Social TV seems like a bit of an oxymoron doesn’t it? What could possibly be social about plonking yourself down on the couch and watching the tube? Well these days a lot of us are watching TV while simultaneously talking about it online.

Social TV is defined as technology that enables communication and social interaction in the context of watching television. In it’s simplest form Social TV is when you’re watching the soaps and on Facebook or Twitter simultaneously commenting as the action unfolds.

Live events, soaps and reality shows are the most commented on shows on Facebook and Twitter. But of course there is an app for this sort of thing with Miso, Checkin TV and Getglue all allowing people to “check in” to their favourite TV shows.

TV stations are also getting in on the action. New Zealand network TVNZ launched a new youth channel at the start of the year. The channel pulls in viewers Facebook profile pictures, comments and polling activity into their shows through a Facebook app creating an integrated social experience. In February, HBO showed the Howard Stern movie Private Parts with Stern himself commenting live on Twitter throughout the film.

The knowledge of where and what audiences are talking about is undoubtedly useful information but the long-term benefits of Social TV to advertisers remain unclear. The trend is still in its infancy and no one knows for sure how to harness it correctly just yet. As with any trend in it’s early stages no one has managed to solve the twin issues of monetisation and measurement. Stay tuned.

Let us know what you think of Social TV in the comments below.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 12:27 pm and is filed under Blog, Technology, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.