Nowheremen.net -- A trendy combination of TV and social media?

I get really excited when the spam-ish daily emails that I have signed up for end up being interesting and relevant.

Every morning I get the latest headlines from NY Times, Boston Globe and Daily Candy, and usually I delete them. But today, something caught my attention.

Daily Candy (if you're not an avid reader) is a daily email with cool, trendy things going on both online and in a major city near you. Sometimes the emails are about a fun restaurant or a store opening, but something about today's headline "GOODTV? Nowhere, Man" encouraged me not to slip over this one...

I mean, like any other college student, I do have my TV obsessions (although finding time for them is my challenge). I mean who can seriously resist an episode of Project Runway?
But today, Daily Candy provided me with something that I had to look into. NOWHEREMEN.NET.

The first sentence of the email referred to the writer's strike and the serious lack of new GG episodes. Instantly they had my attention (talk about knowing their target audience). You can imagine how relieved I was to know that I wasn't the only one missing the weekly dose of Gossip Girl drama.

Moving right along.
The website that Daily Candy shared with me today is from a new online phenomena called nowheremen.net where a social community has formed around this online mystery webshow.
As you can imagine.. there are a few things I found quite interesting about this.

As the writer's strike continues and unfortunately it looks as though it may continue for a few more weeks. (Just enough to cancel a few more of my favorite events) I am not enthused by the fact that my only choices to watch on TV right now are American Idol and Biggest Loser, because honestly, Reality TV doesn't do it for me. (Call me crazy, but I don't like people singing badly. It annoys me!)

Today as consumers, we have the ability to choose what we see, when we see it and that got me thinking about this interesting online TV show. Participators on the site are showed video "episode" clues and together this community can search for answers to find the main character, Derek. This social reality online game is totally weird and totally different then anything I have ever seen... however, the fact that the site's registered users can post videos, pictures and join groups, seems to ring a familiar bell.
I don't really understand this "game," but that's not really what is important to me right now.

What interests me the most about this website, is that fact that it is outsourcing TV entertainment as we know it and making it interactive! This seems to me like a serious combination of TV and social media. How cool! Bringing people together, online, around a series... Has this been done before? Of course, Gossip girls has their own blog, and people check it out and can share whatever they want, but I don't think that strangers have ever come together quite like this!

And what does this mean for the future of my favorite TV series? Although I can watch episodes online from my favorite shows, will I be turning to the internet in the future for my entertainment?
Although to me, this webseries has a FOX's 24 feel, will it be enough to to fill our void with the inevitable high dosage of reality TV this year?