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With the Golden Globes, People’s Choice, and just recently the Grammys behind us, Award Show Season 2010 is in full swing. However, if you’ve dared to subject yourself to weekend after weekend of celebrity hype, you’ve noticed that these aren’t your mother’s award shows. We’re not talking about Beyonce’s futuristic, hair thrashing rendition of “If I Were a Boy” at the Grammys. And we’re not talking about Lady Gaga’s typical avant garde sequence-clad performance that same night. No, this new trend in live award shows, sporting events, and reality television is social media.

Recent statistics show that award shows in particular have been experiencing significant viewership decline over the past decade. The Grammys, however, incorporated a savvy social media component into their marketing campaign that helped generate a 35% increase in viewership over last year’s numbers. Music lovers were flocking to Facebook in order to become “fans” of the award show. The Grammy social media continued with literally tens of thousands of “Tweeps” following a host of Grammy and artist-related news and interactive posts. Even YouTube had Grammy campaign videos posted with the number of views in the millions.

This wave of social media is revolutionizing not only the marketing industry, but entertainment as well. We no longer go to work the next day to discuss that awesome catch in the last 3 minutes of the game. We no longer chitchat around the company water cooler to gab about so-and-so’s incredible red carpet look. Instead, as your beloved player is making that catch or as your favorite starlet steps out of the limo, we tweet about it.

Live shows and sporting events have truly taken on a whole new dynamic with the incorporation of Twitter and other social media outlets into our daily routine. Last night’s event becomes old news in the morning as 24/7 tweeting during “live” broadcasting is becoming the norm.

The times they are a changing kids and it’s social media that is leading the march!