Social TV just got smarter. Get Glue, PhiloTV and Miso have been around for a while and each one offers a somewhat unique experience when it comes to checking to a TV show and letting the world know what you’re watching. 

Get Glue allows you to check into TV shows, movies, music and video games. It is the all-inclusive media check in site. Sometimes it seems a bit fragmented because of all of the options, but it is certainly comprehensive.

Miso is 100% focused on TV and aims to be part of the second scree immersion movement in the living room. It is pointed and focused without the distractions of Get Glue.

Philo seems to rely more heavily on trending topics so you can see what the world is watching more easily than the rest and it takes you away from your inner circle of friends.

There is one problem with all of these services as compared to the check in services we are used to like Foursquare,Gowalla, and Facebook Places. With social TV, you can check into ANYTHING whether you’re watching it or not. When using Foursquare, I cannot check into Buffalo Wild Wings while I’m at home. I cannot check into a place I was two days ago and forgot to check in while I am there. It uses the GPS functions of a smartphone to allow you check into places you are actually at. Nothing stops me from checking into any/every TV show using Get Glue or Miso just so I can earn a badge even though I’m nowhere near a TV. 

Forgetting the social TV scene for just a moment, consider an app/service that allows you to find all about a song you’re currently listening to on the radio. SoundHound does this, but even better than that is Shazam. This application appeared in the earliest days of Apple’s App Store. The applications works by “listening” to what you’re playing on the radio and finding a unique signature in the sound and pairing it with song. It then returns the name of the song, the artist that sings it and many links about that song, such as sites with lyrics, the ability to download it in iTunes, watch a YouTube video of it or even find tour info for the artist. It is not meant for searching for songs by typing (which can be done in SoundHound). It needs to hear the song.

Back to TV. The newest entrant into the social TV fray is IntoNow. It combines the environment and purpose with the listening technology of Shazam. Using IntoNow, you can let your phone listen to what is on your TV and check you into that show/movie while it is playing live. If you want to tell the world you are watching something, you should have to be watching it. This was my biggest question about Miso when I spoke to CEO Somrat Niyogi in February. It was then that I asked you - What are you watching?

The team at Miso feel that the social movement is enough to cause people to use their devices and check in while watching TV. It is their belief that the second screen (Smartphone, iPad, laptop/netbook) is already integrated into our lives enough that it isn’t a thought for most people to use it to check in. I disagreed then, I disagreed recently, and I disagree even more now. Frankly, I forget to check in nearly always. After the fact, when I’m reminded (usually by seeing someone else do it on my Facebook news feed), I check into everything I have watched recently. My check ins appear on my own Facebook wall, giving the appearance that I’m watching multiple things at once or channel flipping while compulsively checking in.

Since adding IntoNow to my phone, I’m forced to remember and ingrain the process into my routine because if I don’t check in while I’m watching something, I can’t check in at all - just like when I visit a location on Foursquare. When I forget to check in to a location or show while I’m watching it, I kick myself later knowing that I missed a social opportunity, so I work at it to remember as it happens.

The benefit of this is honesty, for starters. People earn their badges/stickers. Friends also see see what other friends are watching as it happens. I may forget it is Shark Week and seeing a buddy check into it weeks later does not help remind me. Using IntoNow, I know to turn it on, watch it and then engage in the social arena with other friends that are watching it.

Another great benefit is the exploration. By tapping the “Everyone” tab at the top of the app, I can see what total strangers are watching right now. If it it something I know I like or even sounds interesting I can tune to it. I can then tap on his or her entry and discuss or recommend that show as well as push the update to Facebook and Twitter to my social graph sees what I am watching at that exact moment.

The social implications of the listening technology and how it limits interaction to current watching habits are important. I think if social TV grows and matures into a mainstay of social media, it will be with IntoNow at the helm. The arrival of IntoNow and the embedding of listening technology into social TV may very well be the moment that GetGlue, Miso and Philo all jumped the shark. Unless any one of those three brands do something innovative, there is no reason to use them over IntoNow with the real-time check in style that they employ.

This is the next iteration of technology, keeps people honest and relevant and introduces an ability to enlarge one’s social graph and influence. So, what are you watching RIGHT NOW?

Everyone has been checking into locations via Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places. Lately, you may have seen a new type of check in on your Facebook or Twitter feed. People are announcing what they are watching on TV

There seem to be three major players in this category of check in - GetGlue and Miso. I first heard about GetGlue and gave it a shot. After a few uses I realized that just checking into everything I was watching required more discipline than I  was willing to put in to tell the world about it. With Foursquare for example, the GPS tells you where you’re at. With GetGlue, my phone or laptop did not know what I was watching so I had to search for it. Also, I could claim I was watching anything at all, even if I wasn’t. Philo on the other hand, polled me about my location and TV provider to enable a channel lineup with currently playing shows. I like the relevancy there.

When I check into locations using Facebook Places, it’s usually because I’m in Facebook anyway so it is a natural progression to complete that task. What would remind me to check into a TV show? I had all but dismissed this new service. A friend started to use Miso, which I had heard about but wasn’t any more interested in it than GetGlue. I checked it out anyway, just in case I was missing something. It was the same. The only difference was that Miso was focused on TV unlike GetGlue that lets me check into the Show, the soundtrack, the cast individually and any other product or person associated with the show. Miso was at least very streamlined.

I wanted to know why these products were cool so I crowdsourced some answers on Twitter. The first to reply was @GoMiso. I figured I’d give the company a chance to defend itself and asked to speak with someone. @MisoSupport responded promptly with an email address. I sent an email out on a Friday evening explaining that I wanted to post a column explaining why this part of social media was fun. Within an hour I got a response back from their CEO. We exchanged a few emails and set up a Skype call for the next morning.

We spoke for nearly an hour and I have to tell you, I didn’t find out why it is cool. The answer I did get was better. I was told how it can be cool in the future. We spoke of innovation; a sector of social media in its infancy; of being first to explore a new space. That news made me happy.

When Foursquare launched, you could check in. Everyone said, “So what? Why?” and the answer was, “So you can tell people where you are.” “But what does it do?” “It lets your friends know about the places you go.” “And what purpose does that serve?” “To be social.” And around and around it went.

When I spoke to Somrat Niyogi, the CEO of Miso, he spoke of Miso’s focus on TV and where it can go. He told me, more than once, that the check in is not the point. That is just the beginning. So if that is the beginning, where does he see it going? The honest answer is that he doesn’t know. He doesn’t think anyone in this space really does, but he has some ideas.

Here are some basic thoughts on what the future may hold:

• Integration with Internet-connectable TVs providing automated (or streamlined) check ins based on what you’re watching.
• Information provided about the show you’re watching (a la VH1 Pop Up video perhaps?)
• Further information about topics. Think about watching the 6:00 news and a disease is discussed. If you are checked in, then you can have an option to be taken directly there.

With smartphones, tablets and notebooks within arms reach while watching TV, we find the living room is becoming smarter. People often use their phone while watching TV. I have had a movie on HBO on my TV, a Jets game on my laptop, FaceTime call on my iPhone and glancing at my iPad for new tweets. That’s real use of the 2nd screen concept. That is becoming more and more common. The team at Miso feels very strongly about the habit of using a 2nd screen to share information about current TV watching activities. 

My biggest question revolved around having a user adopt the practice of checking in when the user is not living inside of a large ecosystem like Facebook. Somrat is confident that the integration of the 2nd screen in everyone’s lives, the additional content provided via Miso and their focus on TV (as opposed to the fragmentation of GetGlue and its ability to check into anything media related - my words, not his) will make Miso a part of the TV watching experience.

Can the Miso team make this second nature and expand the popularity of this portion of the social space? They have as good a chance as anyone, if not better. I haven’t spoken to the folks at GetGlue and don’t know their future plans or ideas. I’d say this is an untapped portion of the social space that is waiting for an ecosystem to be built around it. The framework is in place. The interest is there. Now let’s see what the Miso team can do to engage us and keep us using it. Since my conversation with Somrat, I’ve been much more conscious about checking in and I am excited to see what’s next.

More importantly, I’m waiting to see the evolution of this space across all providers. Is there room for more than one or will the first to innovate and grow dominate the space and be the Facebook of TV? What features do people want? What will make users adopt this process into their daily lives. There are questions that will be answered as this space gets explored. If there is one thing that is for sure, it is that the social media movement is driving us toward total sharing and transparency.

So, what are you watching?

- Yes, the font is smaller
- No iPad app
- No phone
- New addition to location services

An update to the Facebook Instant Authorization mess.