Big Brother Fans Go TXT Crazy On 3

Written by Adam Gosling

Monday, 09 July 2007

There's little doubt about the power of reality TV show Big Brother's ability to pull an audience, but the show's fan-base is will to take its obsession on the road in a way that clearly boarders on the unhealthy. According to one third of respondents to a new survey, they currently spend 1-2 hours a day in various mobile or online communities. Although this time is not exclusively spent in mobile operator 3's Big Brother community, the BB fan base has already posted over half a million comments in the BB Community site. Since launching in April to coincide with the start of the 2007 Big Brother series, 3's BB Community which is powered by Loop Mobile (the copmany behind Kink Kommunity) has attracted 110,000 hits each day and more than half a million comments - equating to 8,076 comments a day or 336 every hour! The attraction of BB Community and other social networking or community sites was also highlighted in 3 mobile's recent survey of Big Brother fans, with 88% of BB Community members saying they feel more involved in the Big Brother experience as a result. When asked why they get involved in communities, 52% of respondents see them as an opportunity to connect with likeminded people from different walks of life; 27% to debate and discuss social issues; and 22% as a way to socialise and make new friends. As mobile and online community involvement becomes more common, consumer behaviour is similarly shifting, with a surprising 82% of respondents claiming to be completely honest while interacting in a community. Annie Mackin, Head of Content at 3, says: "These usage figures of BB Community highlight the continued growth in the popularity of mobile and online communities, particularly among the youth audience. BB Community usage has been high with an average session time of 31 minutes, due to the ability for customers to connect with other Big Brother fans to discuss thoughts, opinions and sharing user-generated content. Needless to say, we are very pleased by the reaction to BB Community product." On the whole, around 30% of survey respondents spend between one and two hours per day in a mobile or online community and a further 25% more than three hours each day. The survey showed an even split between give and take, with 51% of respondents using communities to share or try to generate support of their opinions, versus 49% preferring to read about what other people think. 3's BB Community product, enables users to connect with other fans across Australia by allowing them to share videos, post their comments on what's happening in the house, and chat with other Big Brother die-hards all via their 3 mobile. Related news items Solid State Drives Will Find A Home: IDC -12/08/2007 AirAsia To Offer In-Flight Mobile Coverage By Early 2009 -26/06/2007 Vodafone Puts Rugby On Your Mobile -25/06/2007 Flash Giant Offers 1.8 inch SSD -25/06/2007 Bono, Beckham Back (PRODUCT) RED -14/05/2007 Newer news items Mobile Apps Worth Billions To Operators -01/08/2007 Mobile TV Gets A Big Boost -19/07/2007 Google Begins Taunting Cell Phone Carriers -19/07/2007 Google Experiments With AdSense For Mobile -16/07/2007 Nokia Takes A Skype Tablet -11/07/2007 Older news items Live Earth Uses TXT To Get Message Across -06/07/2007 ninemsn Gets Mobilised -28/05/2007 Missy Higgins On NextG Mobilecast -28/05/2007 Drive Gets Mobile -11/05/2007 Optus, Fairfax Put Finance On Phones -04/05/2007 Tag This Now: