Does Anybody Actually Want Twitter On Their Google TV?
When Google released its first tour of Google TV in June, people started wondering how much easier their lives would become once they could combine the wonders of a normal television set and internet video content. As Google put it, why can’t TV and the internet work together? Now there’s a new partnership: Google TV is now working together with Twitter, and the combination might work for some and will probably bother others.
Twitter announced the partnership this week and explained that the application will have the same capabilities that other Twitter apps have. That is, you can still browse through tweets, mentions, replies, and favorites, and you can tweet, retweet, reply and mention yourself as well. And of course, since Google TV is all about combining the television and internet experience, you can visit the links that are in tweets. The app lets you see thumbnail photos as well, and you can share all the media content you want.
Twitter framed its announcement as a logical step for the company, saying that people already enjoy tweeting about television so much. Twitter mentioned the Jimmy Fallon Twitter extravaganza for the Emmy Awards and the 2.3 million tweets that the Video Music Awards inspired last month. It is true that television shows are often trending topics on Twitter. Big televised sports events also make viral Twitter topics, like the Olympic games.
But is it really that much more convenient to tweet from your television instead of from your laptop or iPad?
It depends on how you look at it. If you like the idea of consolidating technologies, then Twitter for Google TV might be for you. I always thought that the television was a leisure machine; you watch it and you relax. Letting social media invade your television experience isn’t necessarily a bad idea, and I can see television enthusiasts going either way. If you’re a purist who just likes the visual experience of watching TV, and the one way receiving of entertainment it gives you, skip this app (which is preinstalled on Google TV). If you’re just a lover of all things TV and you can’t wait to tell the world about it, go get a Google TV and shower all your friends with tweets.
