by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted by the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center

Social media is demolishing the layers of barriers between the fans and the famous.

In my parents' generation, if you wanted to contact your favorite celebrity, you joined the fan club, paid the dues and maybe got an autographed picture in the mail months later. When I was a teenager, in the late '90s, I was a huge fan of MTV personality Dave Holmes, so I wrote him a letter and sent it to MTV Networks. No response. I tried emailing it to the general MTV email address - only to receive a canned response. Today, I am "friends" with Dave on Facebook and Twitter. Our symbiotic relationship allows him to keep me and other fans abreast of everything he is up to while making me feel as though I have a backstage pass.

People on both sides of the social media bridge have begun to realize the power of these fledgling connections. Fans have recognized that they have the power to affect the entertainment they consume, while PR agencies and marketing experts understand that online viral campaigns are just as important as billboards and TV advertisements, if not more so.

Last month, it was announced that icon Betty White will host Saturday Night Live. The reason? A 29-year-old man in San Antonio started a Facebook page demanding it. How could Lorne Michaels not try to get Betty White on the show after 500,000 people signed onto the effort? White's May 8th episode will be a ratings goldmine for NBC, because so many viewers feel like they helped make it a reality.

This isn't the only successful grassroots campaign. In 2009 NBC's My Name is Earl was initially saved by a Twitter petition, or as the organizers coined it, a "twitition." Also last year, fans of the comedy Chuck organized online to encourage people to purchase sandwiches from Subway, the show's main sponsor, and put "Save Chuck" cards into the Subway comment boxes - resulting in a new season of Chuck and an increased advertising relationship with Subway. Current online campaigns for Better Off Ted and As the World Turns are hoping to end up more like Jericho, which was famously saved in 2007 after fans sent in two tons of nuts (the edible kind) to network executives, and less like the efforts for Pushing Daisies, whose fans were unable to save the show.

Media content creators clearly understand the clout of online affinity communities - building new mavens through online campaigns is imperative for any new show. For example, in conjunction with the premiere of ABC's Flash Forward, a popular Facebook application was created that used all of the information, friends and pictures on user pages to create a vision of the user's future in the spirit of the show's plot.

Most of the power of the social media bridge is found in day-to-day examples. Did something on the last Grey's Anatomy episode irk you? Tell Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator and executive producer, all about it in a tweet and chances are she will respond. Many writers and producers find it de riguer to have direct conversations with fans via Twitter, leaking timely tid-bits about upcoming shows.

This new breed of intimate access should surprise no one. The Lear Center's report on the Business & Culture of Social Media explains how the rise of the social web has accelerated the transformation of audiences. Web 1.0 technology gave them the power to find more information about their favorite entertainment; now they're using Web 2.0 technology to have a direct impact on the media they love. And whether celebrities and media movers-&-shakers like it or not, these intimate relationships are here to stay.

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
I was born a Denver Broncos fan. Seriously. There wasn’t very much choice in the matter.

On Sundays, my family didn’t go to church, we put on our Broncos gear and watched the game. Some of my most cherished memories involve meeting the players at training camp or screaming my head off at Mile High Stadium. Years later and 1,000 miles away, my passion and affinity for my team is alive and well (I almost succeeded in getting a blue and orange wedding … almost). So, like most other football fans, I was glued to the TV during this year’s NFL draft to meet the new Broncos.  Little did I know that my team was going to make the biggest move of the draft by trading up to take Tim Tebow.

Yes, that Tim Tebow. The Tim Tebow who is arguably one of the best college football players ever and who seems like a good guy with a good heart.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that I am pretty sure that Tim Tebow doesn’t like me. In his defense, I actually don’t know for sure — to my knowledge he has never gone on the record in saying anything about gay people at all, but if someone were ever guilty by association it would be Tim Tebow. He made headlines a few months ago for appearing in a Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad. Yes, the same Focus on the Family that has demonized and attacked the LGBT community at every turn. And it isn’t just his association with Focus that has me worried; it seems like he is the hero of every organization that I abhor. Some have even painted him as the future savior of the social conservative movement in America — which is probably true. Tebow could run for Congress in virtually any district south of the Mason-Dixon line and win in a landslide.

I will try to retain hope that just because Tebow rolls with an anti-gay crew doesn’t mean that he believes my husband and I have committed hell-worthy trespasses, but even if he does have a problem with gay people — should it matter to me?

If I didn’t root for every homophobic professional athlete, I’m not sure I would be very fun to watch games with. In fact, I don’t think I would be very good real-life friends with most professional athletes. The greatest Bronco of all time, Mr. John Elway, has revealed himself as a proud conservative who even introduced President Bush at a speech in Denver. Should that change my view of his on-field heroics? How about one of my favorite basketball players, Allen Iverson? Among many other problems, he based an entire rap career around anti-gay epithets — am I losing my integrity by cheering for him? I hope not, because I don’t think that boycotting anti-gay players is the answer.

Instead, I think it is important to come out as a gay sports fan and let these players know that their gay fans are watching and their anti-gay behavior is harmful. Hopefully with time, we will be able to fill the sports world with more Scott Fujita’s and less Larry Johnson’s.

So, Mr. Tebow you are officially on notice that I am rooting for you to succeed as a Bronco, but I am also rooting for you to sever your ties with the anti-gay industry and embrace ALL of your fans.

Here’s Hoping.

Photo Credit: OPEN sports

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Steve Pougnet has a chance to make history. Soon, he could be standing next to his husband and their children while he is sworn in as a United States Congressman.

Pougnet is currently the openly gay mayor of Palm Springs and the only thing between him and Congress is … Chaz Bono’s stepmom. Yes, Mary Bono Mack, who took over Sonny Bono’s Congressional seat in 1998 is Pougnet’s Republican opponent. Mary isn’t exactly a Tea Party Republican, but she has been a reliable conservative soldier in Congress. Since her district contains a significant LGBT population, she has moderate voting record on gay issues. The Human Rights Campaign gave her a score of 55 (out of 100) on LGBT issues in the last congressional session. Her gay record is in contrast to her husband Connie Mack, who is a Florida Congressman and one of the most reliably anti-gay voices in Congress.

Conventional wisdom, historical evidence and current mainstream media narrative all indicate that this is going to be a tough November for Democrats. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is on the defensive in most districts, but the California 45th is one of a handful of districts that bode a serious Democratic threat to a Republican seat. It is going to be a difficult task to unseat a Republican incumbent, but Pougnet seems up to the task.

The possibility of having a gay married father in Congress is very exciting. Pougnet is a living embodiment of many of the things we are fighting for. He has no problem talking about the importance of marriage equality and as the father of young twins, he will be a fantastic high level responder the next time Mike Huckabee or anyone else demeans the ability of gay and lesbian people to be good parents.

In an election season that doesn’t have a lot of races to get excited about, this is an important opportunity to elect a good man to Congress. Help Steve Pougnet become the fourth openly gay member of the House of Representatives by visiting www.electpougnet.com.

Photo credit: Steve Pougnet