This post is written by Molli Megasko.
There is a new digital connectivity endeavor that I’m really excited to talk about here.
Ticketmaster is going social by creating new features that allow music lovers to see where their friends on Facebook are sitting at concerts.
A good friend of mine, Kyle Kiefer, pointed this out to me (through Facebook messages, none-the-less) and since then I’ve wrapped my mind around how much this was needed and why it took so long to create.
Concerts are the most social thing I can think of and sharing music tastes and events is one of the most talked about topics for my generation.
The initial idea is this: When you buy tickets through Ticketmaster you can use an interactive seat map to view where your Facebook friends are sitting. And now you can choose your seats based on this instead of Ticketmaster choosing what they thought was “best available.”
Have a crush going to the show? Pick a seat close to him/her. See a former colleague sitting in the lower bowl, right side? Choose upper bowl, left. The options are endless.
The idea started when the team noticed that once a ticket was purchased and that person tagged it on Facebook, it generated $5.30 in additional revenue.
Other interesting features of Ticketmaster’s Facebook interactions are:
- When you buy a ticket, you can tag your friends so they are alerted that you are going and where you are sitting so they can purchase seats by you.
- When looking at a show, you can see a list of friends attending without having bought a ticket yet.
- You can hide your seat so others can’t see where you are sitting.
- You are able to share your seat by “checking your seat” which posts on your Facebook wall.
- When posted to Facebook, it has the common “like” and “comment” features but now also “buy tickets” added.
I usually don’t buy my tickets through Ticketmaster because I hate all the added expenses, but with these features, I have to give it a try.
I think next we should be able to live comment with each other through the site and message friends through an app so you can meet during certain songs, share pictures of your view, or discuss your excitement.
Music lovers, what do you think of this new social way of interacting?