Sarah Palin takes on the race as the next reality TV star

Discover the pristine beauty of Alaska, its majestic scenery and stunning wildlife; not with somebody from the National Geographic nor Discovery Channel, but with the former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

I have heard about this new show months ago and finally, the premier is this coming Sunday, November 14th. Don't mistaken me to be a Sarah Palin fan, although I admire Tina Fey's impersonation of her. I'm more interested on how this new reality show is going to fare with the other reality shows on TLC but most importantly, how its different audiences and critics will take it in.

Mark Burnett, the brain behnd the reality shows Survivor and The Apprentice, had meticulously put together the concept for this show. It was said that there were no scripts while they were shooting but what viewers can expect is the casual and fun-loving Sarah Palin with her family, taking the outdoors of beautiful Alaska and sets out in a true American fashion.

What interests me more is the content strategy that TLC's Brian Reich talked about for the show. Sarah Palin's Alaska doesn't rely on tradditional marketing but heavily depends on social media. Reich mentioned in an interview with Social Media Examiner that the show aims to give audiences the things they're interested in. There will be two podcasts in a week which will compel audiences to watch and learn from the show. There will be four blogs repromoting and repurposing the show. The reason behind these four different blogs is to cater to the show's diversed audiences. In its entirety, the social media aspect of the show will expand conversaations through content strategy. The show wants to listen to audiences by allowing them to review each episode via Facebook, Twitter, etc. Through podcasts, the show will be able to give audiences the opportunity to discuss the show.

The content strategy developed by TLC for the Sarah Palin's Alaska show is definitely acknowledging the massive influence and imprtance of today's social media. Interaction will be encouraged because many Americans have access to wireless devices and many watch shows straight from their laptops or computers. There is no stopping this show from getting 'hooked' into the social media hype. There is real-time transfer of information which will allow TLC to interact with the show's viewers and fans. After all, once the show caters to all its audiences and establishes that level of interaction in a timely manner through social media, the ratings will surely plummet to the edge of the 'last frontier.'

So this coming Sunday, we'll see Sarah Palin in a different light; not as a politician but as an ordinary family woman. I know that it will be hard to separate her from her political ambitions. Some say the reason why she agreed to take on this show is because this will increase her popularity even more which will be beneficial to her political ambitions (to run as president?) but we'll leave that to next time; right now, let's just concern ourselves whether we'll be able to draw some learning from the show or not. After all, it's TLC- The Learning Channel.

Do you have any views?