TV 2.0 the changing face of television
TV 2.0 the changing face of television
TV 2.0 the changing face of television
How can you rewind the trend for switching off the TV and logging on to the web?
As the number of people looking for their fix of entertainment escapism from the web grows, so TV companies viewer ratings continue to fall. Where TV was once the de facto place-to-go for your 'sit back and get away from it all' experience, increasingly people familiar with the interactivity of the web are looking for a richer TV experience online.
Technology and the web has bought about so many revolutions in how we work, rest and play, sometimes you have the really think about what life was like only a few short years ago.
So, in an age where we control the content we receive, and are so adept at blocking out the messages we don't want to hear how do we switch back on the TV and enjoy the escapist experience?..
The old' unifying attraction of TV
If you look back at the image of TV from the 50s, you often see the enduring image of an all American family sat around their television set in a micro-community huddle of family bonding.
The concept of the TV Event' has, for a long time, bought us together as one. An estimated 400 million people across 60 countries watch Live Aid on their TVs back in 1985. Countless water-cooler' conversations have taken place simply because of a series launch of the new 24. On Christmas Day 2008 11.5 million viewers watched EastEnders in the UK.
TV has given us a singular conversation, one united event that we could all shared in. The power of TV was to combined our collective conscience into a unified entertainment experience.
TV as a route to escapism
From the first days of television, classics were played of on the small screen. When all the family members were gather around the box', they were no longer factory workers or city slickers or school kids or house wives, they were heroes or villains, they were characters in a drama laid out before them.
For the most part TV required no real thinking, it allowed us to forget about the world of reality and simply enjoy. There were no real decisions to be made, and the only choices were which channel to watch back in the day when a channel was something you could point your remote control at.
Some would argue that this lack of the need to make decisions was quite emancipating. In a complicated world maybe it would be nice to have someone guide you through escapist entertainment.
Switch on to a new era
But the world changed. With the numerous advancements in technology and the web, so our expectations of how we interact with media has changed. Control has become the new escape. We no longer want to sit back and passively watch a pre-destined experience, we want the control to select the route of our own entertainment.
This expectation of control and choice is born out of our automatic use of the web. If we're looking for a product we type its name into Google and choose from the resulting list. If we're look for our community gossip we'll open up Facebook and choose a wall. If we're looking for information on the latest technologies we'll maybe head over to Digg.
The fact is, the world has changed, and continues to change. People, companies and entertainment provides alike have to work harder and offer more to get a slice of our precious free time. Those that do things differently and provide us with what we want choice, will win, those that don't will fade and fade fast.
You only have to look at the dramatically falling TV advertising figures, to see that people just don't want their marketing messages delivered in that way. So the clever advertisers have switched budgets away from TV and onto the web and with this change have provided more choice.
Good product web work subtly guides the user to the salient point of the product, whilst also allowing the user to choose how they consume' the information. Then, once this information has been taken in, great web work allow the user to express their feeling about the product what they think, their experiences, their advice to others. Today, individual and community involvement is key to the consuming experience.
Spreading the word and controlling the outcome is the new passive escapism.
TV 2.0
So, to save TV, is it time to do something different? To get us back watching the TV series we loved, is it time to allow us to take control? Is now the time for TV 2.0?
This is going to take a huge shift in the production and delivery of the TV experience. It's going to take new thinking, new people, new skills, new ways of working and new equipment. Sound far off? Well it's happening today.
Production companies are starting to develop TV/Web cross breeds. Part TV show part interactive web environment. Engaging entertainment experiences that not only cross channels, but cross devices to from browser to mobile and back.
This trans-divice entertainment is great, but even this is out dated. We want more, more that just entertainment when and where we want it. Smart entertainers are letting us choose the outcome of their movies', they're putting us at the very heart of the experience itself. Soon, we will be deciding who lives and who dies, who get the girl and who rules the house.
This is not passive escapism, it's active, engaging, dynamic involvement. It's the future of the entertainment experience.
As an example Bank Run created by Silk Tricky is part game, part interactive movie, part iPhone app. You take the adventure into your own hands as you're catapulted into a world of sexy spies, double-crossing agents and evil corporations. It's kill or be killed. Part one is on the web, part two is on your iPhone. And you control the decisions made at key scenarios.
The site is an excellent example of what TV 2.0 could become. Its fresh approach and engaging interaction really brings out the concept of a fully engaged entertainment experience.
Will this type of experience grow to fill the space we now see as our TV set? Will you control Jack Bauer's next 24 hours? Will this entertainment route rewind the tide of people leaving their TVs and heading over to the web?
Time will tell. But keep watching this space and look out for a new CompuVisionHD 2.0 in a store near you soon.
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