“The End of Channel Surfing?” Yes!

Live TV and the Evolution of Social TV Services

8.7.2012—The end of channel surfing IS coming. It is what we at Boxfish have been saying for a while now. However, it is good to see the sentiment making headlines, as the future of TV content is being realized. Shayndi Raice’s piece for the Wall Street Journal, titled “The End of Channel Surfing?” is a good rundown of how those in the social TV space have evolved their respective products in such a short time. 

While the social TV space has been seen as promising ground for business/product development for a few years now, it has only been in 2012 that its true potential is being recognized. Apps that were once touting “check-ins” and social connectivity based on “what your friends are watching” are starting to see that you need to offer more engagement with the content on TV, not just with users.

It’s not just tooting our own horn in stating that Boxfish has steadily been one of the few services that provide a two-way street with TV, bringing users from the web to television. Improving the process of connecting the user to the content on TV that he or she cares about should be the goal of all of us operating in the social TV space. Otherwise, what are we doing this for? Curating tweets about shows? I think we are all in this for the same reason, to revolutionize TV. We are all here and all have the same idea, now it is just the time to see who will actually do it.