Second screen: Social TV has arrived!

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Social TV has arrived – it’s television for the Internet Era! According to Wikipedia, social television is a general term for technology that supports communication and social interaction in either the context of watching television or related to TV content. Social TV, according to Mashable, refers to technologies surrounding television that promote communication and social interaction related to program content.

Next question: Is it the same as Internet TV, Internet Protocol TV, or Web TV? 

No, it is not. Internet TV allows you to watch a TV show by streaming the content to a media player or by downloading it to your computer. Internet Protocol TV is a system that uses the internet, instead of satellite or cable, to deliver television services. Web TV is a system that allows you to watch web-based television shows and programs online.

Yeah, you’ve got it right: Social TV, at this moment, can be seen as second screen.

Of course our televisions are not actually at war with the second screens in our laps; they are not actually fighting against each other to capture our attention.

Geof Talbot pointed out:

Whether you like it or not there are many who believe the future of television is social. One reason they believe this is the desire people have to connect with others has been greater than the desire for entertainment. In many ways, we have always wanted our entertainment to be a social experience; it’s why we go to see movies with friends and why we invite buddies over to watch ball games.

But social TV itself not only about how user can share their favorite shows or their own review through social media, but also about how user, to some extent, can contribute to the content itself. Like Viki users –as I discussed at Indonesian blogger gathering called Blogger Nusantara 2012 in Makassar, South Sulawesi yesterday– can do translating and subtitling for the show/movie or leaving comments that pop up on the screen.

GetGlue takes another approach. Launched in 2008, it’s a platform where you could “check-in” to television shows, books, movies, and TV. Miso is trying to solve two big problems of second-screen experiences –content and noise– by creating a “WordPress for TV” that allows users to create second-screen experiences to accompany TV shows.

In the meantime, IntoNow is trying to solve the third biggest problem of second-screen experiences: synchronization. This service is able to detect what you’re watching, live, on 130 channels and has indexed some 266 years of archival content.

Yeah, social TV has arrived.

[image credit]

5 COMMENTS

  1. it’s good idea. Who’s find this thing?
    But, have some one thing what the viewer thing? Are viewer hate it?

    I have several times see thing ads, it’s good and effective ways for ads, but the best way is choose the other position or maybe in corner for display this ads.

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