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"Cable network BET is in the midst of a major social media blitz leading up to Sunday night\u2019s BET Awards, with plans including on-air Twitter and Facebook integration, a \u201Csocial media lounge\u201D on premises hosted by Lala and a car giveaway for fans that use a secret hashtag.  \nThe push actually started earlier this month when the network launched a \u201Cfandemonium\u201D challenge on one of its flagship shows, 106th &amp; Park.  That competition has seen BET prompting its audience to support their favoriteartists in a variety of social media themed challenges, ranging from SMS voting to barcode scanning.  The winner of fandemonium, which pits Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Mindless Behavior against each other, will be announced Sunday.  \nOn BET.com, fans can expect live streaming video from backstage throughout the show, as well as a visualization of what fans are tweeting using the #BETAwards hashtag.  Another \u201Csecret\u201D hashtag will be introduced at the top of the show \u2014 one random person who uses it (and has pre-registered on BET.com) will win a Ford Focus. \n\n\nSEE ALSO: BET Awards 2011: Behind the Scenes in the Social Media Lounge [PICS]\n\nOn-air, much of that social media activity will be shown to viewers, with the network dedicating its lower third to showing comments being shared on Twitter and Facebook.  BET will also be sharing social media content being published by some of the celebs in attendance, including Brown, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Drake and Trey Songz.  Meanwhile, GetGlue users that check in to the show will get a special BET Awards sticker.\nBET\u2019s efforts underscore what\u2019s becoming a trend with awards shows.  The Grammys have been lauded for some of their digital efforts leading up to their broadcast (with some connecting them to a surge in ratings) and MTV has integrated social media into its award shows for the last couple of years.  \nBET\u2019s Social Media Director JP Lespinasse enthusiastically calls his network\u2019s effort \u201Cthe most social awards show ever,\u201D but given its prevalence in other shows we\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s probably a good idea to wait until Sunday to decide if that\u2019s indeed the case.  \nThe awards air at 8pm ET / 5pm PT from Los Angeles.  In the meantime, here\u2019s a look at some of BET\u2019s online efforts and a sampling of the activity leading up to the show:\n\n\nBET Awards\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFandemonium Challenge\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFord Focus Giveaway\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSocial Media Lounge Host: Lala\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBET Awards Twitter Account\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBackstage Live Video\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGetGlue Sticker\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/06/24/bet-awards-2011/>