It’s hard to believe that, with real-time sweeping the known universe, some “American Idol” viewers still phone and text their votes in.

Phoning something in! Can you imagine?

Thankfully, this grim, archaic era seems to be making its rapid departure into the ether. In a statement released last week, the companies behind “Idol” (FremantleMedia, 19 Entertainment/CORE Media Group and Fox) announced “groundbreaking partnerships with search powerhouse Google and online social networking giant Facebook [that are] designed to give fans powerful new interactive on-air and online experiences with ‘American Idol XIII’ live shows.”

The announcement follows not-so-coincidentally on the heels of the departure of longtime “Idol” sponsor AT&T, whose brand had accompanied the voting numbers read by Ryan Seacrest following each live performance. Now, those numbers have taken a backseat to online voting, which will be significantly enhanced by the Google and Facebook applications.

Facebook, which had already been facilitating voter results for “Idol,” will now begin offering a real-time view of voting trends. It’s an innovation that will, according to the statement, “allow at-home viewers to get a first-ever look at an exciting array of voting information, such as demographic voting trends and relative contestant rankings.” In addition, those who participate through Facebook will have the chance to see their profile, photo included, pop up, live, as part of the telecast.

But while the Facebook arrangement certainly elevates the inherently dry activity of results-interpreting, it is the partnership with Google that could be a game changer for “Idol,” which has declined in ratings from its years of total domination and faces fresh competition from ABC’s upcoming “Rising Star.” Starting February 26, the show’s remaining 11 million fans will be able to enter “American Idol” into Google during the telecast, whereupon they will encounter a button within the results enabling them to cast a vote right then and there. No website, app or phone keypad required, and the vote may be cast from a browser within any mobile device.

According to Bill Bradford, SVP of digital for Fox Broadcasting Company, this voting innovation will make it easier for fans “to make a bigger impact and be a bigger part of the show than ever before.” But in addition to engaging those already existing fans, the button also seems to have the power to pull in new viewers who may just be Googling “American Idol” for the heck of it, then get hooked into actually watching when they realize they can vote right then and there. When a broadcast trends, after all, it’s as much from people seeking information during it as from people actually watching it. If those non-watching information-seekers could be harnessed in the moment, the potential for increased live viewership could be huge. Once can envision a social media realm with voting buttons attached to Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr and more.

The option to engage directly with a viewer from the search results themselves may have been present prior to this moment in “Idol’s” history, but if it was, TV wasn’t using it. This partnership with “Idol” may be, as the “Los Angeles Times” recently reported, a “first for Google,” but it won’t be the last.

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