Sony Pictures Teams with Bebo for Interactive Web Series 'Sofia's Diary'

Kate Modern, the English-accented, interactive serial spinoff to Lonelygirl15 (Tilzy.TV page) that appears on the premiere UK social networking site Bebo, has reportedly done well enough to warrant Bebo’s involvement in another teen drama.

In a partnership with Sony Pictures, this coming Fall the site will play host to ‘Sofia’s Diary’ where the presumably comfortably attractive Sofia will “post daily video and text updates on her own Bebo profile and will engage directly with the Bebo community to offer users an interactive storytelling experience unlike any other.”

President of Bebo Joanna Shields says the show “takes drama to the next level by embracing the web as a new medium for storytelling…For an audience that’s spending less and less time in front of traditional media, Sofia’s Diary presents a new form of entertainment that makes the audience an integral part of the show.”

How will this be any different from Lonelygirl15, Kate Modern, or iChannel?

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According to UTalk Marketing, “’Sofia’s Diary’ will blur the line between fiction and reality by combining real events mixed with fictional stories and real-time interaction between the show’s characters and its viewers who can influence the plotline.”

So…how will this be any different from Lonelygirl15, Kate Modern, or iChannel?

I’m not sure. If the show is streamed live and viewers can have a direct impact on Sofia’s choices, or if there’s a level of influence comparable to “Where are the Joneses?”, the series could prove compelling. Otherwise, I don’t know how much the internet

needs another fictional, attractively pouty post-pubescent in front of a webcam soliciting viewer comments in order to comfort her teenage angst.

 

Sure, there might still be a market for that brand of content, but we’ve seen that pony before. The internet’s a place for innovation. Throw in some shiny new tricks and give us something original to watch.

Under one subsidiary or another, the deal is also the latest for Sony Pictures in a series of recent moves in the online video space. Earlier this year the media conglomerate acquired the rights to the post-apocalyptic, sci-fi animated series, Afterworld (Tilzy.TV page), and just this week beefed up the comedic programming for its video-sharing/contest site, Crackle.