Twitts

In line with efforts to bring fans closer and truly make them part of the show, MTV is teaming up with leading interactive and social media companies Radian6 and Stamen to bring fans real-time online Twitter visualization experiences to complement the “2009 MTV Video Music Awards” airing live on Sunday, September 13 at 8pm ET/PT. Popular video blogger iJustine (Justine Ezarik) will be the official VMA “Twitter Correspondent,” and will be interpreting Twitter comments during the red carpet pre-show. The on-air component will be executed through a new interactive application created in partnership with social media measurement company Radian6 and design firm Stamen, and will bring Twitter to the television in a new and interesting manner.

“MTV is always looking to build on our strengths of creating and curating content that our audience will enjoy,” said Kristin Frank, GM of MTV.com. “We’ve found that by concentrating on our core competencies and regularly working together with third parties such as Radian6 and Stamen, we’re creating a truly complementary experience for our viewers that we know are multitasking as they watch events such as the VMAs.”

Twitter Visualization

The “Twitter visualization” tool allows MTV to track the real-time, aggregate activity and volume of buzz around what’s happening live throughout the show and report on how the fans are responding and feeling about the personalities at the VMAs. A tag cloud created by Radian6 tracks tweets about designated celebrities, including VMA performers, nominees, attendees and hosts, to create a visual interactive application hosted on MTV.com. The visual application and user interface created by Stamen expands a celebrity image as its respective Twitter tag cloud activity increases.

“MTV’s enthusiasm for engaging directly with their audience through Twitter is inspiring,” said Biz Stone, Twitter Co-founder. “It’s encouraging to see Television evolving into a more interactive medium.”

Radian6′s flexible dashboard and as-it happens alerts enable MTV to monitor and react on the fly to trending topics on Twitter with regards to the live show. MTV.com will also host a special page within the VMA site to house the Twitter visualization product for post-show fan interaction.

“Twitter is one of the fastest moving parts of the social web, and Radian6 helps communicators and media creators harness and engage in that conversation every day,” says Marcel Lebrun, CEO of the social media monitoring company. “We’re thrilled to work with MTV, Twitter, and Stamen to deliver real-time Twitter dialogue to the VMAs and create an awesome experience for the show’s audience – both live and online.”

“Data visualization sounds like something out of a dry and analytic college course, but we believe this kind of work can be fun and sexy too,” said Stamen Founder and Creative Director, Eric Rodenbeck. “Working in tandem with Radian6 we we’re able to create a simple and beautiful data design that extends these analytical sensibilities to the world of pop. All MTV had to say was ‘Live, Twitter, and Russell Brand’ and we were there.”

VMA Highlights on MTV.com

MTV.com will also host an interactive “Watch and Discuss” video feed, exclusively sponsored by Sonic, during the pre-show and main show through an embedded video player on its homepage. Alongside the feed, a Facebook “Live Stream Box” will allow fans to comment on what they are watching live, which also posts to their Facebook profiles, alongside comments by others watching the VMAs. The video player will stream a special multi-camera feed from the preshow and within the side-stage areas of the main show. MTV.com will also feature a Twitter module aggregating tweets about the VMAs and a “Headlines” module that will pull in MTV’s latest new stories and blog posts about the VMAs.