A while back I had posted my thoughts on the future of television. Other people, such as Jeff Pulver, have also had this in their crosshairs.
While others are entrenched in how we will watch TV, and where it’s coming from. I’m more interested in what we do while watching TV, particularly integrating the social element that we have when watching a show with other people.
Looks like CBS is doing it. Here is a shot of their Social Room product. It looks like it’s made by a company called ClipSync.
First off, I love the idea.
The interface needs a ton of work. Chat seems to be an afterthought, instead it’s throwing up a whole lot of junk on one screen, with a lot of wasted space. And the primary interaction is really, really annoying.
Besides the under used chat and the quiz element on the right rail, you also can interact using one of the six icons (including the branded Intel logo). Whatever you do shows up on everyone’s screen, and there’s no way to turn it off! I spent a good 10 seconds pissing everyone off by blowing kisses all over the screen.
I urge you all to try it out. I feel this is the future, but it could definitely use some improvement.
I tried this a few days ago, and it was not such a great experience. I think things weren’t really synched up, I don’t think people could really see all the darts I was throwing etc. But it’s an interesting idea.
I’m all about having a conversation surrounding the TV experience. But really, tomatoes??