Contextual Media Assignment

            First of all, don’t judge me for my topic. I have chosen to do my analysis on the integration of social media and the show Pretty Little Liars.  Their team has implemented the idea of interactivity in social media very well.  

Social media essentially breaks the physical boundaries itself.  It creates and interactive cloud that is accessible to anyone who chooses to become involved in it, and they can access it from anywhere they can find wireless access.  It groups people of the same interest there and allows them to interact.  With Pretty Little Liars, they have a Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram account. Through these platforms, fans are able to interact with actors and people involved with the show as well as other fans.  They can create groups and be able to share their thoughts and guesses about what will happen in the show with one another. 

Here is the PLL twitter page

By letting the viewers involve themselves in what is happening, they can determine how involved they want to be in the series.  And then move to online discussion rooms whether they be forums, Facebook groups or chat, or even just tweeting about it and hash tagging, placing them in those groups.  This inherently brings in psychological context. What the viewers think about what is happening.  This promotes them to develop their own theories, gives them research tools to help, and online discussion and chat boards where they can share and discuss them.

It almost creates a sort of virtual world for people to become involved in.  This provides an opportunity for fans to be able to tap into their human instinct of curiosity, critical thinking, and problem solving. In this sense, cultural and social contexts could come into play because people are going to do what is acceptable in their culture or rules they have to try and figure out this sort of mystery as if it were real.  That’s why the interactivity of the show is so effective. 

The discussion board for the "Pretty Dirty Secrets" episodes

Pretty Little Liars has covered all of their bases as far as social media.  They have an interactive web page that connects everything together.  From there you can access whatever you find to find that is Pretty Little Liars.  They have a Facebook page where they allow fans to interact as well as keeping information about the show, upcoming episodes, and events updated.  They even update when the season is not currently playing.  This has a great impact because it keeps the show at the front of everyone’s minds even though they can’t watch new shows.

Here you can see the Pretty Little Liars web page and how they display everything you would look for.  There are links to everything here.

            

          This campaign also actively involves the viewers and fans in interacting with one another.  They have a mini program found on abcfamily.go.com where viewers can watch mini episodes of a series that will help them solve the mystery that is ongoing in the show.  This mini series gives fans clues as to who the notorious villain “A” is.  They can watch and gather clues to try and figure out themselves who “A” is.  This is another way of getting fans involved because they have to want to be involved in this.  The series is called "Pretty Dirty Secrets." A new program comes on every Tuesday on the Pretty Little Liars website, bringing new clues for viewers to gather.  Viewers must actively seek out this program and, in a way, become a form of citizen journalist for the program.

It is known, that the stars of Pretty Little Liars are fashion icons for many young girls so they have created a Pinterest account where fans can see boards such as PLL fashion.  Fans can see where and how to get their clothes seen on the cast.  They also have photos of press events, videos, etc.  It is the ultimate base for fan information.

I believe that this where they have done everything right.  PLL's social media department has realized that this is where our generation is headed.  Everything circulates around social media.  They have made easily accessible and appealing for fans of all ages to be involved in this program.  Fans can essentially find whatever they want as far as Pretty Little Liars between all of their social media resources.