2. The history - Social TV
MIT Top 10
(2010):
Social TV
• Social TV
– 2001 Aveiro, university in Europe: the prototype for friends
connection while viewing TV (no sharing function)
– 2004 Aclatel - AmigoTV for IPTV: user can invite friends and talk
with them in the same show (pop up dialog to interfere other
viewer’s emotion)
– 2011 wikipedia: social television is a general term for
technology that supports communication and interaction in the
context of watching television, or related to TV content. It also
includes the study of television-related social behavior.
3. Content selection, sharing, updating
• The revolution of content • Close tie with content
selection sharing and
recommendation
sync
TV list
EPG
STB
Web + TV
Schedule for Web
watching
Search pattern
Status update
Real-time broadcasting service
STB
AT&T lab
4. Social TV - problems
Domain Question
Device/network 1. What is the “device” & “network” in use?
2. Some solutions focus on Web in the TV environment.
3. “Mobile devices” & “secondary screen” are becoming popular
Modality 1. How are they directly communicating btw different users?
• The options: text, audio, and video
Presence 1. How many users represented?
• Options: traditional buddy lists, ambient solutions, and
more extended buddy lists as other social networks (e.g.
Facebook or Twitter-like)
Synchronization While watching, does the social interaction run synchronously or
asynchronously?
Strength tie 1. What is the network reach of the shared activity?
• Case 1: Close network usually includes friends or family
• Case 2: Open network allows strangers talking with each
other
5. Social TV – majorly interactive activities (1/4)
Content selection Community
Communication Status update
& sharing building
Activities Illustrations Features
Content 1. Can reference 1. Most of the content selection and streaming
selection & for other solutions lack social features -> what’s good?
sharing decisions on • social features have useful info. includes ratings,
what to watch comments, recommendations
2. May send to • Insight from the social network can be used by
friends his/her a viewer or a recommender system
favorite 2. Content sharing i.e. the video or a link to it
content for full • Sharing functionality directly: recommend by
programs/edit Close tie their interesting parts of video
(sync.)
ed versions (means: fast edit & enrich the relative info.)
Communication Direct 1. Direct communication btw its users
(1) communication via • Voice chat (AmigoTV & Motorola’s Social TV)
chat, audio, or • Text chat (CollaboraTV, 2BeOn, Joost)
video with others • During TV show, only CollaboraTV included
asynchronous communication
(people can leave at specific moments)
• Buddy list: users can easily see who is
available for chatting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfrI8lwz4wI
(if they are watching the same show or not)
6. Social TV – majorly interactive activities (2/4)
Content selection Community
Communication Status update
& sharing building
Activities Illustrations Features
Communication “Water-cooler Effect” 2. Offer direct communication possibilities
(2) • Limited to (smaller) group of family & friends
3. Social TV allows users (at different locations) to (re)create a
social co-watching experience sync.
• Joost: allow strangers to interact on a channel
Non-sync. (Should let strangers ease to focus on the same topic)
example
• Sharing which program someone is watching sync.
Physical room -> 4. Optimally support the communication Process
Virtual TV chatting • Diff. level: emotions, text chat and voice chat
zone
Community Commenting about a 1. Community building refers to the activity of sharing
building (1) TV program with a thoughts, comments, & impressions about TV show with a
large community large community (also include with followers)
• Game: e.g. NBA Real Time Fantasy (immersive
activities) is provided by the TV channel or by
individual followers of the show
(activity: deciding the result of show)
• Use of telephone calls
• Specific web pages with Facebook & Twitter
updates
7. Social TV – majorly interactive activities (3/4)
Content selection Community
Communication Status update
& sharing building
Activities Illustrations Features
Community 2. TV Chatter & starling TV run the community, where
building (2) comments related to a TV show are gathered
Feedback • Aggregation is from an external channel without
to affect the effort on the show
result of the • Comments of the viewers were used for
show interactively affecting the storyline of a drama
series
Invite more • Ex: Debate show (Current TV’s ‘Hack the
strangers -> Debate”
novices 3. More devices: mobile phone and laptop
• More convenient to use than a TV remote
join controller
Gather the • When large audiences of strangers see a TV
avid fans
program together,
• Text model become a good approach
(comments are synchronized with the show)
• Time-shifting can let people add/read
Avid fans comment whenever they want
Non-sync. example
8. Social TV – majorly interactive activities (4/4)
Content selection Community
Communication Status update
& sharing building
Activities Illustrations Features
Status update Making 1. Many applications offer the status sharing
available to • “I’m watching Breaking News on CNN”
others what 2. ‘checking in’ to that program
you are • TV check-in: Miso & Tunerfish allow users to indicate
watching the TV show
• LBS: Foursqure & Gowalla provide location-based
Avid fans application for check-in
Friends -><- Followers • Incentive: check into more TV show and then
(competition)
earn badges
badges • Status update: These applications offer users to write
something in a shot (ex. Twitter-like) for sharing more
info.
• Sync? (mobile counterpart) status update on time
• Mobile (text based): easy to change status + TV:
sync. with connected TV widget
mobile & TV (link to FB or twitter-like structure)
• Asynchronous? create a sense of commonality
• After communicating with short status updates
=> next day they will talk (post) more words
which is based on the same show
9. What Future of Social TV (1/2)
• Predict the future of social TV
– Build on currently existing or emerging
applications
– Google TV brings web media content to TV &
integrates social media applications as FB and
Twitter
– Look at trends in related areas (e.g. content
creation, communication technology, & social
network)
• 3 different interesting directions:
– Mash-up & connected TV
– Other activities in the living room
– New Social TV program formats
10. What Future of Social TV (2/2)
• New Social TV program
• Mash-up & connected TV formats (Ex. UGC)
Web + TV
• E.g. quiz shows or soap
Search material opera
broadcasting
Social
features
…
• Other activities in the living
room Share your
learning location
Be a singing
sporting camera
dancing
playing share
Edit your
show
http://vator.tv/news/2010-04-15-glee-comes-to-the-iphone-with-help-of-
smule
11. Reference
• P. Cesar and D. Geerts, "Past, Present, • CollaboraTV : Asynchronous Social
and Future of Social TV: A Categorization," Television http://www.chrisharrison.net/ind
in Proceedings of the IEEE Consumer ex.php/Research/CollaboraTV
Communications and Networking • Chris Harrison - Ph.D.
Conference (IEEE CCNC 2011), Las Research http://www.chrisharrison.net/inde
Vegas (NV), USA, January 9-12, 2011, pp. x.php/Research/Welcome
347-351 • Social TV
• J. Abreu, P. Almeida and V., forum http://bbs.phpchina.com/forum.php?
"Branco2BeOn - Interactive television mod=viewthread&tid=216032
supporting interpersonal communication", • CollaboraTV: AT&T Labs (Youtube
in proceedings of EGMM, 2001 video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifr
• Coppens, L. Trappeniers, and M. Godon, I8lwz4wI
2004. “AmigoTV: Towards a social TV • AT&T Labs Research — Leading
experience,” Proceedings of EuroITV 2004 Invention, Driving
(Brighton, U.K.), accessed 14 February Innovation http://www.research.att.com/proj
2011 ects/CollaboraTV/index.html?fbid=rI5tj2Ey
• MIT TOP 10 Social CE6
TV http://www.technologyreview.com/com • Current TV’s "Hack the
munications/25084/ Debate” http://current.com/shows/hack-the-
• IMTC 2025 – Social Tv Keynote by Marie debate/89467100_hack-the-debate-sizzle-
Jose Montpetit. http://blog.imtc.org/index.p excerpt.htm
hp/2010/05/20/imtc-2025-social-tv-keynote/ • Joost http://www.joost.com/
• What’s So Social About TV • boxxee http://www.boxee.tv/
Anyway http://blog.imtc.org/index.php/2010
/05/26/whats-so-social-about-tv-anyway/ • Current TV http://current.com/
• Social television • starling TV http://starling.tv/
(wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soci • TV chatter http://www.tvchatter.tv/
al_television • Foursquare https://foursquare.com/