Not too long ago, TIVO hit the scene followed by other DVRs (digital video recorder) and many of us bowed down to the sheer genius of this technology. Perfectly-suited for the couch-potato on the go (oxymoron, I know), TIVO and its ilk allowed us to record all our favorite shows and watch them whenever we pleased. It even knew us. We were friends.
TIVO, after a brief courtship, would chose programs it thought we may enjoy. Wow. This was one of the most engaging relationships we could imagine.
Now comes technology that allows you to not only watch your favorite shows on your notebook, tablet or smartphone, but to participate in a real-time dialogue about these shows.
According to MIT’s Technology Review, this technology, known collectively as TV Social, is one of the 10 most important emergent technologies in 2011. Services such as Miso, Get Glue, Tunerfish, IntoNow, yap.TV, Videosurf and Argentine Comenta.tv allow users to communicate in real-time what they are watching and comment on TV shows to friends, family and other TV Social followers.
In live-stream, you can see what others are watching, what is trending and participate in a dialogue with other viewers. TV Social will also help shape what we see on TV as television producers take note of the content posted and extract strategic information on viewers’ tendencies.
With social media increasingly becoming a norm in terms of human communication and interaction, viewers are no longer satisfied with taking on a passive role in front of the “tube” instead they want to feel as though they are active participants in television content. This technology helps cement that emerging need.
Michelle Mayer is blogger at Mijo! Brands in Mexico.
Click here to read more interesting blogs.
