Rate & Predict American Idol

In a bid to keep up with Internet geek trends, the Top 24 American Idol contestants have all been given official Twitter accounts and Facebook pages.  On this site’s contestant pages, you’ll see their latest tweets, with links to their Twitter and Facebook pages.

In theory, this should bring the contestants closer to their voting fans, allowing us to form stronger bonds with them and their journey.  In practice, it’s almost worthless.

Look at the timestamps for each contestant’s tweets: they’re all within 20 minutes of one another.  I’m speculating, but it feels like there’s a social media consultant telling the contestants to tweet at a specified time.  Chances are, they’re being edited before being published.  And that type of editing blunts Twitter’s magic: it’s powerful BECAUSE it’s unedited.

Hopefully they’ll loosen the reigns as time goes on, so we can really get to know the contestants on a personal level.