Lost is a television show which has revolutionised the way various media work with each other. Currently in it’s fourth season, the ABC show and it’s many legions of friends have utilised the Web like no show before it, with multiple ways to interact, and add extra elements to the experience.

The very nature of Lost means that the fans are dying for more information each week, and need to discuss the plot, secrets and future of the show in extreme detail. Which is why they turn to the Internet, where luckily, there are a wealth of sites to help in that quest.

As Yahoo investigates, ABC, the network behind the show, are the main protagonists of the Web elements of the show, with multiple websites created as part of the Lost ethos. These include TheHansoFoundation.org, Oceanic-Air.com and Find815.com, which are all part of a larger Alternative Reality Game (ARG).

The Lost ARG started before the show even began airing, and is still ongoing to this day. The game mixes activities on the Internet with real life, all of which have one thing in common – adding to the intrigue surrounding the show.

There is also the hugely visited Lostpedia, an online encyclopaedia based on Wikipedia which is edited by fans. It details every single of the show, from character biographies, to spoilers, and even hidden clues that the normal viewer may have missed.

It was started by Kevin Croy, a programming consultant from California. The site now boasts 33,000 pages and 26,000 registered users, while it has received over 141 million page views.

Then there is the Lost group on Second Life, who call themselves SL-Lost. They have recreated the island, and its many different locations and stations in the game, and meet and talk about the show in text chat.

Lost is a great show, but what has made it even better is the fact that fans have taken the elements given to them by the show’s makers, and created their own communities and ethos around it.

It’s the first show to truly use the power of the Internet to support and grow it’s army of fans. A strategy which will surely be repeated by others in the future.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 2:40 pm under Internet.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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