Social TV

These days there is social everything, media, networking, etc. But have you heard about social television? It is a term used for the technology that supports communication and social interaction which watching television or related to television content.

Social TV is a concept that helps people get more connected when it comes to their television viewing. It used to be that families, friends, etc. would all gather together to watch their favorite programs, the evening news, etc. However, with internet, streaming, DVR, etc. the television-related social behaviors have changed drastically. Thus the creation of social television. Social television systems are put in place to integrate things like TV ratings, recommendations, context awareness, communication, etc., with the TV content directly, or onto your screen. It includes things like live chatting during broadcasts, video-conferencing, and new television services. Television is no longer discussed in the living room after watching a show as a family, email, chat, discussion boards, ratings, tweets, Facebook status updates, links, and other technology is used to let your friends and family know what you thought of the viewing experience.

This is not a new concept, but because we are entering a more digital and cyber living age, the need for increased interactivity around shared programming has grown. Because we now have multiple televisions in one home, and ways to save programs for later, etc. the social aspects of television have dwindled. This is an effort to recapture that. Social television is geared towards getting viewers to connect with their friends and family over their television shows even if they are not watching them together, in the same home, on the same screen, or even at the same relative times. This means things like discussion boards, fan groups, live chats, ratings, and more are popping up everywhere to fill that need.

In addition, social television includes finding ways to incorporate social media into popular television shows. You can now find most popular television shows on Twitter and with Fan pages on Facebook. You can tweet with the stars during the shows, such as Tosh.O. This is not just for shows, you will see it used in live sports, the news and more. What people tweeted is becoming a common thing to see on a broadcast.

The whole result is to create a way to continue the social experience of television, but on a new social plane. One that is being used, such as Facebook, Twitter, Chat, etc. This is leading to more and more multimedia enhanced possibilities including being able to stream and interact with status updates and posts while sharing files, videos, and more.

Social television is a growing sector. You will see more and more ways to interact with the television shows in the near future. "Late Night with Jimmy Falon" is not going to be one of the few options, but rather one of the forerunners in a new social and media trend.