I watched the last episode of Lost, though I had no idea what was happening. I'd never seen the show before. So why did I watch the entire two-and-a-half-hour finale? Because everyone else was.
I wanted to join in the conversation, which didn't just happen around the watercooler the following Monday -- it was going on in real time. Twitter was flooded with comments before, during and after the show. Any good viewing party had an extra screen set up to display them.
Watching TV has always been communal because we connect through shared experiences. Since the 1950s, laugh tracks have created the illusion that you are watching and reacting along with a crowd of people, inspiring a unifying "limbic resonance" or "emotional contagion." Today, Twitter is stepping in to take their place in a trend called co-viewing or social viewing. According to a recent Nielsen survey, 10 percent or more of viewers are visiting social networks, searching the Web and browsing content during major TV events. TV shows are often "trending topics" on Twitter during prime time. As this happens, more people are watching live not just to chime in, but to avoid spoilers.
This real-time conversation isn't mainstream yet, but networks can help it get there quickly and revive tune-in television in the process. One thing TV does very well is encourage simultaneous group behavior. And as American Idol proved, this doesn't have to be just staring at a screen -- it can be interactive. The show prompted some 178 million text messages to its AT&T short code during the 2008-09 season.
According to a poll AT&T conducted on its site in 2008, 43 percent of respondents said they discuss American Idol with others via text messaging while watching the show. TV can also encourage new behavior; 22 percent said they first learned to text by voting for their favorite Idol contestant.
Similarly, TV networks and advertisers have a tremendous opportunity to embrace, promote and spread Twitter-style chatter, which could become the new canned laughter.
To do this, the process will need to be dead simple. Watching TV is an escape, a lean-back experience. To date, some social viewing efforts have been overcomplicated. Take MTV's Backchannel. It's a great concept -- competitive chat around The Hills -- but has a lot of rules, which makes it a bit confusing.
To corral and encourage conversations, some networks are hosting viewing parties, such as Bravo's Talk Bubble for The Real Housewives. When the show airs on the East Coast, the cast and VIP guests share updates via Twitter or Facebook and viewers can join in the conversation. It seems to be catching on. After a recent Real Housewives of New York episode, the Talk Bubble registered a a 62 percent increase in page views vs. the prior week's event, according to Nielsen numbers.
Interestingly, 40 percent of people who participated in Talk Bubble did so via mobile devices, said Bravo Digital Media. The phone is the most ubiquitous and accessible screen we have, and there is a huge opportunity to use it as interaction device. A couple startups, Miso and Hot Potato, launched mobile apps for social viewing, and Comcast just announced Tunerfish, which will let viewers share what they're watching through the Web, iPhone and iPad applications, and ultimately on the TV screen itself. This cross-platform integration is key to ensuring a continuous, integrated experience for viewers.
Ultimately, the most successful platforms will close the feedback loop between chatting and viewing not just by showing social media on screen, but also by combining the conversation with the content. For example, American Idol votes actually determine which contestants stay or go.
A not-yet-launched service called Starling is hoping to close the loop by partnering early on with the networks and content producers, rather than building up a user base independently. Its strategy consists of a social TV platform designed for mobile devices, tablets and the Web that provides viewers with a means to chat, play and interact around a show.
The big play here is advertiser integration. In Starling, this could take on a number of forms, e.g., media buys that include ad inventory within the application (even on a local level), branded rewards for the best commenters, or even interactive commercials. In addition, viewer dialog during commercials becomes a valuable real-time focus group.
Look for this type of social viewing to make the leap from fringe to prime time in the next year or two, fueled by consumer behavior, media deals and better technology. The iPad, which many see as an on-the-couch device, will play a role. Like the content they are running against, 30-second spots and traditional media buys will need to have more social components. This will be a huge opportunity for brands and their agencies to define social media beyond the Facebook fan page.
Allison Mooney is vp, emerging trends at MobileBehavior. She can be reached at allison.mooney@gmail.com.
