Television has been a remarkable (traditional) medium over the past decades. Since its introduction it is constantly changing. Around 1928 the first commercial sets of televisions were sold to the public and nowadays, everyone has one or even more television sets in their homes. Television has changed over time from huge black-and-white ‘boxes’ into flat LCD/LED-TV’s with HD and 3D. TV was seen as the most isolating and antisocial medium while watching since it requires no interaction, however it has always served as a social tool whereby TV provided topics for conversation, interaction and promoted feelings of togetherness after watching (Lull, 1990). In this blog I will discuss how traditional media and new media come together and how Television will not be replaced in the future.
Source: https://www.smpte.org/sections/hollywood/meeting-announcement-feb-17-2009
Unfortunately, I am not always up to date regarding the newest technologies. For example, I found out around a year ago that you could even use your iPhone as a remote control (Apple). But now, a few months ago, while surfing on the Internet, I found out that there was something new called “Social TV”. During the MIT Technology Review in 2010, Social TV was mentioned as one of the biggest newest trends, which will develop in the upcoming years (TechnologyReview, 2010). Social TV refers to a technology which supports social interactions among viewers. It is a different and new way for people to connect with each other. Of course, I was well aware that you were already able to connect your laptop to your TV-screen and use your TV-screen as your laptop. But as of today, people own not only laptops anymore – they as well use smartphones and tablets. All these devices could now be incorporated into your TV. Just like these devices, Social Media (such as Twitter, Facebook and much more) are being used by most of the people worldwide. If you combine these with each other (second-screen and social media), you get Social TV. People can now communicate with each other or state their opinion while viewing TV. You could be virtually connected with people from all over the world and discuss about the programs you see on your TV. As for now, we update tweets or comments on Facebook while watching TV via our smartphone or laptop. But with Social TV you are able to tweet or comment directly on your TV to your fellow viewers.
This video clip is an exiting clip about how Social TV will look like in the future. In the clip you can see many different options of what we will be able of doing in the future. For example; you can play at the same time a ‘virtual game’, which is equal to the program you are watching or even click on clothes you see on TV and buy them directly on your tablet.
GOAB. A TV Experience Concept from SYZYGY Deutschland GmbH on Vimeo.
So after watching this videoclip, what do you guys think of these new technologies? Will you use in the future all the features of Social TV or will you keep using TV and Social Media apart from each other? And will this be eventually the biggest trend for the upcoming years?
Isabel Beijers 335155
References:
Lull, J.: The social uses of television. In: Inside Family Viewing, Routledge, New York (1990) 28–48
http://www.technologyreview.com/article/418541/tr10-social-tv/
