You’re probably used to seeing #hashtags at the start of a few programmes now, Question Time’s #bbcqt or #xfactor for well, X Factor. This is really just the surface of what social TV is all about.
Ynon Kreiz, CEO of the Endemol group, the largest independent television production company in the world told attendees at the recent Digital Life Design (DLD) conference, “Everyone says that social television will be big. I think it’s not going to be big — it’s going to be huge,” he went on to say, “The ability to create content that will enable people to interface with each other, to connect, to recommend, to share and experience over television, is going to change the landscape of the industry.”
TV Producers are becoming a lot more experimental in their approach to programme making by building a social aspect into TV shows like The Million Pound Drop, and docu-drama Seven Days. In the case of The Million Pound Drop (currently on every Friday, Channel 4 10pm) you can play along at home using Channel 4′s game platform and basque in your intellectual prowess… or not, if you’re me!
So where does the future lie in interactive TV? Just the other week a German science programme, Galileo included an augmented reality quiz section, powered by Junaio to it’s show. By holding the phone up to the screen viewers could interact with the multiple choice questions, viewers got instant feedback, and the show would post results in real time. Have a look at it in action
Just imagine where these early toes-in-the-shallow-end projects could lead; ‘Ask The Audience’ would become ‘Ask The Audience And Everyone With a Smartphone Watching At Home Or In a Currys Window Too’ (copyrighting that one!), or say voting on a show like X Factor you wouldn’t have to remember the telephone number plus the contestants individual number, just hold your phone up and press on their face.
This level of interactivity within the mainstream is still a little way off at the moment but there are ways participate now, as mentioned at the start of this post the most obvious way Twitter #hashtags. Just follow them in your chosen client and join in with the community.
As well as hashtags are apps like Get Glue, Miso and new kid Into_now (sadly still US only) which, similar to Shazam, hears what you’re watching, and checks you in as an audience member, it even works live TV have a look.
And to think it was only a few years ago certain papers were doing their usual scaremongering, this time about the end of TV by 2012 (yes, next year!).
How do you watch TV currently, iPad, Laptop or Smartphone in-hand? What are your favourite apps or networks for discussing Event TV, add a comment below.
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