It's not the first time that Channel 4 have combined social networking and auditions: Shipwrecked, a desert island reality show made by the independent production company RDF and broadcast on Channel4's T4, has been auditioning new applicants via a social site called Islandoo. As we've seen, that site has been a massive success, and racked up millions of pageviews. Creators MintDigital have a white label platform that helps clients to build these sites quickly.
Likewise, Bix.com, SingShot, The Yahoo Talent Show, Comcast's Ziddio, FameWave and YouTube Underground are all betting that this model can work. Xuqa, meanwhile, is trying to give a competitive edge to your typical MySpace-style social networks. TV is still the most popular medium, but I can only imagine that in a few years time, these production companies will scrap the TV element altogether and go entirely web-based. In fact, shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent are so well-suited to YouTube-style sharing that we're bound to see those shows crossing over to the web. What's also surprising about these contests is that we still have so many national versions: surely the web will lead to more global talent hunts?