I was fortunate enough to attend a university event this week that recognized the contributions of one family to NC State University and to the state of North Carolina.  That family is the Scott family.

Bill Friday, who has proven quite the public servant himself, put the family’s contributions into perspective and quite honestly, his comments moved me.  Here was another example of how this university has made North Carolina what it is today…one of the greatest states in the nation.

Friday spoke for a mere 10 minutes, but the history lesson he provided is one we should all hear.  So here, brought to you by NC State University, I present

Remarks by William C. Friday

We gather to celebrate and to remember the gifts and service of a father and son, both alumni of this place and to give permanence to their service through this dedicatory occasion.  We gather to honor their committed and superior service to the people of the state.

I had the pleasure of knowing W. Kerr Scott early on in my years of association with the University.  Like thousands of others, I greatly admired his energy, his intelligence and his commanding sense of the needs of people, especially our farm population.  In those days, the executive committee of the then Board of Trustees held its quarterly meetings in the office of the Governor, since the Governor was then the chairman of that body.  The great pastime amongst the members was the wager as to whether each session would last for one cigar or two.  The Governor’s adept handling of the agenda never exceeded that limit.   He was an especially entertaining and skillful chairman.

We all remember Kerr Scott as County Agent in Alamance and as our  Commissioner of Agriculture.  Being one himself, he was in close, intimate touch with the farmer, the issues of agriculture and its great importance to all of us.  He decided to run for the governorship of North Carolina against established and tradition succession and he won.  And it was during his administration that he exhibited his boldness and daring by calling for an unheard of  $200 million bond vote for highway development to lift the farm people out of the mud.  It was then that he truly won the hearts of all thoughtful North Carolinians.

Governor Scott did not waste time or words.  Once, in Chapel Hill, he demonstrated both qualities when he introduced Eleanor Roosevelt by saying, “She served as First Lady of our country.  Today she is First Lady of the World.”  Kerr Scott did many good and wonderful things while our Chief Executive.  During that term of office he made a very daring move that changed the course of history in our state and it was an action inspired by his dear wife, Miss Mary, who urged, and Kerr Scott did, appoint President Frank Graham to the United States Senate.  It occurred on the occasion of the very first O. Max Gardner dinner in 1949.  The faculty of the university campuses had gathered.  The evening progressed as planned.  The award to Miss Louise Alexander was made and at the very end of the evening, Governor Kerr Scott rose and said, “I have an announcement to make.  I’m going to appoint President Frank Graham to the Senate.  The room exploded.

Thoughtful North Carolinians looking back on that event now would see how truly daring it was.  Regrettably, Dr. Graham was not elected by popular vote in the ensuing election, but that election shook the state dramatically.  The campaign had its moments of hate, lies and character assassinations, and there were many, but Governor Scott’s selection forced North Carolina to look at itself in the mirror on the question of race.   In that process North Carolina began a new course in its evolving history.  Now a half century later, we look back upon the raw courage of both Governor Scott and President Graham in taking upon themselves the wrath and the fury of carrying North Carolina through the transition into the new world of universal citizenship and equal rights under both the State Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.  In my lifetime I have known no more dramatic moment of history than this one.  Great indeed is our debt to both of these heroes , but especially Governor Kerr Scott, who gave you and me a redefined statement of individual freedom we enjoy this very day.

Kerr Scott’s great and useful life of leadership, good will and demonstrable courage came to an end while serving his beloved state as our United States Senator.  I am so pleased that today we honor him in such an appropriate manner.

When Governor Kerr Scott’s son, Robert, became North Carolina’s Governor, it was only the second time in our history that a father/son succession had been achieved.  When Robert Scott assumed direction of the State, his administration set about on a program of reorganizing state government, reforming the prison system and along with his successors, enormous effort at attracting new industries.  He also devoted a lot of time to the expansion of health care, but for me, his signal achievement was bringing about the restructuring of state supported higher education.

Now, thirty years later, that particular action has benefitted the State of North Carolina and its growth and development like no other major action has done.  Indeed, the success of this movement insured the success of the Research Triangle, which is now, as we all know a word wide institution.  Historians will also tell us in detail about his successful years as President of the states’ community college system, as master of the State Grange, or head of the Appalachian Commission and many other achievements.  But it was the Governor’s long-time friend and colleague, HG Jones, who, in a separate publication identified a major role Robert Scott played that is not so widely known.  He was, as Dr. Jones titled, “the gubernatorial friend of history,” and at this time and this occasion, let me underscore how truly important were these actions.

This enduring legacy manifested itself in so many very important ways.  The establishment of the State’s Record Center, a resource of unlimited importance.  He led the critical renovation of the State Capitol itself, and the major renovation of the Governor’s Executive Mansion, to its present quality as an historical site.  To show his great diversity of interests, he inspired the establishment of the Reed Gold Mine as a state treasure.  Then came the preservation of the Duke Homestead and the singular role of tobacco in the life of our state.  And what must have been an unusual success, the establishment of the Carbine Williams Workshop, the story of the rapid fire machine gun that changed the course of World War II.

W. Kerr Scott and his son, Robert W. Scott, alumni of this noble institution, represented in their lives and in their work the noblest of traditions that has so woven itself into the life of North Carolina and made our state different and better.  That tradition is the commitment to serve the people in some useful way during one’s life.   Institutions of higher education perform many important functions, but primary among them is the graduation of generation upon generation of leadership mindful of the role that the careers of both of these men so dramatically illustrate.  They were men of the soil, both were devout men of the church, both were men of tradition, both were men of courage and goodwill who understood that the measure of one’s usefulness is their degree of commitment and service to fellow man.

In the long, very important and illustrious history of North Carolina State, no family name stands more prominently, no name more deservedly merits praise than that of the Scotts of Hawfield.

Therefore on this day and at this hour we gather to pay full respect and tribute to the nobility of their lives.  Let us also remember that it is upon our shoulders that this mantle of service has now fallen and it is that legacy of service to which you and should aspire.

Historians will say that W. Kerr Scott and Robert W. Scott served North Carolina, their alma mater and all of our people with uncommon courage and devotion.  It is therefore entirely fitting and appropriate that this beautiful expanse of land nestled here in the heart of the University they loved so much, henceforth will bear their names forever.

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Last night the new Chancellor was at the annual Founder’s Day Banquet where he and his wife Susan had an opportunity to meet about 400 of the university’s staunchest supporters.  Jay Dawkins and Shanna Rose received the 2010 Mathews Medal, the highest non-scholastic award an NC State student can receive, during the event.

The University also recognized Kenneth M. Bryant, Hou-Min Chang and H. Frank Grainger with the Watauga Medal.  The Watauga recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the University.

Woodson is clearly excited about joining NC State and he let the crowd know that during brief remarks.  He also hinted that change may be afoot at NC State.  He has said this before during earlier visits.

“This is a university for a reason,”  he said.  “It’s not nine or 10 colleges. I really want to stress the idea that we are one university. There needs to be strong collaboration across colleges, and our students need to benefit from the breadth of educational opportunities at this university – regardless of their major. So, it’s really stressing the idea that this is one university. We have a lot of individual colleges and departments, but we share one common goal.”

One voice, one message, one common goal.  Music to my ears.

But the most exciting aspect of the new Chancellor’s comments is that we’ll all have an opportunity to work with him and follow his lead to define that common goal.  Excellent timing for our Strategic Communications Planning Process don’t you think.

Here’s what I wrote back in early December. It may, or may not, be the right direction for NC State, but I’m hoping it will keep the discussion alive.

Our brand is NC State University. We are known for our position as the largest university in North Carolina — with a presence in every county — the economic impact we have on the state, the innovation and success of our research, the value of our academic programs, and the passion and loyalty of our alumni.  We are located in the heart of the Research Triangle, one of the most economically robust and educationally rich areas in the country.

We strive for excellence in our results and performance.  We seek to return high value for the support others invest in us. Our work is worthy of investment and has significant impact on the people of our community, state and nation.

We are stronger together and as disciples of NC State University we carry our messages far and wide.  We carry our passion with us too.

Key Messages:

• NC State University is a preeminent research university and land grant institution.  Our statewide reach, diversity and proven ability to create productive partnerships enable us to take a unique interdisciplinary approach to solving issues critical to our community, state and nation
• NC State’s wide range of teaching, research and extension programs have a profound impact in areas ranging from the economy to the environment to the fine arts and athletics and beyond
• NC State offers a hands-on education built on the concepts of career-readiness, service to the community and consensus- and partnership-building.  These concepts play out in an environment built on unique partnerships between business, government and higher education
• Funding for NC State University is fundamental to developing an innovation economy for North Carolina
• NC State’s alumni are loyal, powerful, and everywhere and we welcome everyone into the NC State family, into the Wolfpack.
  
• NC State is North Carolina’s university. We produce more graduates than any other university in the state, we have more students than any other university in the state, we have the largest faculty and staff of any university in the state, we have facilities in every county in the state and we create more jobs and economic impact than any other university in the state.  In fact, we may be the most powerful economic engine in the state of North Carolina providing an $8 return for every $1 invested

So, food for thought.  Let me know what you think.  What makes sense, what doesn’t. Gotta keep it moving.  State COMM group meets in two weeks.  Let’s be ready to discuss.

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Interesting piece by Matthew May and Brad Kinney over at Industry Week, deconstructing what is possibly the most interesting — as well as the most impactful — aftershocks of the recent Toyota recalls. That is to say, the emotional reactions of  customers who bought into a Brand Promise made by Toyota that it seems the automaker has failed to deliver.

Mays first lays the groundwork for his argument by referencing a famous marketing innovation story, in this case from another automaker during tough economic times.  I’ve added my own reference to a famous motorcycle manufacturer as well:

• The idea of perceptual, emotional or otherwise intangible value in business can be traced back to the Great Depression, when Cadillac effectively stopped selling automotive transportation. In the 1930s, Nicholas Dreystadt took over as the company was about to fail and announced that Cadillac did not compete with other automakers, but that “Cadillac competes with diamonds and mink coats. The Cadillac customer does not buy transportation, but status.” That simple perceptual innovation translated to a price premium and saved the company. Within two years Cadillac had become a major growth business despite the dismal economy.

• Harley-Davidson did something similar in the early-1980s when the company was facing bankruptcy.  CEO Vaughn Beals began to position the company and its motorcycles as a lifestyle rather than a product.  Harley started charging riders $35 a year to join a club that helped them do what they were already doing, riding their Harleys to local dealerships and trading experiences with their buddies.  They created the Harley Owners Group, or HOG as most of us know it.  That move has helped Harley sustain its business through the tough economic times and today more than a million members pay the Motor Company about $75 a year to do what they already do, ride their motorcycles.

According to May, that same perceptual innovation has been used by Toyota over the past decades. What they’ve been selling is not an automobile, but the perception of quality.  Just think back to the introduction of Toyota’s Lexus brand from 1989 to 1999: “The relentless pursuit of perfection!”  So much for perfection.

What is happening to Toyota right now is that the emotional bonds of trust, built over decades, is being eroded by the dramatic scope and scale of their product quality issues. Many people, loyal customers, are feeling betrayed.

Toyota is fighting back with everything possible, but will it be enough?  Time will tell.  The play did work for Harley, but then the company was focusing on lifestyle precisely because of quality problems.   And if Harley-Davidson fails to deliver on the dreams of some of its owners, another dreamer is standing buy to pick up on that dream and make it his or her own.

The bigger question in my mind right now is not about Toyota, Cadillac or Harley.  My question is about the Brand Promise we are making at NC State University.  Do we even have a brand promise?  Do we need a brand promise?  Have we failed to deliver on that promise of late and, if so, how do we win back that trust?

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m still struggling for answers.  Should our Brand Promise be built around the big issues of our time:

• Producing leaders for the state, nation, and world
• Energy and the environment
• Health and well-being
• Educational innovation across all grade levels
• Economic development and social equity

Or is this our brand promise built around an emotional connection with our audience(s)?

At NC State University, we:

• are curious—we explore, create and discover
• have the courage to shape the future
• believe in diversity of people, thought and opinion
• build community (The Wolfpack)
• pursue excellence
• enhance lives

NC State University:

• Defining by example how a public research university can best serve the global community.

Well, what is it?  So much to do, so little time.

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Efforts have been underway to make the campus “edges” more attractive and the project on Hillsborough Street is a great example.  While there is still a lot to do, it’s easy to see how the new design will really set the stage for a bright future.

Also exciting is the new wolfpack that’s about to make its presence known.  Just outside the Free Expression Tunnel in a new plaza area — an area I’m calling Wolf Plaza –  three new wolf statues will stand watch on the student body.

San Diego-based artist Michael Stutz created the over-sized “woven bronze” wolves that weigh in at approximately 1,200 pounds each and stand about five feet tall.   The sculptures are part of a continuing campus beautification project helped along by the bond referendum of 2000 that allowed NC State to address facility construction and renovation across campus.

“Now we have an opportunity to turn our attention to the spaces between buildings,” said Tom Skolnicki, university landscape architect.  “If you look across our campus, there are some iconic places, like the Bell Tower, the Brickyard and Holladay Hall.  As part of the physical master plan, we’re trying to create additional (iconic places) as well as improve the areas that have high visibility and high pedestrian traffic.”

An informal unveiling of the new wolf trio is planned for Tuesday, March 9, at 2 p.m. with free wolf cakes, er…I mean cup cakes, for all who attend.  But, no circus dogs.

Skolnicki said the wolves are among several ongoing projects that will continue into the summer.  Here’s the list:

Watauga Club Gateway: Watauga Club Drive is officially closed to through traffic – no more cutting through from Pullen to Hillsborough.  The roughly 30 yards of pavement has been turned into a grassy area that connects the Bell Tower Lawn with Primrose Hall. A “gateway” consisting of brick and metal will mark an entrance to campus.

Achievement Drive Gateway: Similar to the Watauga Gateway, the new construction at Achievement Drive and Centennial Parkway will welcome visitors entering Centennial Campus.

Court of North Carolina Steps and Outdoor Classroom: Renovations to the 1911 Building were designed to allow pedestrian traffic to flow easily through the building.  New steps will allow pedestrians to proceed immediately to the Court of North Carolina, rather than veering right or left to the sidewalks on either side.  The new steps also will frame the view of the 1911 Building looking from the direction of Leazar Hall.  A second outdoor classroom also will be added (the first is near the center of the Court, on the north side).

Chamberlain Drive Pedestrian Improvements (under design): The portion of Chamberlain Drive that runs north of Withers Hall will be closed to regular vehicle traffic, accommodating pedestrian traffic moving on this All-Campus path from the Brickyard to the Court of North Carolina.

So if things are getting pretty around here, it’s not just the weather.  Now if we could just get rid of those pesky “sandwich boards” I’d be a happy pup.

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So, is this what we’ve come to with media relations today?  I ask, almost tongue in cheek, because the headline is an approach I suggested to promote NC State’s involvement in the Raleigh Grand Challenge Summit.  It’s the second year the Grand Challenge has been here and last year — for a variety of reasons — the publicity effort was a bit of a bust and the group was eager to garner more local attention.

Since protecting the nation from the threat of nuclear terrorism is one of the topics, why not capitalize on the popularity of the television show, 24.  Working with the communications group at our College of Engineering, University Communications and Duke University’s communications group, we put together a pretty effective media outreach campaign.  And it seems to be working.  Stay tuned for more results.

Here’s the media alert in full.  Let me know what you think.

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What:  Sure, Jack Bauer is saving the world from nuclear annihilation every Monday night, but engineers are the nuclear safety and security heroes of the real world. As the nation wrestles with nuclear threats and other societal challenges, the National Academy of Engineering, North Carolina State University and Duke University will assemble college students, academics and thought leaders from industry and government from around the nation for the Raleigh Grand Challenge Summit.

“Of the many possible scenarios for radiological terrorism, setting off a nuclear weapon is the most terrifying and would have enormous and terrible consequences,” said John F. Ahearne, vice chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee and a speaker at the summit. “The US must develop means to guard against such an event.”

The event is designed to stimulate conversation and solutions around the NAE’s 14 “Grand Challenge” problems for the 21st century. Preventing nuclear terror is one of them. Media coverage is invited.

Who:  Bauer might be good at fighting the bad guys, but can he build a mobile electrosurgical unit? Students at the summit will do just that. They’ll also tour NC State’s on-campus nuclear reactor and vie for cash prizes in a design competition that challenges them to find ways to improve human well-being in the developing world. See the full schedule.

The summit will be emceed by Marshall Brain, founder of “How Stuff Works.” Speakers include Graham Allison, the author of several books including “Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe”; John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco; Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE; Kristina Johnson, U.S. undersecretary for energy; and U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware. Most of the speakers will be available for questions from the media.

When: March 3-5

Where: Most of the event will take place at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, N.C. Student programs on March 3 will occur on the NC State campus.

I don’t think we want to be that brief, but we’ve got the extremes here.  Lots of basic “boiler plate” stuff.  How do we make it our own?

NC State University Mission

The mission of North Carolina State University is to serve its students and the people of North Carolina as a doctoral/research-extensive, land-grant university. Through the active integration of teaching, research, extension, and engagement, North Carolina State University creates an innovative learning environment that stresses mastery of fundamentals, intellectual discipline, creativity, problem solving, and responsibility. Enhancing its historic strengths in agriculture, science, and engineering with a commitment to excellence in a comprehensive range of academic disciplines, North Carolina State University provides leadership for intellectual, cultural, social, economic, and technological development within the state, the nation, and the world.

NC State University Values

At NC State University, we:

are curious—we explore, create and discover

have the courage to shape the future

believe in diversity of people, thought and opinion

build community (The Wolfpack)

pursue excellence

enhance lives

NC State University Vision

Defining by example how a public research university can best serve the global community.

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The first decision regarding the use of social-media is making the decision to proceed.  Some might ask, “do you embrace the madness.”  If you do — and I believe you must –  where do you go next? How do you get started integrating social-media into your marketing mix?  Well, you might follow the 8-step process for Strategic Social Media Integration outlined by the company.  Those steps are:

1. Listen and educate internal stakeholders
   • Invest some time and energy in learning about social media.  Listen to the social web for sentiment about your company, and also learn from competitors and other categories.
2. Understand your audience and how they currently interact with social media
   • Using simple techniques and tools, learn which topics are important to your customers.  Find out how your customers are engaging with other companies.
3. Determine social marketing objectives
   • What do you hope to achieve with social media?  Are you interested in using it for customer service? To create a closed customer-feedback loop?  To provide product information?  To promote your products?  To build your brand?  Make sure that internal stakeholders agree on objectives and how to measure against them.
4. Set social media strategy and platforms
   • Develop a plan that identifies specific platforms and a strategy for each platform.  Select only those platforms to which you can commit time and energy.  Align audiences with appropriate platforms.
5. Determine support structure and resources
   • Set leadership responsibility and be sure to develop a cross-functional team.  It will be important to establish guidelines for employee engagement and identify how you will incorporate and distill feedback.  You may need to engage creative and/or technical resources for initial set-up and ongoing content creation and measurement.
6. Inventory existing content
   • Assess not only current marketing content that can be re-purposed for social media, but find the people in your company who are passionate and let them help you connect with customers.
7. Create and distribute new and re-purposed content
   • You will want to distribute content across platforms according to your plan, but don’t be afraid to continually explore new opportunities and platforms.  It is also important to drive interaction between existing online and offline marketing content and your new platforms. Determining a content schedule and editorial calendar are keys to success.
8. Measure and report
   • If your objectives for social media were to increase web traffic and online purchases, you need to be measuring against that objective.  Regular reporting and review are essential to leveraging an ongoing social media presence.  Understand which responses (i.e. views, posts, comments, etc) lead to the desired actionn.

Not a bad overview.  A little heavy on the tactical side, but No. 3 is spot on.  It probably should be task number one; determine your objectives.  Social media is just another tool that is part of the marketing mix, so to speak and you have to determine how it will fit within the mix.

We’re fortunate that at NC State our Web Communications Group is among the leading university web groups in the country and they are helping lead the university’s social media approach.   With Twitter, Facebook, Ning and other tools, they have helped keep us ahead of the competition.  So much so that places like Vanderbilt and Duke are following our lead with Twitter and others are soon to follow.  They are also collaborating closely with our Web sub committee that is working on the digital and web component of our Strategic Communications plan at NC State.

Speaking of Twitter, we’ll soon take the next step and introduce a Facebook aggregation page that functions in a fashion similar to the Twitter aggregator we developed.  Very cool stuff.

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The Creative Services Group and Web Communications from University Communications will be moving from their offices in the Creative Services Building into the Butler Communications Services Building on Friday, March 26.  For those who aren’t familiar with Butler, it is at 3210 Faucette Drive, across from the campus police station.  The facility was dedicated in April 1999 and is named after father and son Tait and Eugene Butler, prominent figures in the area of agricultural reform.  Both focused on careers in journalism and are known for their work as writers and editors of publications such as Progressive Farmer and Southern Living.

The move is designed to concentrate communications talent in one place.  More opportunities to share resources, and equipment, to collaborate and be creative, if you will.

The future of the Creative Services Building has yet to be determined, but with work starting soon on the new Talley Student Center renovation and expansion don’t be surprised if some of the more “delicate” items from Tally find temporary homes there.

The University Communications News Services group will remain at the Joyner Visitor Center, but discussions are under way to relocate the group to Butler in the future.  Stay tuned for more information about that move.

Though I don’t get to move to Butler with the group, I’m very excited about the new digs.  The Butler Communications Building was designed with communications in mind.  It features a bright, open reception area, several conference rooms, broadcast production facilities, a photo studio, broadcast editing suites, a distance learning classroom, offices, open work areas, lots of parking and more.  I think Tait and Eugene Butler would be proud.

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Anyhow, I’ve been distracted and must deal with the hacker (Paris) and put an end to the nonsense.  Time for a new password.

Can’t help but wonder why Paris selected HiceSchool to hack.  Could it be the similarity to high school and all the naughty imagery that must come to Paris’ mind.  Or is Paris a really bad speller; she tried to find high school and found instead, hice school.  Perhaps she has seen my traditional sign off…Passion Rules!  Kind of risque, don’t you think.  Perhaps it’s my twitter photo…old guy running powerboat; rich playboy.   Right Sandra…my true love.  Who knows.  Hacked.

I’m tempted to visit Paris at her windows live messenger address, but I’m sure that would be a mistake.  So, not the first and in this day of social networking and interdigital communications, not the last.

A sorry end to the day.  Not so sorry.  It snowed in Raleigh. The best kind of snow.  40 degrees and melted on contact.  Pretty sweet.

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Remember when the Internet was supposed to kill off television?

That hasn’t been the case lately, judging by the record television ratings for big-ticket events. The Vancouver Olympics are shaping up to be the most-watched foreign Winter Games since 1994. This year’s Super Bowl was the most-watched program in United States history, beating out the final episode of “M*A*S*H” in 1983.

Awards shows like the Grammys are attracting their biggest audiences in years. Many television executives are crediting the Internet, in part, for the revival.

Blogs and social Web sites like Facebook and Twitter enable an online water-cooler conversation, encouraging people to split their time between the computer screen and the big-screen TV. The Nielsen Company, which measures television viewership and Web traffic, noticed this month that one in seven people who were watching the Super Bowl and the Olympics opening ceremony were surfing the Web at the same time.

“The Internet is our friend, not our enemy,” said Leslie Moonves, chief executive of the CBS Corporation, which broadcast both the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards this year. “People want to be attached to each other.”

Seeking to capitalize on the online water-cooler effect, NBC showed the Golden Globes live on both coasts for the first time this year, and the network reportedly wants to do the same for the Emmy Awards this fall, so the entire country can watch (and chat online) simultaneously.

But sometimes the effect works even when the program is not live. Rachel Velonza, a 23-year-old from Seattle, knew that Johnny Weir failed to win a medal in figure skating long before she ever turned on a television last Thursday, but she stayed up until almost midnight, enduring NBC’s much-ridiculed tape delay because she wanted to see for herself why he wound up in sixth place. She knew all her friends were watching because they were talking about it on Twitter (which says it counts 50 million posts every day) and Facebook (which says it surpassed 400 million members this month).

“Even though knowing ahead spoils the program, you just can’t help but see for yourself what all these people are talking about,” she said.
NBC says it thinks the habits of people like Ms. Velonza partly explain why the ratings for the Olympics are up noticeably. “People want to have something to share,” Alan Wurtzel, the head of research for NBC Universal, said from Vancouver. He said the effects of online conversations were
“important for all big event programming, and also, honestly, for all of television going forward.”

If viewers cannot be in the same room, the next best thing is a chat room or something like it. That’s what MTV found last fall during the Video Music Awards: the Twitterati were in a tizzy when Kanye West snatched a microphone from Taylor Swift in the middle of her acceptance speech. The show had an average of nine million viewers, its best performance in six years.

The Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys, mounted a digital campaign to promote the awards show this year, signing up Facebook fans and monitoring Grammy-related Twitter messages. Peter Anton, the academy’s vice president for digital media, said it was not a coincidence that the awards show notched a 35 percent gain over last year’s audience totals.

Watching the Olympics, Della Lee, a disabled mother of twins in Springfield, Ore., found herself joking on Twitter about curling with dozens of fellow viewers, and was much more deeply engaged in the broadcast as a result. “I really got into curling yesterday! It’s a fun sport,” she wrote to a friend later.
The effect is obviously not limited to television. Online conversations can also help or hinder opening weekends for movies and the ratings for politicians. Recent studies of online social networks have affirmed what researchers have long recognized: people seek to be around and be influenced by like-minded individuals.

There are other factors contributing to the ratings spikes: attention-grabbing shows (the Super Bowl featured the New Orleans Saints, a popular underdog), gradual population growth and an economic contraction that some analysts say is leading to more people spending more time at home in front of their TV and computer screens.

Along with those reasons, “increased usage of social media is definitely driving the ratings,” said Jon Gibs, a vice president at Nielsen. He said the Olympic data showingsimultaneous TV-and-Web viewing signaled the growing importance of interactivity to the television experience. Some of the marquee Olympic events are tape-delayed this month, even though Olympic results are instantly available on the Web. But people are still watching the Games in prime time.

Brad Peterson, a lighting designer in New York, heard about the skier Lindsey Vonn’s crash before Thursday’s replay of it on NBC, but watched regardless. After all, he said, “I didn’t know when, how and who won.”

For Mr. Wurtzel, the Olympics are a lab, and so far he said he has found that people who follow the Olympics both on TV and online wind up being heavier viewers of television. Media companies are starting to consider how to incorporate that water-cooler effect — and how to harness it for day-to-day TV shows, too. For the Olympics, NBC is promoting something called “You Be the Judge,” which lets viewers submit their own scores for figure skaters through a Web application and compare their scores to other viewers. The network’s Web site also features a gadget that tracks Twitter opinions about the Games.

Chloe Sladden, director of media partnerships for Twitter, said sites like Twitter let people feel plugged in to a real-time conversation. “In the future, I can’t imagine a major event where the audience doesn’t become part of the story itself,” Ms. Sladden said.

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