Melissa Harris-Perry to Host New Show on @MSNBC. Got A Good Name For It?

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In cased you missed the news, Melissa Harris-Perry will be the latest addition to the new, post-Olbermann line-up at @MSNBC.  Her new two hour weekend show starts February 4th at 10am. 

After seeing her tweet this heap of hilarity last night…

I’ve known Melissa since she first came on Twitter. My mother still chuckles that she named a stray kitty “at-shoq.”  So I thought we could had some fun with the news and the naming thing, so I created this Twitter hashtag: 

#NameMHarrisPerrysNewShow

Now given her fan base among my stream and friends, I confess that I sorta knew I could make it take off pretty fast – and it did. 

Some of the suggestions people tweeted are serious, and very good ideas, while many others are just very good fun.

It’s just another example of how useful Twitter can be as a tool. Even if MHP and her team don’t use any of these ideas, you can be sure the ideas will help them think about how people think about her, the potential directions the new show could take, and the many possible brandings that could work for it.

I made a few dozen suggestions too. While many can work, I think the show should just be called “#melissa,” including the #hash symbol. To begin with, her success owes something to social media, and will no doubt exploit her skill with it. But it also makes sense because we’re all going to be saying “I am watching Melissa right now” anyway.  So why not realize that she IS the brand and just run with what comes naturally to the audience?

I could probably  make the #melissa tag trend even before the show starts. If I can make #FF, #MT and #OWS stick, I can do it with #melissa :) I’m just pushy like that. But hey, what do I know about branding? I’m just a silly cat on Twitter.  There are many other good ideas, too. I am sure she and her team will choose wisely. (They probably already have). She’s kinda bright like that.

Speaking for me, I can’t wait for this new show to  start. I’ve had my criticisms of @MSNBC, and still have more than few, but added to the terrific innovation that is “Up, With Chris Hayes,” they are finally using their progressive audience base to rethink the moribund and culturally ruinous TV news model.

It’s about time. If we don’t support more thoughtful programming like this, we have no right to expect more of it. As I often say, and with apology to Winston Churchill:

“We get the media we deserve.”

 

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