The recent Miss Universe Pagent was centre stage on social media this week, because of an error by the host Steve Harvey. I'm not particuarly bothered by the Pagent, haven't been since I was a six year old girl playing with barbie dolls. But you have to feel for the man who annouced the wrong winner, although, it's not the first time it's happened to a host.
Mistakes, live on Television
Steve can rest assured he is not alone, in 2010, Australia's Next Top Model host Sarah Murdoch annouced the wrong winner and in 2015, Oli Murs X-Factor Host announced contestant Monica Michael was out of the competition before the official result was announced. In a digital age, wouldn't it be simpler and easier (less fumbling around with an envelope) if the winner's name was given to the host via digital messaging. Now I'm not saying human error won't occur with this system, but surely it would take all the pressure off the host. Here's a few ideas we could avoid a host mishap and announce the winner via a digital device.
The Tablet
By giving the host a tablet they can recieve the 3rd, 2nd and 1st place winners via a personal message, such as WhatsApp.
OnScreen Visual
Why not annouce the winner via a huge on screen digital message. For a bit of interest the host could even press a button which brings up the names.
In my Ear
Most hosts wear an earpiece, why can't the winners names be delivered this way?
Social Media
Let's be out of the box and use social media to annouce the winner, with a giant screen for the audience to view the tweet or post, and the use of hashtags and @mentions will certainly make it a 'Real-Time' experience for everyone.
