What To Watch In 2010: Social TV
Although it's been years in the making, 2010 is poised to finally be the year that social networking and TV will converge, allowing consumers to connect through their big screens. My latest Forbes.com column addresses what to watch for in the coming year. (Note: XBox is an Edelman client)
A race is underway to turn social networking into an engaging 10-foot experience--one that we interact with via TVs. The technology has been in place for years. However, the price of Internet-connected HDTVs was, until recently, out of reach for most. No longer. High-definition TVs were among the top sellers on Black Friday, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp. And just in time, the major social networks are racing to make the entire experience more interactive via number of channels--not just cable TV, but gaming consoles too.
Television inherently has been a social experience for decades, dominating water cooler conversations worldwide. But as social networking enters the living room via embedded Twitter and Facebook streams and more, some observers see it changing the live experience, which has largely remained passive. This potentially could shake up the millions of dollars spent on TV advertising, while ushering in new ways to reach both women and men.
