TV: The New Screen Culture

The comeback of TV! According to Viralblog, soon tablets (ie. iPads) and smartphones (ie iPhones) will even become an integrated part of the screen experience, making social TV a reality. Like social shopping—my previous original post topic—social TV is propelled by giving consumers the ability to interact and share their TV experiences with other viewers. It’s no secret that TV viewership has already become a social activity. As a new show is about to premiere, anticipation builds online and often continues throughout the season. But how do TV viewership and social media relate to one another?

With the current economy, businesses are searching for new and innovative ideas that help them not only survive, but also succeed beyond their competitors. Online TV is more dynamic than just YouTube or UStream, professional, state-of-the-art studios with production support and quality at a cost that makes it accessible to almost any business, big or small. With today's technology, you don't even have to live in the same city as where the studio is located to use the facilities. Regardless of whether online TV is being used in the entertainment field, to sell investments for a living, or to teach yoga, now businesses have a powerful communication tool that, until very recently, was reserved only for those companies with large support staffs and budgets.This is important as it allows businesses to connect with their customers or attract new ones in a whole new way while complimenting what it is they are already doing. People have always said, “Show it, don't say it.” The online TV trend allows you to do just that!

"Online TV allows us another affordable way to connect with people and further brand our message." Rick Amato, columnist and radio talk show host

While business owners and entrepreneurs stress over the challenges posed by the economy, there are other ways in which Social Media and the real world are fusing together through television. Several shows like the X Factor, Prject Runway and American Idol allow you to vote for you favorite contestant through the popular social network, Twitter. American Idol lets you vote for your favorite person by using their Facebook application. Other shows like Bones and Royal Pains post on-screen hashtags to promote their shows through Twitter. Since these Social Networks have a huge presence on both computers and mobile phones, you can virtually do these tasks from anywhere.

Shows like Project Runaway let you vote via Twitter

So how much of a difference does having online voting really make if you can still text in your votes? Since the major social media networks contain such a large quantity of people, integrating voting allows you to share exactly what you’re doing with your peers to create interaction—something you can’t do when texting and something that is one of the most important key elements of social media. Posting hashtags on Twitter about your favorite show while it’s airing allows you to show your friends to know what you're watching, and at the same time you can check out what your friends are viewing via their hashtags, and possibly even connect with new friends with common interests!

Technology is already starting to adapt. 2012 was the first time the Super Bowl was streamed live to the world, and soon there will be literal Social Televisions released called Smart TV’s that function just like a regular Television, but are equipped with an operating system so that the users can interact with widgets and applications while browsing their favorite shows. With Smart TV’s, you no longer need to visit twitter on your mobile or tablet to vote, you can do it all in one cohesive screen without the need for multiple social networks or devices.

Smart TV

One Spanish-language television station is using social television to discuss hot button issues across language barriers. This rapid growth of online television technology is clearly not limited to English speaking, US consumers. Another article found that nearly 17% of British TV viewers use social media to find new television shows to watch. Now that’s really “showing” how social TV viewers are becoming!