So it is obvious this is an attempt by the academy to try to lower down that disconnect that people have with the academy, but personally I do not think this is going to be successful because as time has passed the award ceremony has gotten more and more boring to the point that almost anything is more entertaining than watching a bunch of millionaires giving themselves some awards among themselves.
That's right, and the Oscars team is probably fully aware of that. Hence this new way of getting the active participation and involvement of the audience and the general public.
The Oscars statistics in terms of viewers and public interest hasn't been encouraging for the past years. And I agree that the ceremony is getting boring. That's probably the number one reason why people are not interested. Who cares which award goes to whom?
I just hope this new innovation won't backfire especially because it is openly prone to abuse. And when gambling or money is involved, the flaws of the particular way this new award is to be won will definitely be exploited.
And when we add economic interests, like being able to win a bet by directly manipulating the results, then things could get even more complicated as there is nothing stopping the people in charge of so many fake accounts to collude among themselves and make a killing in the process by winning this bet.