC's sites. They can't do much about that.

    We DO want to make ChuckMeOut.com a successful venture for NBC since they're reaching out to the fans. My vote is for #chuckmeout as simple, and shorter, tag. The goal is to get people to click on the tag and see our Tweets, ask questions, and from there we can point them to the relevant websites.

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  15. I vote for #chuckmeout since it is shortest name with the greatest potential of leading people to NBC generated sites thus increasing the Chuck love. It also has the potential of being misread as check me out which actually might draw people in since they would be wondering why they should check someone out or why so many people are doing it.

    looking at the options 1. would get confusing since it would change every week, and it seems impractical since some of the names get pretty long. 2 has potential, but if we just tweet Chuck it will get mixed in with other things like chuck norris and that seems counterproductive.

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  16. Magnus: I understand the need to restrict some videos. But in case you haven't noticed, www.chuckmeout.com does not allow non-US fans to even look at the welcome/update videos put out by the cast and crew members. All we get is the full commercial then a message saying the video is not allowed for our region. The experience comes across as a product sell rather than a fun Chuck information moment.

    I really would like to recommend this site, after all it has a better look and feel, but part of the Chuck phenomenon we're selling is the Global Village of the Nerd and Sci-Fi community. The in-jokes are understood by fans from China to US.

    Our campaign is using Twitter - a global marketing tool. Even if NBC allowed viewing of the cast and crew video, it would be enough to sell the show. After all, the show has some stunningly beautiful women in Yvonne and Sarah and we only have seconds to hold onto the attention deficit web surfers.

    While the appearance of Chucktvdotnet is not nearly as nice as Chuckmeout, it is by far a more positive experience and introduction for all fans, even in the US.

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  17. Being a European (transplanted in the states of course), I do appreciate the want to experience all the content and not feel like a second class member of the fandom. The problem is that it is not just NBC's choice to restrict the content. WB owns all the CHUCK content and NBC pays licensing fees to use it. However, due to different union contracts, local laws, advertisement contracts and international copyright laws, most television network sites restrict content to the US.

    But you should look at the big picture. Sure, not being able to see all that content (at least through traditional means) is upsetting, but supporting the site despite that has the best chance to assist us all in keeping the show around for a long time. We need ChuckMeOut.com to succeed.

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  18. chuckmeout + the Chuck Vs the xxx title of the episode anyone?

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  19. i think it'd be best to do chuckmeout.com unless twitter bans websites from trending. that way people know it's a website without asking someone who's tweeting it. if twitter blocks websites, i think we should trend chuck and chuck me mondays- the twittering is the main idea of chuck me mondays, so the name of the campaign should be involved.

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  20. Mel I'm pretty sure it's not the distribution laws but the distribution contracts that prohibit video content. I'm down with that. But cast and crew video? Also, when I click on a trending topic on Twitter I'm only there long enough to gain an idea of the subject before I Google the site for more information. Our passionate, fun, twisted, etc. tweets are enough to get them to the site. If they can't access any content, what's to see the sale through to completion?

    I honestly don't mean to sound contrary, and I don't have a marketing degree, and I will definitely continue to support the ongoing fan campaigns, but I DO want NBC, WB, etc. to make money. And they can only do that if we bring in more viewers.

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  21. Anonymous, I wish you would at least punch in a name so I could address you by it. :) But, we are trying to drive a lot of people to the site, but the ones the site needs the most, to generate all that revenue, is Americans. It is just a fact of the business. But, EVERY fan of the show can help us do that.

    The 400,000 streams that NBC has received from CHUCK fans, has likely generated over $25,000 in revenue. That might not seem like a lot, but in 3 weeks, we have paid for like 1 minute of an episode! We might be able to pay NBC's cost for a couple of episodes in a few months just from driving traffic over to them.

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  22. Sorry Magnus:

    My Twitter ID is Guildish. I'm on tech overload at the moment and trying to downsize all the various ID's. Let me work on it. Thank you.

    I completely understand and support the need for American viewers. But in the near long-term we will also need the $$ from international distribution rights. There is no choice given the world economy. Corporations and advertisers will demand it. So as to avoid having to beg for a 4th or 5th season, we need a two-prong approach now. NBC can help in this by releasing cast and crew video content, etc. After all, they allowed access to the ComicCon video. As I said, we're using a global tool and likely losing global viewers because of this restriction. It definitely feels like I'm spinning my wheels for nothing when I can't say to my friends "Hey, go to www.chuckmeout.com and check out this terrific show". Selling the show through non-tradtional viewing methods will not make NBC/WB $$$.

    I'm cool with losing this debate, because, honestly, I'm willing to fork over $5 - $10 of my own money per episode of Chuck. The show is 95% better than what's on Movie/TV screens these days and it's a lot less work than trying to bring in new viewers, lol.

    As it appears that chuckmeout will be the Twitter hash for next week, I'd like to support Rachel's viewpoints of chuckmeout.com, etc.

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  23. I think #chuckmeout is a great idea the fact it is connect to NBC. The be able to see how support the fans are for our favorite show CHUCK.

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  24. I appreciate your passion and hope you use it to kick some serious CHUCK FU arse. :)

    As for Rachel's point, as far as I know, we CANNOT trend URLs. So, it would have to be #chuckmeout, chuckmeout, or chuck me out.

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  25. Let me add, Wendy Farrington (SerendipityWAF on Twitter) is essentially the CHUCK fandom ambassador to NBC, WB, and the production, and I promise to bring up your concerns about not being able to access the site from outside the US with her (though, I bet she reads it before I ever speak to her).

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  26. Thanks Magnus/DR.

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  27. No problem. I thank the gods every day that we ended up with someone like Wendy as our queen (I am so dead if she reads that). :)

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  28. Might that be a possibility then. Using a tiny URL for trending? It would take everyone directly to the site.

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  29. I am pretty sure any URL will automatically get banned from the trending list.

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  30. I like the idea of Chuckmeout because with all season 2 now on the site more people may be able to join in, also NBC might see that there is a good number of people still watching in the off season could help with getting full pick up or another season =)

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  31. Sign me up for #chuckmeout. If we're going to get back to trending we're going to have to grow our numbers. I think there are far more people checking chuckmeout.com than twitter. If we can grab those people, Awesome.

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  32. i'll add another vote for using #chuckmeout (or #chuckmeoutdotcom if we want it to be clear that it's a web site without actually using a url).

    if we want to retain the name of the campaign in the tweets, i think it should be as one word (i.e. chuckmemondays), since one word expressions appear to trend more easily (e.g. #wehateyoumiley/#bringbackpluto), but obviously without the hash mark since we suspect it's been flagged by twitter. i don't know if tweeting the campaign name is so necessary though; the goal of the campaign is to get people to watch the show; the campaign itself is just a means to the end.

    another option is using #chuck (instead of the campaign name). i don't know what's so bad about picking up a handful of #chuck norris tweets along the way. (actually, i monitor #chuck tweets on twitterfall; only seldom is the tweet in reference to chuck norris.)

    thanks for your hard work, magnus! looking forward to the next cmm (regardless of what tag(s) we use :-))!

    (... now if only my tweets actually counted... but that's another matter :-) )

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  33. I have no issue with piggybacking on Chuck Norris. In the end, it matters more that when people click on a trending topic that they see our tweets are about NBC's Chuck.

    Since it seems like we are almost all in agreement on direction, I will post a final series of options tomorrow... unless a massive amount of comments change things.

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  36. I'm in the UK and whilst I do find it incredibly irritating that a lot of the chuckmeout.com content isn't available to me I still think the best campaign would be to direct people to that site because of the NBC connection.

    It's also worth pointing out that Season 2 is still airing on Virgin 1 in the UK, and maybe this is another reason why the shows can't be streamed online in the UK. I don't know about the rest of Europe or when it aired/is airing there.

    There is a forum on chuckmeout.com - why not set up a petition on the forum to have the restrictions removed so that we can all see all of the content? Maybe they wouldn't take notice, but you never know.

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  37. Support NBC's efforts to promote the show better and Chuckmeout in your CMM tweets. So a sample tweet would be "Watching #chuck vs the Crown Vic on Chuck Me Monday, thanks @nbc chuckmeout.com" for your first tweet: consistent and increases trending. And then you can just tweet normally afterward, like "Chuck Me Monday: Casey's Vic takes one for the team - bummer but LOL" or whatever.

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  38. I dig the chuckmeout tag as well, helps link NBC gets them all a twitter, pun intended, with traffic for the show which is what we desperately need and want for Chuck.

    www.twitter.com/chuckitmonday

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  39. We seem to have a pretty good consensus here. I will post a new blog tomorrow about our options. But it looks like we will be using #chuckmeout or some form of that this coming Monday. Thank you all for your comments... though, keep them coming if you like. :)

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  40. Hi. I'm new to ChuckMeMonday and Twitter but would like to submit my thoughts.

    With the growth in Twitter use and continuing refinement of their trending algorithm it is probably no longer possible for a couple of hundred people to trend as was possible a few months ago.Now it seems to take a thousand or more people to trend. I assume that 200 people doing 40 tweets each has less trending power than 2000 people doing 3 tweets each.

    I doubt that any choice of #word, word, or phrase will allow us to spam our way into the trend list. Rather, we should work on developing a tag that promotes user fun with participating in ChuckMeMonday as well as making it easy for non-ChuckMeMonday Twitter friends to see the complete list of our tweets.

    The hash (#) was developed as a tag to signify a word as metadata. This is used to group related tweets together for searching. Twitter helps with this by converting the hash tag words in a tweet to URLs that submit the hashed word to the Twitter search engine. Last Monday I used a search for #ChuckMeMonday to view the complete list of tweets in real time.

    For the above reasons I prefer option 2. This keeps the tag simple without consuming precious characters thus allowing for more complete tweets. Additional search phrases such as “Chuck Me Out” only makes the tweet look odd. Also adding the hashed word makes it easy for casual readers to see the complete list of tweets and hopefully seek more information on Chuck.

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