Social TV: The Future of Television in the Internet Age
Television's influence on culture and society has been widely acknowledged for many years. On the other hand, with the diffusion of the web and of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, used in concert with television, the TV experience has become much more interactive and it is now impossible not to acknowledge that television has also become a driving force for social interaction. Furthermore, the parallel diffusion of internet videos and user generated content, fostered by YouTube in particular, has provided the population with a different approach to media and television in particular: consumers have also become producers. This work analyzes how the different technological improvements have changed the definition of television. Special attention is given to how Facebook and Twitter have influenced some of TV's fundamental properties such as liveness, character-centric storylines and flow and to what the YouTube phenomena means for television. The thesis concludes with a forecast about television's future, which confirms the main argument of this thesis: television is increasingly social. Thesis Supervisor: Michael Cusumano Title: SMR Distinguished Professor of Management
Watching YouTube: Extraordinary Videos by Ordinary People
Table of Contents Introduction...11. Home Movies in a Global Village...322. The Home and Family on YouTube...633. Video Diaries: The Real You in YouTube...1014. Women of the 'Tube...1345. The YouTube Community...1666. The YouTube Wars: Elections, Religion, and Armed Conflict...2237. The Post-television Audience...259Conclusion...299Endnotes...320Bibliography...397
Comparing voice chat and text chat in a communication tool for interactive television
Talking during the course of a television program is something that has been done almost since the introduction of the television in the household, and is one of the most important social uses of television. Interactive television extends this concept beyond the family household, making it possible to talk with family and friends at remote households. This particular study looks at two modes of communication, more specifically voice chat and text chat, and what the advantages and disadvantages are of these systems when communicating while watching television. The results show that voice chat is considered more natural and direct, and makes it easier to keep on following the program. Text chat is more preferred by younger users and users having more experience with chatting on computers, and is therefore interesting to use in interactive services specifically aimed at youngsters. In both cases, our study shows that such systems should be carefully designed to divide attention between watching and communicating in such a way that distraction from the television program is minimized.