2010 was the year of real-time Twitter visualizations with MTV as the stand-out innovator. 2011 is shaping up to be the year of “Social TV” mobile apps which fall into two main categories:
- TV “check-in” apps: “Check-in” with apps like GetGlue, Miso, PHILO,IntoNOW, TVtak to share what you’re watching with your friends and, in some cases, earn social currency/rewards.
- Synced iPad apps: Get additional content while you’re watching a show with a show specific app (Greys Anatomy, The Kennedys, Oscars, Royal Wedding) or a specific TV network (NBC, Discovery).
The insight that all of these apps is based on is simple: Not only are we watching more TV than ever before, but we’re increasingly online at the same time.
Building off existing behaviors.
How many times when watching TV have you gone onto IMDB.com, Google, or YouTube to find out more about a show or actor? How many times have you tweeted or posted to Facebook about the show you’re watching?
The various “social TV” apps begin to bring all of this natural online behavior into a single second screen experience.
The complexity of choice.
Miso just announced a partnership with Fox that takes their app one more step beyond “just a check-in.” As these apps continue to enhance, the lines between them are becoming blurry and somewhat overwhelming. For any given TV show, one couldpotentially do ALL of the following (and more):
- Check-in on GetGlue
- Check-in on Miso
- Check in on PHILO
- Use intoNOW to listen for the audio and check-in
- Take a picture using the TVtak app to check-in
- Download and use the show’s iPad app
- Download and use the TV nextwork app
Most people (if any) aren’t going to go through all this so what’s a TV viewer to do? And, more importantly, to what degree does one want a “lean forward” vs. “lean-back” television experience in the first place?
The answer lies wherever YOUR community is engaging.
In an email to me last night, Miso’s founder & CEO, Somrat Niyogi, made a strong point“People don't want to download apps from several of the networks. [They want] one place that can connect your friends on all the content that you watch -- it's the longer term strategy.”
But the question still remains: Which ONE place (one app) should people hedge their bets on? Some are beginning to wager. But it’s WAY too early to even begin to make the call as the innovation and true potential for these apps is still extremely nascent.
So the battle for our second screen is just getting started as TV viewers will have to continue to be in “trial & experiment” mode. I say bring it on!
Mike cross-posted this on his blog Harmonic Aftershock.
