Twitter soap has role for Omaha

Omahan Vanessa Shoemaker is following a new soap opera. It’s not on TV, though — it’s on Twitter.

She logs on to the microblog every day to read about a love triangle involving a former Chicago ad agency CEO and two Navy SEALs on Coronado Island, Calif.

“Chicago to Coronado” has all the fixings for a great TV soap, but it’s for online users only.

It may be the first of its kind — and Omaha is part of the story line.

The Omaha reference is what caught Shoemaker’s eye. She’s a mom of four in her early 40s and a self-proclaimed “student of social media.”

Professionally, she’s an executive at Freesource Agency, which helps companies incorporate social media into their business plans.

In the soap opera, the main character, @kirsteno, becomes stranded in Omaha. Shoemaker’s eyes widened when she read the tweets about her town.

“I’m from Omaha,” she tweeted to the author. “Where did you stay?”

Kirsten Osolind, author of “Chicago to Coronado,” was a bit secretive.

“You have to follow,” she said.

Osolind is creating a new era of storytelling using the Web and social media. Three new online indie soaps have sprouted since Osolind began hers in February. She is a former marketing agency CEO in Chicago who says the story line is loosely based on her personal reinvention and relocation from Chicago to Coronado in 2008.

She says her goal is to flip the traditional entertainment model — starting with social media and branching out to a TV series and eventually to books and other products.

“Chicago to Coronado” has the social media landscape covered. It’s written in 140-word tweets that are sent at random, but it also has a home on Flickr and Facebook.

The coolest part: The characters lead active online lives — they have Amazon reading/wish lists and LinkedIn profiles. The only real character is @kirsteno. [JUMP]She created Twitter identities for the rest.

Six characters have star billing, including @kirsteno (a “culturally challenged” romantic) and @nadodeeogee (an “unleashed” dog). Other characters are being introduced.

Osolind encourages fans to get involved at chicagotocoronado.com. She weaves real-life twitterers and events into the story.

Shoemaker became hooked shortly after Osolind posted her first episode (episodes typically are between 10 and 15 tweets). Shoemaker logged on daily to read new Twitter posts.

“I was engaged,” she said. “I found myself re-tweeting episodes and connected with others who followed the soap.”

Fans comment on episodes. They share similar experiences in their lives and keep the dialogue going between the author and reader. The soap has more than 20,000 fans in the form of followers on that Twitter feed.

“Once you start it’s kind of addicting,” Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker has become such an advocate for the site, she’ll eventually be written into the story.

The future character is an Omaha mommy, a successful entertainment entrepreneur with a personality cross between Miranda of “The Devil Wears Prada” and Charlotte of “Sex and the City.” She’s addicted to energy drinks and smitten with her hubby, Loverboy.

“Now that’s good stuff,” Shoemaker said.

Osolind said the soap reminds her of a 1930s romance flick similar to “Gone With the Wind.”

“It gives hope,” she said.

Followers are mostly women, but the stories could resonate with anyone, she said.

“I have characters that fans follow because they’re pet lovers or military people or businessmen.”

So what are the other Omaha connections? Well, the main character’s car dies in Omaha.

While in town, @kirsteno has an epiphany about her love life. She connects with Omaha people who become recurring characters.

Two of them — @mattclaymore and @nadodeeogee — are huge Omaha Steaks lovers.

“When you look at Omaha,” Osolind said, “you see that @kirsteno broke down in the city. But was it her car, a business deal or a relationship that broke down? Omaha plays a huge role.”

Contact the writer:

444-1075, j.loza@owh.com

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