Watch the 2011 Emmys Live with Mashable [LIVE BLOG]

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Welcome to Mashable's live blog coverage of the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

We're hosting a digital coast-to-coast conversation about the changing nature of social media and television, talking with the winners about how they use technology -- and, of course, watching the awards as they happen.

2011 Emmys Background

Over the last two years, we've seen social media revitalize the live TV experience. This is especially true for award shows. Ratings for the Grammys, Golden Globes and VMAs have surged, thanks in part to the online conversations taking place around them.

Last year, the Emmys started dipping a toe into social media. In addition to ditching the time delay and broadcasting live nationwide, the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards featured interactions with Twitter and Facebook.

As we've seen with the Grammy Awards, getting established organizations like the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to embrace social media is not something that can happen overnight.

The emergence of social TV and the growing importance of social media is quickly becoming the unspoken backdrop of the Fall TV season. Consumers are embracing multi-platform connected experiences and are changing their expectations.

This is what makes award shows like the Emmys so fascinating. On one level, the TV industry is ramping up efforts to become social and interact with users. At the same time, the awards themselves really underscore the digital disconnect that still exists, especially on broadcast TV. The most celebrated programs are often the least socially accessible.

This isn't always the case. At a ceremony held last week, ABC's Oscar Digital Experience app for the iPad picked up the award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media.

As I wrote back in July, we're just now starting to see more large-scale plays for social TV, so perhaps in the future the disconnect won't be as great.

Emmys live coverage presented by Samsung Galaxy S II

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