For your viewing pleasure

  It's funny how weekends take on a new meaning the older you get. I now count the minutes till I can lay on the couch in sweats and watch "my shows" I missed during the week, two of my favorites being CSI: (yes I still watch the original) and Alcatraz. I have been called a grandma for my take on the phrase "T.G.I.F." but this past Friday my DVR gave me some great material for my blog, lucky you. 

  All credit for my CSI: social media find would have to go to my little brother, it was Joe after all who sent me a screenshot of his Xfinity app with the episode's synopsis.  "Trends with Benefits" was social media overload from the very beginning, opening with a party that has a live "Twitter" feed projected onto the side of the venue. If a character was to "tweet" and include a specific hashtag their "tweet" would appear on the live feed at the party. Brilliant concept right? Eh, until someone "tweets" a picture of a dead body and it gets "RT" repeatedly. And there you have it, a culturally prominent show plot. 

  The CSIs continue to utilize social media through out the investigation, using "Facebook" profiles to do background checks on possible suspects. Blogging even pops up in the case, as it would turn out the victim was an extremely popular gossip blogger with a secret to expose. The victim was even enrolled in an "Anthropology of Fame" class, where it was taught the number one rule is always "Privacy is History." Sound familiar Advertising 490: Social Media kids? I won't give away the end of the case for any of those who want to watch the episode for themselves, but I will hint that "tweets" from students play a role in the "social" punishment for the murderer. So what did we learn from this episode? Maybe the phrase "Trend till the End" can be taken a little too far.

  My Alcatraz social media connection isn't quite as involved but I found it pretty cool since we just wrote a paper on geolocation apps and Foursquare. In order to locate where a victim had been the night prior to her death, one of the detectives accesses the girl's "Friendsquare" check-ins. Her check-in confirmed the detectives theory and they proceeded with their case from there! So the next time you tell your mom you're here but you're really there, watch out she might check your Foursquare page. Moms are sneaky good like that. AHEM Julie Pekarsky, ahem.