innovation: tv networks to become social networks - draw on screen

Duncan Graham
What will your TV look like in five years?
The screen in your living room may be changed by TV broadcasts and online social networking alliances.
This week, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt announced that Google TV will be broadcast live in the United States in the next month or so.
Google has joined many other Internet companies that want to change our viewing habits by combining TV with interactive web features.
Everything has failed so far.
The problem is that services like Apple TV and Roku often only allow us-
Internet demand, but no live TV.
Other companies such as TiVo and Microsoft offer live TV but have limited access to the network.
Google claims it will combine live TV with unlimited internet access for the first time.
However, many researchers and technical analysts say the most profound changes in our TV habits will come from technology, which allows us to share and socialize through the screen.
They believe that the winners of our living room's fight for digital domination will be those who figure out how to succeed with social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
The New Scientist spoke with some of the activists of this potential social television revolution to find out what will be in the box tomorrow.
The premise of social TV is simple & colon;
Make it easy for people to share and discuss the shows they are watching no matter where they are-whether it's recommending the next episode of True Blood or attending a goal celebration.
Some people think watching TV is a lonely experience.
But Mary said
Jose montepeti of MIT is developing an experimental social TV system called Nextream, and we have been talking to each other on the radio since the TV was born.
Now we use online social networks in the same way.
"The Twitter server was shut down for the World Cup because people are exchanging views on it," she said . ".
Greg Goldman of Philo, a social TV app launched in July, said that social TV may soon replace the TV Guide because a large number of channels are so difficult to browse.
According to a 2008 study by Parks Associates, a Dallas-based consultancy in Texas, Americans want TV advice from friends and chat with other viewers.
More importantly, one of them is happy to share what they are watching for one quarter.
The seeds of this social revolution have sprouted.
The BBC's iPlayer now allows users to rate and recommend programs through websites such as Facebook.
Other companies like Philo and Tunerfish also use existing networks, but enhance interaction by pushing comments to smartphone apps.
Boxee goes further by integrating social and video features on the same screen with a computer media player.
However, content is limited to online
Demand sites like Netflix.
This is one of the main obstacles to social TV and colon;
Availability of content.
Montpeti said it is unlikely that broadcasters will hand over their shows to social TV without a positive return.
However, Goldman Sachs points out that social TV can make it easier for advertisers to target specific social groups.
Another big problem is design.
User Research shows that people don't like the messy comments on the screen, says montepeti.
Nextream's solution is to use a touch screen smartphone to control the TV, read or comment.
Google has been silent about whether its TV will include social networks, but it hinted at Kinney.
Com, a website that creates a theme TV channel based on user feedback, will work.
Read the previous innovation column and colon;
The European nuclear research center collides with patent reality, bringing clean energy to Sunrise Avenue
Mobile malware has developed a money loophole that reshapes the city's wind power and masters the art of 3D movies
In your living room, Google may know your wish before you do it, savvy search engines know what you want, technical refresher needed by Russian spies, microsoft's Kinect is more than just for games, and smarter books are meant to win back the kids.