Collide Magazine

… American Idol returns this week in a 2-day, 4-hour event. You might resent me for even mentioning the show, but I think it is better to face your fears than run from them. And yes, there are plenty of things to be afraid of in Season 7 of Idol, such as:

• Ryan Seacrest will still have a microphone
• Simon will still have a flattop
• Paula will still tell mediocre singers what great hearts they have
• and Randy will still “dawg” us all to death.

In the meantime, the show remains something of an interesting case study (at least in terms of media and technology). Obviously, the show revolves around music so that gets our attention. But it’s not just music, right? Otherwise, VH1’s Top 20 Countdown would be as highly rated as Idol. If anything, Top 20 Countdown features more music and more talent (it may not always feel that way, but trust me), but the ratings pale in comparison to Fox’s crown jewel of programming.

Idol is the ratings monster it is because it invites participation rather than passive viewing. By voting online, over the phone, or via text message, the audience determines the winners and losers. Two of America’s favorite things share this distinction—Democracy and Web 2.0—and both have been pretty successful so far.

Even though the participation model doesn’t always produce stellar results (see Taylor Hicks, Herbert Hoover, etc.) it is fascinating to see the numbers of people who invest their time, energy, emotions, and text messaging charges into following a season of American Idol from start to finish.

I think there are a lot of things we can learn from the show (how desperately some people want to be famous, among others), but let’s focus on the participatory element of the show. In what ways can your church benefit from encouraging participation?

It has often been suggested that a pastor’s blog would be a great place for a church community to engage in conversation about life and faith Monday through Saturday. Many churches are starting to introduce text messaging into special events as a means of participating, although it would be a shame to see a congregant come down with a bad case of BlackBerry thumb while attending church. At heartsupport.com (as mentioned in the current issue of COLLIDE) people who are suffering with a range of problems and addictions can interact with counselors in real-time rather than just read online brochures or listen to sermons about overcoming their conditions.

Do you have a story of using technology to facilitate participation at your church? We’d love to hear it.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Music, Visual. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.