We were watching at the same time

The 2008 Summer Olympics (and what a total triumph for NBC - Dick Ebersol rolled the dice and came up a big winner) are now over and we Americans can turn our attention to the Democratic (this week) and Republican (next week) conventions. One thing I read that was of interest about the Olympics (and the same will be true of the conventions) is that most of us watched the same things at the same time. Because we were forced to of course. I wrote that I would like to have the choice of what I wanted to watch as there were many other Olympic events that I was interested in seeing but were not televised (rhythmic gymnastics would be at the top of the list). But we did all watch (on tape delay in week 2 of the Olympics) Usain Bolt's magnificent performance and people talked about it as a shared experience the next day. DVR's and internet video afford people options on when they want to watch which I think is great. But there is something also cool about people watching the same thing at the same time and then talking about it the next day. The upcoming political conventions will be watched by far fewer people but will offer some similarities. True individual engagement comes in many forms and shared experiences offer dynamics that can't be undervalued.