Elsewhere on the grid: ABC's regular-folks version of "Wife Swap" was up from its last season premiere.

CNN: 'American Idol' drops again: How low will the ratings go?

This work eventually fed into the creation of Twitter, which lets not just vehicle fleets but regular people broadcast instant status updates with no need for specialized equipment, and not just across a city grid but across the globe.

WSJ: Simplicity and Order for All | Innovator of the Year 2012 Technology