How I Met Your Media: The Websites, Books and Other Content That Entrenched How I Met Your Mother in Pop Culture

By Sabrina Ricci

"Because sometimes even if you know how something's gonna end that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the ride" —Ted Mosby, "Monday Night Football," Season 2, Episode 14

The well-loved show How I Met Your Mother ended its 9-year run on TV, but its story is far from over. In an age where people are addicted to multitasking and most adults feel disconnection anxiety when separated from their smartphones, HIMYM rose to success by embracing new ways to engage its loyal fans that will last well after the series finale. 

With technology so pervasive and viewers looking for ways to digitally connect with fellow TV show fans, HIMYM created effective transmedia elements, ensuring the show's relevancy in a culture with shorter attention spans that increasingly demands more content and options. These elements kept interest in HIMYM before, during, and after the episodes have aired.

The show's efforts are paying off, even now that HIMYM has ended. HIMYM's fan culture is so strong it has given rise to annual events like International Suit Up Day. 

And thanks to the trend of binge watching shows on demand, the strong, witty writing will continue to increase HIMYM's reach and stickiness. The Lemon Law, The Platinum Rule, and The Mermaid Theory were more than clever dating rules—they seeped into pop culture and will be part of casual conversations, online and off, for years to come.

How I Met Your Media is everything you want to know about the carefully crafted websites, books, videos, blogs, social media accounts and more that made the show so special.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digital Pubbing
• Release date: Apr 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781622000111

Book preview

How I Met Your Media

The Websites, Books and Other Content That Entrenched How I Met Your Mother In Pop Culture

By Sabrina Ricci

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A Brief Guide to Transmedia

HIMYM Transmedia Elements

HIMYM Websites

HIMYM Social Media

HIMYM Books

HIMYM Merchandise

How HIMYM Transmedia Could Improve

Additional HIMYM Content

Fan Loyalty and Engagement

HIMYM in Pop Culture

HIMYM Laws

HIMYM Storytelling

Conclusion

Evolving Transmedia

About the Author

Websites Cited

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Joanne Shwed, of Backspace Ink, for proofing and helping me turn this manuscript around so quickly. Also thanks to the people at SelfPubBookCovers for working with me to create the best custom cover possible. And lastly, thank you Garret, for being so understanding of my TV show obsessions.

Introduction

A legend—waitforit—dary percentage of Americans feel disconnection anxiety. What does that mean? Well, according to a 2008 study by Solutions Research Group, as reported by Ars Technica and Engadget, 68 percent of adult Americans feel some sort of angst when they are without a smartphone, laptop or other device that can access the Internet.

Six years later, it’s not enough for us to be connected to just one device at a time. In mid-2013, NPD DisplaySearch released their "Quarterly Multi-Screen Usage Study," which found that 88 percent of tablet owners and 82 percent of smartphone owners used their devices to connect online while watching TV.

I know I’m guilty of this. At night I consume a couple of hours of TV, but I’m usually also checking my email on my phone while playing a game on my tablet. Sometimes I’m taking part in a Twitter chat or looking up on IMDb the name of that one actor I kind of recognize who’s guest-starring in one of my favorite shows.

The rise in connected mobile devices has changed the way consumers view TV and online content, NPD DisplaySearch’s Research Director Riddhi Patel said. For many people around the world, multitasking with apps on smartphones and tablets while watching TV has forever changed the traditional TV-focused viewing experience.

One of the best examples of this in action is what happened on Twitter after the finale of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) aired. The hashtags #HIMYM and How I Met Your Mother trended, with many people discussing their feelings about the show. Some tweets were angry, while others were sad, and the discussion carried on for days, keeping the show relevant even after it officially ended.

Research shows that this is common behavior. In 2012, Ericsson Consumer Lab released a study, conducted with over 12,000 participants in 12 countries, which found that 62 percent of people used social media while watching TV—an 18 percent increase from the year before. And of the 62 percent, 40 percent said they discussed what they are currently watching on TV over social networks.

According to Julie Dobrow, Director of Communications and Media Studies at Tufts University, children in particular have been multitasking more and more over the years. But Ericsson Consumer Lab found that 30 percent of adults aged 45–59 also use social media to discuss TV shows while watching: This is compared to the overall figure of 40 percent. According to the study, there are