New Trend: Social TV (Watch TV With Your Buddy List)

Not sure if this appeals to me or horrifies me, or maybe a bit of both, but there is a new trend afoot my friends. It’s called “Social TV” and the idea is that PVRs (TiVo and PC based) allow you to watch TV on your own time, so why not watch your TV with your online friends where ever they may be.

I’ll point in a sec to a detailed look at this over at PVR Blog, but just wanted to detail out why I think this is creative stuff (Did I mention this came from Xerox PARC?). Network TV in the big 50s sense of the word was about everyone tuning into the same thing and then talking about it the next day. PVRs are about having things you want when you want it - a very satisfying but deeply solo experience. Social PVR TV, is a blend of the two that also allows you to watch “with” someone who may not even live near you. Very interesting.

“Watching the shows on DVD like this kills the water cooler effect. There’s no one to talk to about what you’re watching. My friends who are long-time Alias fans are most likely tiring of my emails to them asking about particular plot twists or characters — depending on what episode I’m watching, we’re two or three years out of sync. They’re having trouble just remembering the episode, much less the scene that spurs the question.

“I wonder if there’s an opportunity here for subscription services like NetFlix or TiVo or for retail outlets like Amazon or Blockbuster to create micro-communities of episodic entertainment viewers. Folks who aren’t watching the shows “as they happen,” but who are catching up. Netflix knows who else is watching Alias Season Three; could those users be connected for some watercooler conversation? Because I’m dying to talk with someone — anyone — about Sydney’s missing two years, while season four piles up on the TiVo…

“Unfortunately the Social TV research at PARC isn’t going to help Michael, they want to bring people together across three dimensions and he wants to bring people together across the fourth. There’s also the positive social aspects of PVRs to consider, like being able to put The Big Game™ on hold until everyone gets to the TV or pausing a movie to fight with your spouse over the remote.” Source: PVRBlog