Twitter updated its twitter.com and tweetdeck client today. Here is a look at what has changed in each as well at the old Tweetdeck for comparison
What are you watching…right now?
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?
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.
