By Wired, November 21, 2008
Most Monday nights, Dynna Wilkerson joins 10,000 other superfans to play MTV's Backchannel, a multiplayer online game based on the hugely popular scripted reality soap The Hills.
Wilkerson, a 26-year-old administrative assistant from Baltimore, slings snarky barbs and cutesy one-liners for points in the game, which is designed to be played while The Hills airs. As the show's celebutants bicker and gossip on TV, users fire off comments in a web-based chat room.
The funnier — and often the meaner — the comments are, the higher the player's score: The more comical or cutting the jibe, the more likely other players are to click on it, earning the scribe points.
"I play Backchannel every chance I get," said Wilkerson in an e-mail exchange
. "It's so exciting to win even though you don't get anything."
As television audiences migrate online, media companies are eyeing social networking as a possible killer app for hooking viewers through their laptops. From simple chat rooms to unique games, the race is on to develop content that complements traditional shows — the more creative and addictive the better.
"If all we were doing was regurgitating content from television online, I'd slit my wrists," said Anthony Soohoo, senior vice president of CBS' interactive division. "It's a connected experience that becomes very social."
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