Daniel Tosh, Social Media Guru?

Comedy Central’s Tosh.O serves up a near endless stream of idiots willing to tape themselves doing stupid things. Comedian Daniel Tosh scours the web in search of anything weird, outrageous and often disgusting. Tosh then adds his comedic two cents, usually at the expense of those featured in the video.

You may be asking yourself; how can this peddler of idiocy and the title of social media guru be intertwined?

Let me tell you

Below the surface of the R-rated, “funniest home videos” lies a network of social media theory put into action.

James Grunig, communication specialist, devised four models of public relations. The most effective is the two-way symmetrical model, exhibited by Daniel Tosh. This model states two-way symmetrical communication provides publics a voice in management decisions. The model facilitates dialogue between management and publics before and after decisions are made.

Adopting this paradigm, Tosh has garnered himself a lot of what Tara Hunt refers to as “Whuffie.”

Whuffie

There are five key principles of the Whuffie Factor:

1. Stop talking, start listening – focus on individuals and understand the needs of a community
2. Become part of the community you serve
3. Create amazing customer experiences
4. Embrace the chaos – communities are made up of people, and people are not predictable
5. Find your higher purpose – what can you give to the community, and still be profitable?

How Tosh.0 pulls it off

This show is such a great example of what Grunig and Hunt define as an integral part of successful communication because without viewer production Tosh.0 would not exist. The community is the show. Tosh goes further to connect his audience by live tweeting during shows, featuring particularly funny tweets and updating an active blog. Viewers are encouraged to submit original videos, the best getting onto the show itself. A highlight is the weekly “Web Redemption.” Tosh invites a person with an embarrassing video on the show to explain themselves, interact with Tosh, and recreate the video. During the recreation, the guests will try to place themselves in a more positive light.