Could Social Networking Bolster the 30-sec. Spot?

For years, it has been assumed that home internet usage would cannibalize live television viewing, but there’s something interesting happening between social networking and live television. Could it be that what Pete Blackshaw termed “telecommunities”--people simultaneously watching live television programs and chatting in real time with an online network of like-minded fans--will gain scale and give consumers a reason to stick with live viewing?