How did you watch the Oscars last night? Did you turn on your TV and ignore everything else, or were you continually glancing at Twitter and Facebook to see how your friends were reacting to the awards?

Though traffic wasn’t quite up to the fail-whale-inducing levels of the Super Bowl, Twitter was afire last night with Oscar talk. Everyone was throwing in their two cents and slapping a “#oscars” hashtag on their thoughts.

I, for one, was intensely following Roger Ebert’s tweets. (The story of how Twitter has made a virtually voiceless man more heard than ever is its own story.)

When it comes to events like the Oscars, the Grammys, the Super Bowl and especially cult shows like Lost, people aren’t just consuming the medium of television and its attendant ads. They’re participating in the experience by using social media to chat with their friends, find out what the world is saying and broadcast their own opinions.

They do this especially during the commercial breaks, turning their eyes away from traditional advertising and toward the conversation online. (I even saw one local Oscar watcher complain about a business’ saturation of TV ads.)

So, how would you react if, in the midst of that Twitter feed you were watching last night, you saw a tweet from a local bar and grill you’re following that said, “Reply to us with your Best Picture prediction. First tweep to respond with winning answer wins free happy hour for 10 friends”?

All the people who would respond to a tweet like that would spread that bar’s brand organically to their friends.

A quick tour of the Twitter accounts some of my favorite local brands and places (names withheld) paints a picture of Sunday-night silence. And to think, it wouldn’t have cost a thing for these companies to join the Oscar conversation, apart from a little creativity and typing.

In a similar vein, I knew of several local Oscar-watching parties going on around town that barely registered on social media.

Case in point: A local concert hall that brings in bigger shows, 1,000-plus ticketed events, was holding an “Oscar Prom Night” in a newly christened bar adjacent to the theater. There was a costume contest and free food. And though the theater’s marketing people announced it with a tweet or two, they missed a huge opportunity to use social media to broadcast live from the event.

A live blog or series of tweets with Yfrog photos or even live-streaming video from the event would’ve spread the word about the party in real-time, not to mention producing some entertaining content for people at home. Furthermore, it would’ve helped the theater’s overall goal of promoting the venue as a place that’s good for smaller parties as well as concerts. I would’ve tuned in.

Of course, any business tying marketing messages to a national event must tread lightly and provide good incentive. They can’t just blurt out valueless commands and sales information, such as “OSCAR AFTERPARTY AT JOE’S — DRINK SPECIALS!!!”

The cardinal rule of social media marketing: Add value, not noise.

Now let’s discuss: How do you feel about receiving timely marketing messages from brands you follow on Twitter? Did you see any last night?