Team Coco

Coco’s back…in Twitter form.

Many fans were shocked by the big NBC late night shake-up earlier this year, which left Conan O’Brien without a slot in the lineup. A lot of speculation followed on where Conan would go next, yet at the time it wasn’t a major network that snagged the star, but a social network. Sure, maybe he didn’t have the network tv fanbase that Leno does, but his move to Twitter proved that he indeed has a large audience.

His bio reads,

“I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account.”

With this statement and his first tweet,

“Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.”

he gained 270,000 followers in a single day. As of today, he has amassed 898,696 with this number growing by the day. Compared to Jay Leno’s Twitter account, which has less than 10,000 followers, Conan is apparently doing something right.

In fact, his success on Twitter has spawned a slew of spin-offs, including @CoCosBeard, @ConansSharpie, @CoCosATMCard, @ConansTaurus, @ConansMonkey, @ConansFreckles, and @ConansSquirrel.

It’s all about knowing your audience. Conan’s nuggets of wittiness were made for Twitter, and his trendy, younger audience hooked on social media outlets. He is currently on a nationwide tour (The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour), which he is brilliantly promoting  in 40 characters or less throughout its run this Summer. We’ll all have to wait and see if he continue to tweet when his new late night talk show airs on TBS this November.

With Conan’s immense Internet popularity, other celebrities are taking note and building their brands via Twitter. Stars like Jim Carrey, Lady Gaga, Rev Run, and Ashton Kutcher have all famously created accounts, and all have garnered mega media attention. And in a business where popularity rules, gaining followers has become big business.

Social Media sites have become a major form of entertainment. Some may say that their voyeuristic qualities have made them the next phenomenon, much like “Reality TV” in the late 90′s and early 00′s. What do you think? Would you rather read up-to-the-minute status updates than watch a rerun of your favorite show? Is Twitter here to stay? We think so. Follow us here and here.