Thanks to social media and the continuous miracle that is technology, we never do anything alone anymore (with a few obvious exceptions, ahem).

There was a time when television was a passive pursuit that involved tuning into a favorite program and ignoring the rest of the world. That dynamic, however, has changed. Watching TV has become an active–even interactive–experience.

So it makes perfect sense for TV ratings monolith Nielsen to join forces with Twitter, creating a new ratings system that will generate metrics for viewers who comment on TV shows and those people who read or interact with said comments.

It’s fun to open a bottle of red wine and log onto Twitter while movie stars walk down the red carpet to accept awards in clothing worth more than your apartment. It’s entertaining, cathartic and always good for a laugh.

But if the Oscars aren’t your thing, there is always the NFL, which suffered a major public relations disaster this weekend as the league’s less-informed (and, let’s be honest, flat-out racist) fans took to Twitter to vent their displeasure about President Obama’s speech in Newtown, CT, taking precedence over the New England Patriots vs. San Francisco 49ers game. Wow. Not exactly the image the NFL wants for its fans.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

While Matt Pohlson and Ryan Cummins were still in business school, they attended a charity event that inspired them to change that equation altogether. The two classmates would have loved the opportunity to play basketball with Magic Johnson, but the price on the play date was a prohibitive $15,000. The incident got them thinking about a new way of running a charity venture–by expanding the playing field to include all interested parties.

Now they bring us Omaze, a project that offers fans “the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences that also support social missions.”

Omaze is no small-time operation: past partners include Lady Gaga, Modern Family, the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, Meet the Press and the cast of Glee. Here’s the kicker: the required donation for participants is only five dollars. That’s right, for five bucks the super-fan can enter to win the chance to hang out with the cast of his/her favorite show…and support a worthwhile charity in the process!

How are they able to run a successful operation on the strength of such tiny donations?

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We love this clip for several reasons. It’s always encouraging to watch a well-known actor practice the art of humility, and while we have great respect for Julia Louis-Dreyfus (and we did enjoy “Veep” at times), we have to agree that Amy Poehler just got robbed again. And this all begs the question: What’s an Emmy worth, anyway?

Everyone likes to receive official recognition for their work–especially when it happens in front of a group of their peers.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A zombie from GetGlue fave "The Walking Dead"

Damn! Why didn’t I check in last night while I was watching that fascinating PBS show Nature: The Radioactive Wolves of Chernobyl?

It has come to the attention of television networks that social media tools like Twitter and GetGlue can really boost a program’s ratings. GetGlue, a New York-based social media site that allows users to check-in and connect in real time while consuming media, has more than one million users and has been a big factor in promotion.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.