Anybody who has been on Twitter during TV shows such as The X Factor, The Apprentice - or major televised events such as the World Cup or General Election - over the past few years will be well aware of the growing trend towards widespread 'social' TV-viewing.
In fact, it would be impossible to miss the growing popularity of people simultaneously watching while discussing particular scheduled television programmes with the almost limitless virtual living room, full of friends, acquaintances, total strangers and celebrities that Twitter affords.
And now broadcasters appear keener than ever to foster the trend - with good reason.
Hashtags
Viewers of certain BBC programmes, such as Have I Got News For You, may recently have noticed the introduction of on-screen, or on-air, hashtags (above) for those wanting to chat about the show on Twitter while they watch.
Seen by some as counterintuitive, broadcasters clearly see the potential of encouraging their viewers to do something else while their programmes are on; creating loyalty and the kind of 'talkability' which draws in other viewers.
But it is also striking a blow for good old-fashioned television schedules in what is meant to be an on-demand age, as viewers must tune in when the show first airs to be part of the conversation. That's good news for commercial broadcasters - and their advertisers - in particular.
It is pretty cool, but annoying when you have recorded something to watch later and somebody spoils it for you.
It is also annoying just HOW MANY people post about the damn X Factor. I don't care who you like, they are all glorified karaoke singers. Same goes for any reality TV show actually. I wish that genre would die, already.
Posted by: Nikki | Oct 25, 2010 at 02:29
On-screen hashtags are fine, but it's hardly cutting edge is it? As you say, it's totally counter-intuitive to ask people to do something else while watching their programmes, and more to the point, TV channels/programmes are actually sending people away to a completely different media.
For this reason, I have a strong feeling that 2011 will see Social Television come to the fore: an extension of on-screen hashtags whereby you can view and interact with your networks (Twitter or Facebook specifically) live via your TV AT THE SAME TIME as watching the programme, maybe via some kind of desktop panel? I blogged about this last week - have a read? >>
http://www.thesocialweb.co.uk/2010/10/why-social-television-is-next-big-thing.html
Posted by: ThePaulSutton | Oct 26, 2010 at 09:45